PSoA Certificate of Excellence - Michael Chelich

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Michael Chelich -  Imaginary 17th Century Family Portrait  - 54 X 40 in.

Michael Chelich of Munster, Indiana has a love for the work of the Old Masters which he brings to his contemporary portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and allegorical paintings.  Of particular interest to Chelich is the drama and design present in the great works of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic periods of Western art, and it is the ideals from these eras with which the artist continually challenges himself.

"My painting," said Chelich, "was commissioned by a Mrs. Sherilynn Paztor who wished to have a painting which would look as if it had been painted in the 17th century. To begin the process, I developed a design that would stylistically resemble a Baroque 17th century family portrait. Then, I studied several paintings of Anthony Van Dyck to come up with the designs for the girls dresses and had seamstress Rosemary Gonzales sew them to later be placed on manikins. The dressed manikins were then positioned together within a background that I built to resemble a richly adorned 17th century interior. The three girls pictured in this painting were brought in individually for pastel portraits which were then used as studies for the final painting."

Chelich's Certificate of Excellence winning portrait, Imaginary 17th Century Family Portrait, will be on view at the South Shore Arts Center, in Munster, Indiana from June 12th through July 31st.  This painting, as well as other works by the artist, are part of an exhibit titled "Reassembled," which features works from instructors and previous students of the School of Representational Art in Chicago, where Chelich has been teaching for the past 22 years.  Those exhibiting also include members of the Chicago Art Salon, which was founded in 2002 by graduates of the SORA program who had banded together to support each other while pursuing their individual paths in the art world.  The exhibit aims to show how these teachers and students, with their common background in traditional methods of representational art, have grown and developed their own unique artistic styles.

To see more of Michael Chelich's paintings, please visit the artist's website.

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