JUNE SIDMAN FINE ART

In my painting life I was a late bloomer, only starting in my late 40s. I began to draw when I realized I would not be able to jump and spin on the ice, as a skater when i entered my more senior years. The first years, I spent drawing from life.  The model and still life were what i painted. I studied at the Art Student League, where my most important teacher was Knox Martin. Then I studied at the New York Studio School where i completed the 3 year certificate program.

 

The painters I was most inspired by were Cezanne, Van Gogh, Matisse, and Bonnard when I painted in oil. When I switched to watercolor, Sargent became my favorite inspiration. I now only paint in watercolor.

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Before learning to draw, I had been doing Photography, studying at the New School, but I did not enjoy spending time in the darkroom. This was before the personal computer changed everything. I do believe that time spent doing photography formed my sense of composition.

 

I began to show my work in the early 2000s  with the Riverarts Studio tours. I have had several solo shows, the most recent being at the Irvington library in 2014, and 2016. I have participated in many group shows.

 

I consider my self a Plein-air painter, even though I often work from photos I have taken, especially when painting animal life. However I love to go out in nature and paint what I see, trying to capture the sense of space, color, and rhythm.

 

I feel very fortunate to have discovered painting to replace the lovely experience of my years of ice Skating in my youth. Some of the feeling of skating, I believe, is captured in my painting through my brush strokes.