watchingangel asked: I just wanted to say how much I love your art work. It always gives me a lift to see it. Thank you. But I wondered did you train formally, or are you self taught. Much Love xx
Hello! Thank you for all the nice things you said about my art. I did train formally, in two very different ways. I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Humanities, with a concentration in Painting and Material & Visual Culture from Carnegie Mellon University. In between semesters I traveled to Provincetown, Massachusetts to study impressionistic color theory and portraiture with a master portrait painter. This experience was especially unique because it was founded upon the master/apprentice relationship, a very traditional style of teaching that is not easily found today. I was in a small group that learned a very specific style from Cedric Egeli, who learned from his mentor, Henri Henschi, who learned from Charles Hawthorne, who learned with William Merrit Chase, and so on.
My painted books are something I created in my own time, away from college classes, impressionism, and portraiture. They were the one place where I could experiment and create whatever I wanted without worrying about rules and technique. For this reason I feel that this style was self-taught. However, I can’t deny that impressionistic color theory and my technical training strongly influence my creative thought processes and resulting products.
Thank you for your interest!
-M. H. Dunaway
