Today we’d like to introduce you to Jean Lightman.
Let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began studying painting in the early ’80s and took a number of classes around Greater Boston until I discovered Paul Ingbretson who was teaching a hundred year old painting tradition called Boston School. This type of painting combines the accurate drawing and design of 19th C European art academies with the color and light of the French Impressionists. The MFA has a room devoted to the early Boston School painters. I remember walking into the studio where Paul was teaching and seeing a pastel still life by an advanced student. It was breathtaking… beautifully drawn, full of rich color and brilliant light. I was amazed that one could still learn to paint like that! I studied with Paul for nearly 10 years and have been painting on my own for another 27. I show my work at several galleries around New England, including the Guild of Boston Artists on Newbury Street. I have been an active member of this artist run gallery for many years. In 2014 I accepted the position of president of the board, the first woman to serve as president since the Guild was founded in 1914.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Learning to see lights and shadows in their corresponding colors and translating what your eye sees onto a two dimensional canvas is a difficult challenge. The most difficult time was when I was a student. There were many frustrating days when I questioned my ability to ever be a successful painter. Having painted now for nearly four decades, I can say that I am always striving to improve, It’s never good enough but that is what makes this journey so much fun! If it were easy then I would grow bored with the pursuit. There is always a particular scene or particular type of light that makes me reach higher.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Guild of Boston Artists – what should we know?
The Guild of Boston Artists is a nonprofit art gallery exhibiting the work of leading representational painters and sculptors based in New England. The Guild has been operating for 103 years at its original location at 162 Newbury Street. The mission is to foster a love of fine art through our gallery exhibitions and educational programs. We offer classes for children, informal art talks for adults, drop in paint outs for the public with our artists in the Public Garden, artist demonstrations, lectures and panel discussions all free to the public.
The Guild is unique as the only gallery left in the Boston area that is solely committed to exhibiting traditional painting and sculpture by living artists. We have artist members who paint in a variety of artistic traditions, most notably Boston School, Cape Ann, American Luminism and Tonalism. Visitors to the gallery often comment that walking into the Guild is like walking into a museum except that here is work for sale by living artists!
Guild members are extremely proud to be part of this historic gallery. It is an honor to be invited to join and the quality of the work on exhibit is a testament to the individual artist members’ commitment to excellence.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
As an artist, I have a passion for painting and a joy in capturing the beauty of the natural world in my work. As a Boston School painter, I am part of a continuum of painters stretching back to the late 19th Century. The ongoing success of that tradition depends upon the quality of today’s painters who carry it on. I have a strong desire to do my absolute best, never settling for good enough,
As the president of the Guild, I engage with a lot of different people, the board, the staff, the member artists, volunteers and visitors to the gallery. I am a people person so all of these interactions are enjoyable. It is an honor to be a member of the Guild and I am extremely enthusiastic about ensuring that this historic gallery succeeds and endures for another hundred years.
Contact Info:
- Address: 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
- Website: guildofbostonartists.org
- Phone: 617-536-7660
- Email: alex@guildofbostonartists
Image Credit:
Pierre Chiha, Phillip Cousins
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