There’s no place like home, and that’s something The Waichulis Studio never forgets — no matter what great heights its work takes it.
The Pauly Friedman Art Galley at Misericordia University will have a homecoming exhibit “Capturing Realism 2009: The Waichulis Studio,” for the returning renowned artists of the Waichulis Studio. The exhibit will be on display from Saturday, Nov. 7 to Saturday, Dec. 19. Artwork will vary from still life, landscape, portraits and Trompe L’oeil.
In 2006, Anthony Waichulis became the first Trompe L’oeil painter to be granted Living Master status by the Art Renewal Center. Trompe-L’oeil is a sub-category of realism, a type of illusionistic painting. The subjects are painted so real in an attempt to “fool the eye.”
The studio came about after Waichulis finished art school in 1997. While he was a student, his peers would often ask if they could watch him paint. Aware of his impending graduation, they wondered if there would be a studio for them to continue watching.
“I had every intention of opening a studio, but I didn’t know if I wanted to go down that teaching road,” says Waichulis. “I found taking two or three students and showing them techniques and procedures was very successful.”
His approach really took off and the studio, located in Mocanaqua, started to attract more people. Waichulis developed a program where artists act as an apprentice. There are a series of exercises they need to complete the program, and Waichulis guides and helps them build skills to be a professional working artist.
The studio’s first art show was in 1998 at the F.M Kirby Center and included only four or five artists. People expressed an interest in the studio’s work and the group thought the art show would be a great idea. The show was called “Capturing Realism” because the main focus of the artists was representational.
The hopes of having an annual show dwindled when the artists began to establish themselves on a national and international level. It became increasingly difficult for the artists to return, so the show would miss a couple years.
Just like his students, Waichulis has made a name for himself and appeared in magazines such as The Artist’s Magazine, American Art Collector and Fine Art Connoisseur. No matter how big or small, Waichulis is always thrilled to see his work in the pages of publications. When he was young and starting to get passionate about the direction of his work, he frequently read The Artist’s Magazine.
“The Artist’s Magazine not only had articles of the most amazing artists, but a lot of ‘how-to’ tutorials,” says Waichulis. “It took you to all depths of fine art, and they hold national competitions that draw over 13,000 competitors. In 2005, I won it. It meant a lot to me to win that just because I was a fan since I was really little. Since then, I’ve taken top awards, won dozens of competitions, but that hit me the hardest because of the impact and weight the magazine played in my own development.”
Winning the competition is one of the few moments Waichulis found himself at a loss for words. He describes art as his calling, his vocation, and it’s always given him a great sense of enjoyment and fulfillment. Today, one of his other excitements is teaching in his studio, but his teaching methods have touched more than his students.
Timothy Jahn, a native of New Jersey, was so taken with the Waichulis Studio that he dropped what he was doing and developed the studio’s sister program.
“I adopted his program because I’ve been in or around every program, and his logic is so unbelievably efficient,” says Jahn. “I felt we were kindred spirits, and it instantly clicked with me that more students would be able to learn from this.”
Jahn will give a gallery talk on “The New Realism Movement” during the meet-the-artists reception on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. Cultural Council of Luzerne County President Sharon Hourigan will also be speaking. It’s a “micro-macro” feel, as Waichulis puts it.
For Waichulis, working in the studio is compelling and jaw dropping, and he finds the level of realism accomplished by the artists overwhelming.
“It’s important to us to have the show locally, because these are the people who were there when we started,” says Waichulis. “I can’t encourage people enough to come out to the show, because it’s the work you’ll be seeing in art magazines over the next couple of months.” w
“Capturing Realism 2009: The Waichulis Studio,” Nov. 7-Dec. 19, The Pauly Friedman Art Galley at Misericordia University (301 Lake St., Dallas). Meet-the-artists reception, Saturday, Nov. 7, 5-8 p.m., featuring gallery talk at 6 p.m. by Timothy Jahn on “The New Realism Movement” and remarks by Sharon Lloyd Hourigan, president of Cultural Council of Luzerne County. Free and open to the public. Info: www.thewaichulisstudio.net. Gallery hours Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, 1-5 p.m.
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