We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kerry Vosler. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kerry below.
Kerry , thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
My personality is naturally optimistic. But when there are things beyond your control like the pandemic which effectively closed our atelier for many months, it was a choice to remind myself that this too shall pass. I overcame the closure by going on line with my students.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My work with nonprofits has been going on for 20 years. I am the Ambassador Coordinator for the Portrait Society of America whose mission it is to create greater awareness of portrait or figurative art and inspire artists toward consistent improvements in methods and techniques. The many activities and events I planned as the Florida Ambassador prior to this position was nurturing to artists and organizations. My role as a board member at the Miano Academy, Sarasota, Florida was rewarding and continues to tie into the theme of fundamental classical education for artists which I am passionate about.
As a professional career artist my focus has been on figurative, portrait and en plein air or outdoor painting. It is always exciting to be preparing for a new work of art or series of paintings. I love telling stories through paintings like the local Flamenco Dancers who live in Tampa Bay. I worked with dancers in my studio in Tampa and learned the art of Flamenco and its history. Through the dancers eyes and working with them directly I created a series of paintings depicting them dancing focusing on movement and body expression. I am now working on another series of Flamenco Dancers. Another project is the shrimp docks in Tampa. There are endless scenes of St. Augustine Trawlers and the people who work on them. The shrimping industry has been impacted by high gas prices in recent years as well. I love talking to the people there who like to tell me their stories. I love a challenge so people, boats, water all in the same paintings is super fun to tackle. I spend a lot of time working on location with my subjects to create small studies and especially color studies before I work on the larger painting in my studio. These preparatory studies are imperative to a successful painting.
Even though I am passionate about my nonprofit work and my personal career as an artist my heart is with my young artists that I teach at the Vosler Young Artists’ Studio. Many years ago about 2010 I was teaching adults at my private studio. I started having parents contact me saying they could not find a serious art program for their children. With a few students we started a regular drawing class but it soon became apparent that we needed to create a classic drawing program. This evolved into the Vosler Young Artists’ Studio. We focused on training artists from age seven to eighteen and teaching them classic fundamental drawing and eventually painting skills including portfolio development. In 2021 we became a Art Renewal Center Approved Atelier. This is the only certification of this kind for classical ateliers and put us on the global stage. Our students have proven that with great training at an early age they can excel in their chosen artistic pursuit. It has been infinitely rewarding and we have seen how the arts can enhance their young lives many times over.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
When I was training to be an artist I was a young mother and my husband was in the Corp of Engineers. It was hard to find good quality training but I sought out the best artists I could find who were teaching and studied with them. These days there are many qualified career artists who also have a passion for teaching like myself. Since before the pandemic there were artists creating quality programing online and even more now. Now is a great time to train to be an artist and there are many organizations that can help you with access to great artists like the Portrait Society of America. My advice is to start with great fundamentals like drawing then work into anatomy, figure and portrait. The seeing skills you learn working from life will greatly impact your success as an artist. A trained eye will be sought after in any career path including the movie industry, game design, animation, sculptor and painter. Aligning myself with great artist teachers who could help me gain skills and knowledge was instrumental to my success.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
We can never reach enough children who deserve to have great fundamental training in the arts. I encourage professional artists to teach our young artists. Or to just find ways to interact with them through school programs or special events. There is a big art world out there and many kids are not aware of the opportunities in this field. For instance, my friend in California is a trained painter and sculptor. She has been working for a company that creates prosthetic limbs for patients. She sculpts them, and then paints them to look real and is working in a field of cutting edge technology. She finds it very rewarding.
Are you a trained artist who would like to start classes for young artists? You can contact me directly at [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kerryvosler.com/
- Instagram: Kerry Vosler
Image Credits
Sabrina copyright Kerry Vosler Fishing the Flats copyright Kerry Vosler Orlando Orella, professional Argentinian Gaucho Dancer Kerry teaching
