Thursday, September 15, 2011

Justin Hess (b. 1981)


A Second Glance, oil on canvas, 35"x39"




Justin Hess was born in Ventura California in 1981. At the age of 19 he began his formal art training at Ventura College and later at the San Francisco Academy of Art University. In further pursuit of his studies, he was introduced to the Florence Academy of Art by a colleague, and left the SFAAU to move to Italy.

Justin entered the Florence Academy of Art in the fall of 2005 and was awarded “Best Drawing of the Year” at the end of his first year. He participated in Alumni exhibitions while still a student, and upon receiving his Certificate of Completion in 2008 was awarded “Most Improved in Figure Painting” during the graduation ceremony.

Justin has taught painting classes and lectured on Pigment and Canvas preparation, at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy, and Atelier Østrup in Norway. His paintings have been published in “The Artist’s Magazine” and “International Artist Magazine”, where the latter will have a featured article & painting demonstration in print this coming year. In January of 2011, Justin was juried into the Oil Painters of America as an Associate Member, followed by his painting being accepted into the OPA 20th National Juried Competition as one of the 158 participants out of 2,100 applicants.

At the age of 30, Justin has already exhibited in Italy, London, Monaco, Norway and the United States. Now, after having completed an intensive 6 years of study and work in Florence Italy, Justin will be returning to San Francisco in the summer of 2011 and opening a small Atelier offering workshops and private instruction in the classical realist tradition. Justin’s paintings can be found in private collections in Australia, Europe, Scandinavia and the United States of America.

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