Geoffrey Geary has been in business as a portrait artist for nearly twenty years. He studied at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and at the Art Student's League. However, he considers his real education to have taken place in art museums and auction houses, where he studied first hand the work of portrait painters of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Among the many masters whose work continues to inspire him are Van Dyck, Winterhalter, Bouguereau, and Sargent.
Geary thinks of his portrait subjects as models for a fine art painting. An accurate likeness is essential, but a certain degree of imaginative interpretation on the part of the artist must also come into play in any good portrait. As a result, in his family portraits, Geary demonstrates a keen eye for the endearing traits of children. In his official portraits, he strives to convey strength of character. In his portraits of women, he creates a mood that is both elegant and very feminine.
In short, he looks for ways to enhance the essential characteristics of the subject in addition to keeping the aesthetic qualities of the overall composition in balance. This approach has pleased a wide range of clients from television and cinematic personalities to sport figures and a wide range of financial and business leaders.
Finally, Mr. Geary believes that not enough is generally said about the value of portraits as heirlooms. "You hear a lot about how much portrait paintings cost, but you seldom hear about how portraits make life richer for the spirit. Many of the big investments of modern life depreciate in value and disappear, but portraits will continue to enrich life, not just now, but for future generations."
Mr. Geary lives in New Jersey with his wife, noted artist/illustrator, Heide Oberheide, and their two sons.
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