oils    charcoal & pencil    commissioned work    the art atelier   

Jim Ostlund was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and the Atelier Lack.

His focus as an artist is to uphold the great traditions of picturemaking through sound drawing and design, and to further his capacity for "seeing". Jim has taught painting and drawing at the American Academy of Art, the Palette and Chisel Academy of Art in Chicago, and the Florence Academy of Art in Italy. He has traveled and lived in Europe studying and copying works in some of the world's finest museums.		 Upon his return from Italy, Jim undertook a 4-year apprentice program at the Atelier Lack. Mr. Lack is a direct link to the Masters predating the seventeenth century French Academics. His guidance strengthened Ostlund's understanding of traditional picturemaking and deepened his grasp in the art of seeing whole.

To paint "what you see" one needs to be armed with a solid understanding. In his paintings, Ostlund seeks to embody a common language that speaks within us all, a beauty and order of the tradition from which it was created.

                              exhibitions & awards >>
 

2001-2002

Serves as a board member of the American Society of Portrait Artists

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York - American

Society of Portrait Artists Annual Seminar - lecturer and demonstrator

1999

Juried Exhibition - Belloc-Lowndes Gallery - Chicago, IL

Published in "Chicago Art Scene" - Juried selection

1st Place - Portrait Brokers of America International Competition

1998

President's Award, Washington Society of Portrait Artists, International Competition

1996

Best of Show, American Society of Portrait Artists International Annual Competition

1995

Best of Show and 2nd, Juried Art Show, The Plains, VA

1992

Akron Society of Artists Juried Show, Akron, OH, Honorable Mention

1991

Academic Dialogue Show, Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, Minneapolis, MN

1998

Two Person Show, Dearborn Café, Chicago, IL
Krasel Art Center, St. Joseph, MI

1987

Arlington Racetrack Group Exhibit, Arlington, IL

Gold Medal Show, Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art, Chicago, IL, Honorable Mention

1986

Best of Show in Watercolor, Municipal Art League, Chicago, IL

Illinois Arts Council Grant

Kentucky Watercolor Society Show

Silver Medal Show, Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art, Chicago, IL, Honorable Mention

Palette and Chisel Group Exhibit, Chicago, IL

1985

Long Range Fund Award, Midwest Watercolor Society Show, Tweed Museum, Duluth, MN

Palos Heights Medical Center, Chicago, IL, Group Exhibit

Select Group Watercolor Show, Chicago, IL

Palette and Chisel Group Exhibit, Chicago, IL

R. H. Love Gallery, Group Exhibit, Chicago, IL

1984

Palette and Chisel Group Exhibit, Chicago, IL

Palos Heights Medical Center, Chicago, IL, Group Exhibit

1983

Midwest Watercolor Society Show, Green Bay, WI

Palos Heights Medical Center, Chicago, IL, Group Exhibit

1982

Adirondack National Exhibition of American Watercolors, New York, NY

Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Scholarship, Chicago, IL

Midwest Watercolor Society Show, Davenport, IO

Union League Civic and Arts Foundation, Chicago, IL

1981

American Academy of Art Scholarship, Chicago, IL

American Academy of Art Student Exhibition, Sears Tower, Chicago, IL