This past Friday I went to the Gage Academy Student Exhibition with Seattle celebrity and art model extrodinaire Pigeon as well as my two illustrious colleagues Alecia Rossano and Peter Moerhle. Gage's philosophy of art education is based on the classic atelier system which had it's heyday in France during the 1800's before it was usurped by Impressionism. The atelier system never quite died; pockets of this educational system remain and are firmly entrenched, especially here in Seattle.
Top: Pigeon and her portrait painted by Josh Lawrence - a student in Juliet Aristides Atelier
Left to Right: Alecia Rossano, sculptress and DigiPen professor with her most recent sculpture in progress;
Pigeon with a drawing she posed for; Alecia and Peter Moerhle - former Disney background painter and DigiPen professor.
I am an artist and educator living in the Pacific Northwest. I currently teach at DigiPen Institute of Technology. Prior to teaching here, I was a teacher and chairman of the Fine Arts Department at a private school in Boston. I received my undergrad degree in Illustration from Massachusetts College of Art, and my grad degree in Illustration was completed at Syracuse University. Although I'm devoted primarily to teaching, I occasionally exhibit my work and have had the opportunity to see my work in print as a graphic designer and an illustrator. In 1999 I was an award winner in the Illustrators of the Future competition hosted by Bridge Publications in Los Angeles, California. In 2000 I was awarded Juror's Choice in the Falmouth Artists' Guild's fall, open juried exhibition. Since then I ain't won nuthin'. Thank you and goodnight. Unless otherwise noted, all images are copyright '06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '13 Robert G. Kmiec and may not be used without written consent.