Painting A Masterpiece with Master Artist Ed Copley
Dianemarie (DM) Collins, the host of The DM Zone, shares her experience with commissioning a custom portrait from Ed Copley, the direct descendant of American master portrait artist John Singleton Copley.
Ed Copley, considered a Master artist whose work is collected around the globe, is now recognized as a Living Master, a very elite award from The Art Renewal Center. But the genes of artistic genius that make Ed Copley (www.edcopleyfineart.com) one of world’s finest painters are more than just heredity.
Known as a modern-day old master, Copley paints with an ‘old master’ technique – mixing his own paints, adding glazes, stretching his own canvas and even carving a frame for that special masterpiece. As for Ed Copley’s artistic genes, John Singleton Copley (http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=713) was the greatest American painter of the 18th century. His great, great, great grandson Ed Copley exquisitely follows in those footsteps in the 21st century.
Ed Copley Gallery at the Art Renewal Center: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=7399
“I am very pleased that our esteemed judges saw fit to give Ed the title of ARC Associate Living Master™ and welcome him to the elite group of living artists shown in the ARC Museum. The process for acceptance into the ARC Living Artist and Master’s Gallery ™ is a rigorous one, where an artist’s work must be reviewed by a panel of at least four Judges who consist of well published art scholars and master instructors whose presage is undeniable,” said Kara Lysandra Ross, Director of Operations for the Art Renewal Center.
Ross continues, “His work now appears on our website as does the work of his Grandfather, John Singleton Copley. Although their work is clearly from two different time periods, it is always a pleasure to see that the artistic quality in the family remained fully intact. Ed is a wonderful addition to the ARC family and we are looking forward to his newest works and exhibitions.”
With a classical attention to composition, meticulous attention to his use of light and devotion to the Old World application and mixing of his own pigments, Copley paintings are masterpieces. He also uses a glazing technique which develops richness in detail and color without the use of heavy applications of paint. But because it is such a slow process, few artists choose to use it at the present time. Ten feature videos on Ed Copley are here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL71146C43A5728612
