Joshua Langstaff: Personal Artist Statement

I am from a remote corner of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This is a place that is cut off from the rest of the country as it juts out into three of the Great Lakes. Most of the land is heavily forested and maintained as National Forest, State Forest, National Park, or other public property. My home town was only 300 people. Wildlife here outnumbers people dramatically.

It was in many ways an idyllic childhood but it certainly didn't prepare me for life as an artist except that I developed a strong appreciation of natural beauty. Local artwork consisted of chainsaw carvings of morel mushrooms. There are few jobs these days in the area. Mostly they cater to the large summer tourism industry. To be an artist, at least of the sort I wish to be, is entirely outside the realm of possibility of that world.

Nevertheless I drew all my life and began to think of a career as an artist. After graduating upon a recommendation, I moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. The expense of this was very difficult for me and I was only able to remain for 6 months but the short stay opened my eyes to a wider view of the art world. My time in New York solidified my determination to master the techniques of classical drawing and painting.

Shortly after retuning to Michigan I then enrolled at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design. It was only here that I realized how difficult it was to obtain the knowledge that I sought. Nobody at the University could help me. Luckily there was an excellent professor of figurative sculpture at the university so my stay was not a total loss. It was while here that I began to learn about classical atelier programs that were forming across the country and I began to search for one where I might learn what I desperately wanted to know.

After applying, I was offered a space in the Aristides Atelier at the Seattle Academy of Fine Art. I have now completed my first year of study in the Atelier program and have found it to be all that I had wanted and more. I feel that I am receiving a great gift from my instructor, Juliette. It is truly priceless to receive the knowledge of the great masters that have come before.

Eventually I hope to start an atelier of my own, perhaps in my home state of Michigan. I feel it is my duty to pass on what I have learned, and will learn, to future generations of artists. Most importantly I hope that I might eventually be considered among the great artists of my time. It is perhaps a fantastical dream to create work of the power and beauty of Rembrandt, Caravaggio, or Vermeer, but it is my dream. This I feel is the ultimate goal for us all and it is why I head to the studio each day. I believe that the training I am receiving at the Seattle Academy of Fine Art will help me accomplish these goals.

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