We recently interviewed artist Ethan Diehl after meeting him at the 2019 Portrait Society of America show in Atlanta, Georgia. Ethan has an astounding talent for photo-realistic oil paintings. In fact, his paintings are so realistic that he even has a disclaimer at the top of his website that says, “Yes, these are paintings.” See for yourself!
SBL: When did you start painting and what inspired you to pick up a paintbrush?
Ethan: I started painting almost before I could walk. Granted, it wasn’t in oil (closer to Gerber’s baby food), but it was the starting point. My mother babysat a bunch of kids, and she converted our basement into an art room. A half dozen young artists, mastering our watercolor craft. I didn’t start painting in acrylics until junior high, and oils didn’t come on the scene until college. I don’t know why I picked up a paintbrush. I’ve always liked the visual world. The stars at night. Storms on the horizon. Movies. Paintings. All of it. Being able to capture images that lived in my head, and in front of me, always seemed special to me. Like my superhero power.
SBL: Do you have any formal training or instruction?
Ethan: I went to Stanford to study rocket science. Literally. However, after a year of not enjoying my classes, I started to take studio art classes. One of them, a drawing class, was taught by Nathan Olivera. Nate was an incredible person. We hit it off in his class, I completely changed the direction of my studies, and he became my art mentor. More than simply learning the technical side of making art, Nate taught me how to pay much closer attention to what was right in front of me in the visual world.
SBL: Before you became a full-time artist, what did you do?
Ethan: The concept of full-time artist makes me chuckle. I knew very early on that it would be nearly impossible to make a living by just selling art. So, I got a job, which I still have, as a software developer. I’ve been doing that for 21 years. However, this doesn’t mean that I don’t put in a fulltime amount of work each week in the studio. I do. I’ve been doing 40+ hour “work” weeks + 40+ hour “art work” weeks for almost 15 years.
SBL: What is your favorite subject to paint and why?
Ethan: People are my favorite subject. Primarily women. This isn’t exactly an original concept in the art world. Haha. I like spending my time focusing on the beauty that only women bring to the world. Within the subject of women, I only paint women I know. It’s important for me to have a personal connection to my subjects, because it takes SO long for me to complete my paintings. I really don’t want to spend months on end staring at a strange face in my studio.
SBL: How long have you been using Silver Brushes and why do you like using them?
Ethan: I have been using Silver Brushes, and only Silver Brushes, since 2004. That was the year that I started my professional art career. I only use 1 particular brush: the Silver Bristlon® Flat size 0. My paintings are made of tens of thousands of squares of oil paint. Each square is 1/6 in by 1/6 inch. The Flat 0 is the perfect width for that size square. The way that the bristles are constructed works well for me, too. I like the flex of the bristles as I’m working on the squares. Once I found this one brush, I was hooked.
SBL: Can you explain your painting process further?
Ethan: I use a pencil and ruler to turn my canvas into the equivalent of a super-sized piece of graph paper. Then, I spend months looking back and forth between my computer monitor (which has a pixelated image), and the canvas, and painting tiny squares. My Silver Brushes are never the same afterwards. I normally use 1 single brush per painting, and then the brush is “retired”. This process is not recommended for anyone else. It works for me, but it’s painful.
SBL: Have any artists influenced or inspired your work?
Ethan: Chuck Close specifically influenced the way that I paint, from a technical aspect. I’m inspired by living artists like Jenny Saville, Mark Tansey and Banksy.
SBL: Is your artwork on display anywhere?
Ethan: My art is shown at three galleries:
• Julie Zener Gallery in Mill Valley, CA
• Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, SC
• Morton Fine Art in Washington, D.C.
SBL: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
Ethan: Work hard. Be nice. Enjoy the process. Fight envy with all of your strength.
For more information about Ethan and his artwork, please visit these links:
www.ethandiehl.com
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In her retirement, Ginger teaches acrylic painting techniques to beginners and advanced students alike through her 
creating a painting. “I have always felt that painting was a learned skill… For me, good art starts with having the correct materials. I have been using 
You’ve heard the adage, “It’s never too late to follow your dream.” Melanie Morris, an accomplished acrylic artist from Alabama, is living proof of that statement.
Melanie’s favorite subjects to paint are landscapes or floral arrangements. She takes pride in hand selecting flowers from local farmer’s markets in the summer (or Trader Joe’s in the winter). “My painting really starts when I’m arranging the flowers back at my studio. I’m thinking about how to move the viewer through the painting with color or shapes then I select a background color. I keep all sorts of colored paper to use as backdrops for my still lifes. I experiment with the colors and the arrangement of the flowers and then I add a strong spotlight. I set a timer for 45 minutes and paint a 6” x 6” panel to work out my composition and color palette. Even though I time my small paintings to keep them fresh, I really get lost in the painting. After I finish the small panel, I paint the arrangement again but this time on a larger panel. I prefer to paint on gallery wrapped panels and love the architectural look.” Melanie says her favorite flowers to paint are zinnias and ranunculus.
When asked what her greatest accomplishment has been as an artist, Melanie said, “There are several things I’m happy about such as being commissioned by Hilton Hotels last summer to complete my biggest painting to date, being featured in Cottage Living several years ago and having an online shop. However, I’d have to say that I consider my greatest accomplishment to be that I make a living as an artist. At one time that seemed like an unrealistic goal.”
In addition to his new position, Dan taught a controlled palette life painting class over the summer at the Art Students League of New York and a class entitled Musculoskeletal Gross Anatomy for the Figurative Artist at Weill Cornell College of Medicine.
Currently, Dan is working on a “composition of a full skeleton, arranged within a drapery mass and adorned with metallic pieces. Its kind of Birth of Venus—maybe a Death of Venus! Or a transcendence, which is how it feels. The cathartic aspect of painting is one of its most rejuvenating attractions.”
To aspiring artists, Ana 
Una tarde navegando por Instagram nos encontramos con la obra de Ana Sofía Castañón una artista multidisciplinaria basada en Cancún, México. Sus coloridas y brillantes pinturas de manta rayas deslizándose entre algas marinas por el fondo del océano nos hipnotizaron, simplemente tuvimos que compartirlas.
vegetación desértica, riegos por aspersión, siembra y lodo. “Mi niñez me conectó con la naturaleza y todavía al día de hoy cuando necesito recargar o re conectar, busco salir, explorar, ir a la selva, cenotes o hago algo de buceo libre.” Después de una sesión de Freedive o buceo libre, es como la serie de “Sueños de Mar” comenzó, donde ella representa los coloridos arrecifes y la sensación de paz que fondo del mar le da.
Vermeer, Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, Frank Benson, Alfred Munnings, and Abbott Thayer. “Just to name a few,” he jokes.
To see more of James’ work, please visit:
Lea Colie Wight is an award-winning oil painter and teacher with a unique perspective. As a former student of the prestigious atelier, Studio Incamminati. Lea now teaches about 20 students each year at the very same school. While she was a student, Lea studied under and alongside some of the founding members of the atelier including world renowned portrait artist Nelson Shanks.
