Kevin
Beilfuss
After graduating from Illinois
State University and the American Academy of Art, Kevin set out
on a free-lance illustration career which lasted thirteen years.
Working mostly in the editorial area of illustration, his work
consisted mostly of paintings for book covers and magazines.
Some of his clients include: Penguin Publishing, Viking Press,
Houghton Mifflin, Harlequin, Signs of the Times, Guideposts,
Readers Digest, and Golf Digest.
" I had always dreamed of becoming an Illustrator,"
explains the artist. " But the demands of painting someone
else's ideas finally took it's toll. I decided that life is too
short and that I had to paint from my heart. We're only given
one chance at life, and I had to paint what was important to
me. What's important to me," says Kevin, " Is that
I try to capture a little of what God has already created in
each of my paintings. One can obviously see the beauty of God's
creation in nature, but for me it is even more profound when
I see and experience that beauty in people."
"Someday you'll find me out painting landscapes, but for
now I love to paint the human figure. I find it stimulating to
interact with my models as we explore ways to capture what might
make an interesting painting. I often come to a modeling session
with a preconceived notion of what I would like to explore, such
as lighting, color, symbolism, or costuming, but it is usually
the model that comes up with the most natural pose allowing more
of their true selves to shine through."
Kevin's training at the American Academy of Art in Chicago was
his biggest influence on his art career. "Our training was
in the classical tradition," he explains, " "we
had two classes a day: a 3 hr. figure DRAWING session in the
morning, and a 3 hr. figure PAINTING session in the afternoon.
With training like that, it's hard not to fall in love with the
human form. Whether the figure is clothed or unclothed, the artist
must meet the unique challenge presented by both."
Kevin says, " I believe there are endless possibilities
when painting the human figure. Even if you were to paint the
same model over and over, you can always explore and find something
new and beautiful to express in a painting. I hope to express
that same beauty I experience in my models to the viewer, so
that they might also share in that same experience."
Kevin Beilfuss lives in the Chicago area, where he lives with
his wife Janice, and son Drew. Says the artist, " Right
now I am content with the joy (and sometimes frustration) I experience
in the painting process. I am thankful that God allows me to
be able to do something I have loved since childhood, and hope
to enjoy the rest of my life!"
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