Jim Coston

My formal training was under Richard Lack at the Atelier Lack School of Fine Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1977-1981. The Atelier provided a foundation in traditional drawing and painting. This system comes directly from a long tradition of a master artist training a small group of students in what are called “Ateliers” or studios. The Atelier Lack is traced back to the Boston School of Painting at the turn of the 20th century with William Paxton and R.H. Ives Gammell. From there the lineage goes back to the Paris ateliers of Gerome and Bouguereau, where many of the Boston painters studied in the late 19th century, and even further back to Paul Delaroche and David in the early part of the 19th century.

My work displays a sensibility to light and atmosphere like the impressionists yet reflects my wide range of appreciation and understanding for other modern approaches and styles. My work conveys expression and the importance of the painted surface, while also capturing the essence of light, air and the object represented. As an artist, it is important to me that I create a sense of physical plausibility yet also recognize the inherent abstraction of paint.