The Undraped Artist Podcast

MicahChristensen.com
Micah Christensen | MFDA, PhD
Micah is a scholar of European, Asian, and American fine art, porcelain, and decorative objects. He earned his Masters of Fine & Decorative Art from Sotheby’s Institute (London), where he worked in several royal, private, and public collections. During that time, he was mentored by many leaders in the field, including Gordon Lang, a founder of the Antiques Roadshow.
For his doctorate at the University of London, Micah spent ten years in more than 40 museums in France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and United States to research the classroom practice and patronage of artists. He subsequently lectured on the subject throughout Europe, including at the British Library and for Cambridge University. 
Micah sits on the Board of the Springville Museum of Art, the Utah Institute of Classical Art & Architecture, and the Beaux-Arts Academy. He regularly writes for Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine. As a consultant, he works with private and public collectors around the world. 

https://www.alexvenezia.com
 
Alex Venezia b.1993 Virginia Beach, Virginia; currently lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Primarily a self taught painter, Alex Venezia, first became aware of the transcendent power of art during a high-school art lesson on chiaroscuro while examining the works of Caravaggio. This class marked a unique turning point for the young student as he began to consider a vocation in the arts.  Searching for new art experiences he frequented the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia where he was able to fill his eyes with the works of the Masters and make copies.  Venezia has sought out and studied classical technique with many of todays top representational painters including: Odd Nerdrum, Colleen Barry, Daniel Sprick, Michael Klein, and Jeff Hein. "In his words, Inspiration comes in many forms, and usually far from the easel, but there’s nothing like seeing the work of an artist that you hold in high regard in person. It has a way of putting me in my place and motivating me to become a better painter." And so it has. Most recently Venezia took home the 2017 first place prize in the Still Life Competition at the prestigious Grand Central Atelier in New York.
Alex Venezia has been a featured artist in Southwest Art Magazine, 21 Under 31: Young Artists to Watch in 2016 and  BuzzFeed article 5 Artistic Prodigies 21 And Under.  He is the recipient of numerous awards and has participated in many group shows throughout the United Sates. He currently lives and maintains a studio w/ painters Michael Klein and Louis Carr in Raleigh, North Carolina.
 
Alison Collins
Director, Collins Galleries. Orleans, Massachusetts, USA

https://www.alexvenezia.com
 
Alex Venezia b.1993 Virginia Beach, Virginia; currently lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Primarily a self taught painter, Alex Venezia, first became aware of the transcendent power of art during a high-school art lesson on chiaroscuro while examining the works of Caravaggio. This class marked a unique turning point for the young student as he began to consider a vocation in the arts.  Searching for new art experiences he frequented the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia where he was able to fill his eyes with the works of the Masters and make copies.  Venezia has sought out and studied classical technique with many of todays top representational painters including: Odd Nerdrum, Colleen Barry, Daniel Sprick, Michael Klein, and Jeff Hein. "In his words, Inspiration comes in many forms, and usually far from the easel, but there’s nothing like seeing the work of an artist that you hold in high regard in person. It has a way of putting me in my place and motivating me to become a better painter." And so it has. Most recently Venezia took home the 2017 first place prize in the Still Life Competition at the prestigious Grand Central Atelier in New York.
Alex Venezia has been a featured artist in Southwest Art Magazine, 21 Under 31: Young Artists to Watch in 2016 and  BuzzFeed article 5 Artistic Prodigies 21 And Under.  He is the recipient of numerous awards and has participated in many group shows throughout the United Sates. He currently lives and maintains a studio w/ painters Michael Klein and Louis Carr in Raleigh, North Carolina.
 
Alison Collins
Director, Collins Galleries. Orleans, Massachusetts, USA

ZoeyFrank.com
Check out her solo show running until January 7, 2023 at SugarLift Gallery, New York.
Sugarlift.com
 

ZoeyFrank.com
Check out her solo show running until January 7, 2023 at SugarLift Gallery, New York.
Sugarlift.com
 
 

Aleah Chapin
 
http://www.aleahchapin.com
 
Aleah Chapin (b. 1986 Seattle, WA) is a painter whose direct portrayals of the human form have expanded the conversation around western culture’s representations of the body in art. Described by Eric Fischl as “the best and most disturbing painter of flesh alive today,” Chapin’s work has explored aging, gender and beauty, influenced in part by the community within which she was raised on an island in the Pacific Northwest. More recently, Chapin’s work has taken a radically inward shift, expanding her visual language in order to better express the turbulent times we are living in. Consistent throughout her career, Chapin’s work asks the question: What does it mean to exist within a body today?
Chapin holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. She has attended residencies at the Leipzig International Art Program (Germany) and MacDowell (United States). Chapin has exhibited both nationally and internationally at places such as Flowers Gallery (New York, London, Hong Kong), The Belvedere Museum (Austria), and the National Portrait Gallery (London). She has been a recipient of the Promising Young Painters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (New York), the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (Canada), a Postgraduate Fellowship from The New York Academy of Art, and won the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery (London). Her work has been published extensively in print and online, and she is a subject in the BBC documentary titled “Portrait of an Artist”. Aleah Chapin lives and works in Seattle, WA.

Aleah Chapin
 
http://www.aleahchapin.com
 
Aleah Chapin (b. 1986 Seattle, WA) is a painter whose direct portrayals of the human form have expanded the conversation around western culture’s representations of the body in art. Described by Eric Fischl as “the best and most disturbing painter of flesh alive today,” Chapin’s work has explored aging, gender and beauty, influenced in part by the community within which she was raised on an island in the Pacific Northwest. More recently, Chapin’s work has taken a radically inward shift, expanding her visual language in order to better express the turbulent times we are living in. Consistent throughout her career, Chapin’s work asks the question: What does it mean to exist within a body today?
Chapin holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. She has attended residencies at the Leipzig International Art Program (Germany) and MacDowell (United States). Chapin has exhibited both nationally and internationally at places such as Flowers Gallery (New York, London, Hong Kong), The Belvedere Museum (Austria), and the National Portrait Gallery (London). She has been a recipient of the Promising Young Painters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (New York), the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (Canada), a Postgraduate Fellowship from The New York Academy of Art, and won the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery (London). Her work has been published extensively in print and online, and she is a subject in the BBC documentary titled “Portrait of an Artist”. Aleah Chapin lives and works in Seattle, WA.

https://artellie.com
 
My life as an artist started at a young age and the path to my art career seemed to have happened effortlessly. I was born and raised in the Wasatch Mountains, which instilled in me a passion for nature and beauty. The first time I went Plein Air painting with the mountains surrounding me and a brush in hand I was hooked, and decided to specialize in landscape painting. When I graduated with a BFA, I sold out my solo show and launched into my career as a professional artist. Since then I have been painting tirelessly, working to master a variety of scenes in over 6 states and 18 countries around the world. Recently I have moved back to Utah and am excited to be painting the landscape of my home state once again.
ELLIE WILSON

https://artellie.com
 
My life as an artist started at a young age and the path to my art career seemed to have happened effortlessly. I was born and raised in the Wasatch Mountains, which instilled in me a passion for nature and beauty. The first time I went Plein Air painting with the mountains surrounding me and a brush in hand I was hooked, and decided to specialize in landscape painting. When I graduated with a BFA, I sold out my solo show and launched into my career as a professional artist. Since then I have been painting tirelessly, working to master a variety of scenes in over 6 states and 18 countries around the world. Recently I have moved back to Utah and am excited to be painting the landscape of my home state once again.
ELLIE WILSON

RICKY MUJICA
http://www.rickymujica.com
 
 
Born and raised in New York City, Ricky Mujica studied art at the High School of Art and Design, Parsons in Paris, and at Parsons School of Design /New School for Social Research where he won a full Presidential Scholarship.
The artwork of Ricky Mujica was initially influenced by the old masters and this connection has helped him achieve a high level of success as an illustrator. Before returning to his roots as a fine artist, Ricky Mujica created art for all the top publishing companies including Harper Collins, Harlequin, Bantam, and Scholastic. He has created art for major magazines including the New York Times Magazine and Ebony. His work has been seen in commercials for such products as Cherry 7-Up, on murals for Sony and Leows theaters, and on clothes for fashion designer Rachel Roy. His artwork has been represented at the Museum of American Illustration on several occasions.
Since returning to his first love, Fine Art, Ricky has received many awards. This includes a first place finish at the April round of The Representational Art Conference 2015 competition (TRAC2015). A signature Status from the Portrait Society of America where he has been a finalist and certificate of merit recipient in their international competitions on several occasions.
He has been a finalist in the OPA National, Regional and members competitions, the Salmagundi Club members and non-members competitions, the Allied Artists Competitions, the National Oil and Acrylic Painters National competitions, the Richeson Competitions, the Artist Magazine figurative art competitions, and the ARC International Salon Competitions, he won the Art Expo Solo Award, and has received an Honorable Mention in the Figurativas competition in Barcelona. Most recently, Ricky won the Florence and Ernest Thompson Memorial Award at the 103 Allied Artists Exhibition, and First Place at the Lore Degenstein Gallery of Susquehanna University Ninth Annual Figurative Drawing and Painting Competition.
He currently teaches at the acclaimed Art Students League of New York and has been on the teaching faculty at the Portrait Society of America. He has given demos and workshops on representational painting all over the world.
Ricky considers himself a humanist representational painter. The technique is influenced by Baroque masters like Rembrandt and Velasquez. His color model is influenced by Monet, Hawthorne and the 19th century ideas about retinal painting. The contextual ideas are influenced by 20th century modernist ideas, most specifically the Abstract Expressionists like Motherwell, Deibenkorn, and Kline. The subject matter is influenced by humanist painters like Kathe Kollwitz and Mary Cassat.
Ricky has lived in Africa, Norway, Germany, Mexico, France, Spain, Japan, England, Italy, and Australia.