Celebrated Portrait Artist Next Guest For SCAN

The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown will welcome Joel Spector of New Milford as its guest artist on Wednesday, July 13, at 7:30 pm. Mr Spector will offer a demonstration on painting a pastel portrait at the meeting, which will take place at Newtown Meeting House (lower level), 31 Main Street in Newtown. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Known for his images of elegance, Mr Spector was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to the United States at the age of 12. He graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and attended the Art Students’ League. He started out in the field of fashion illustration, then moved on to general illustration and has worked with prominent accounts throughout the years.

Mr Spector is a member of the Pastel Society of America from which he has won gold medal awards. He has also won awards from the Society of Illustrators in NYC. His work has been featured in Artist’s Magazine, Pastel International, Society of Illustrators Annual, Best of Pastels and in international magazines. A documentary was produced for Japanese television showing his working progress.

Besides illustration, Mr Spector also does commissioned portraits. A portrait of Claire Bloom was commissioned by the National Arts Club in NYC  and was presented to her on June 6, 2011, in order to commemorate a Lifetime Achievement in acting. Mr Spector recently completed a portrait of opera soprano Patrice Munsel, and it will hang at the Metropolitan Opera.

He was also selected as one of the finalists in the 2011 International Portrait Competition hosted by the Portrait Society of America. His portrait, of O. Aldon James, was selected based on skill and technique, as well as aesthetic and emotional content.

SCAN programs are free of charge and do not require reservations, however additional information is always available by contacting Ruth Newquist at 203-426-6654.