Artist of the Month August 2013

Agnieszka Bernstein

San Francisco, CA

I was born in Lodz, Poland and I went to school there. I didn’t go to art school, but I always liked drawing and doing all things creative. When I moved to the U.S. I read a book that inspired me like nothing ever before and I thought it could be adopted into a graphic novel. That’s why I enrolled in a BFA program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

How and when did you start creating art?

My major at the Academy is Illustration but along the way I discovered that besides illustration and drawing, I love fine art and oil painting. The first two years at school I pretty much was drawing and painting from dusk till dawn, I had to forgo many friends and fun activities because becoming a good draftsman was more important then anything else.

What media and genres do you work in?

Recently I mostly paint, oil paint is my favorite medium and I prefer painting on board to canvas. I also love pen and ink and the way old school illustrators played with light and dark and were able to create wonderful design and drama.

Who or what are your influences?

In illustration and comic books Alex Raymond. He was a master of pen and ink and he is one of the best draftsmen in the medium. In oil paint I love Bouguereau, Anders Zorn and Ilya Repin.

What was your inspiration for Concerto of Deliverance?

When you are an artist, you always look for interesting things to draw and paint. I especially love old people – their faces carry great stories and they can be much more beautiful then we think. The man in the drawing is a street violinist, who plays on the sidewalk in Lake Tahoe. His presence there was in such a strong contrast with happy, go about tourists, sadly ignoring him, cars zooming by and majestic mountains in the background. His soul seemed to be so broken, just like the sad music, awkwardly coming out of his instrument and barely audible because of the street noise. I thought it was just a breathtaking image.

Describe your creative process?

That really depends what subject I am working on. If it’s a still life painting, I always paint from nature. I set up my composition and the lighting and a find a panel to paint on. If the subject is complicated I will draw a pretty tight image with a pencil, usually white pencil because I like to prime my boards dark gray. Next thing is to quickly block in colors, so I can see if the color temperatures are working. From then on it’s just painting piece by piece, always leaving the highlights as the last touch. I use vey little medium, only linseed oil. And one more thing: I always listen to audiobooks when I paint!

What are you working on currently?

Actually I have been doing a lot of master copies – I’ve been copying paintings by Anders Zorn. I’m trying to understand better his process and of course learn to emulate his beautiful brushstrokes. Also, his exhibit is coming to San Francisco Legion of Honor so I thought it would be fun to bring one of my copies and see how close did I get to the original!

What are your near/long term goals as an artist?

Definitely illustrating a graphic novel based on Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. It’s a mission of my life, the reason why I am at school and what gives my strength and confidence to work hard.

Where can people view/purchase your work (gallery, website, etc)?

My blog is the best place to see my current work: http://agnieszkabernstein.blog.com