68 of 96

|

I had to try my hand at recreating the beauty of this sitter. The original painting (1864) is by Franz Xavier Winterhalter (1805 � 1873). Franz was born in the small village of Mensenschwad in Germany. He studied painting at the academy of Monaco. In 1835, after he painted a portrait of Grand Duke Leopold of Baden, Winterhalter was appointed his court painter. Among his many sitters was also Queen Victoria. Even though hundreds of aristocrats and members of court circles requested to have their portraits executed by the famous master, Winterhalter never received high praise for his work from serious critics. Oh, how time changes� I don�t believe they will ever erect a statue on behalf of a critic.

Rick Fitzsimons Born in Bristol, Connecticut, where he now lives with his wife Bonnie, Rick’s interest in art emerged as a young child. Endless hours of drawing occupied much of his time as a youth. Although fascinated with the different aspects of art, he never thought he would make it his livelihood. His background in Business Management led him on an unusual path, circling back to the world of art. Rick and his dad opened an Awards and Sign shop in their hometown. Not long after, customers would request new Logo designs for their businesses, which led to applying the images to large signs and vehicles. This service soon began to include painting various landscape pictorials on the signs. As a result, his love for...