ARTIST STATEMENT
Rosemary is a graduate of The Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. The main focus of her work is figurative, portraiture and animal portraiture. She feels a sitter carries their souls desire
in their eyes. The challenge of understanding and expressing that in oil paint is limitless. Seeing beyond the obvious in the eyes of the sitter makes each subject a new and wonderful challenge to explore. While in Italy, the Florence Academy had a wonderful quote that has stayed with Rosemary and is the groundwork of each portrait; “The face is the mirror of the mind. The eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.”
BIOGRAPHY
Her extensive background in several artistic disciplines richly informs the work of Rosemary Mihalyi. Born in 1954 in Toronto, Rosemary began her professional career as a costume designer. For the next twenty-two years she honed her design skills in theatre and film. In 1985 a move to the camera department fine-tuned her compositional and lighting skills. In 1991, with further training in fine arts and architectural drafting, Rosemary completed her years in the film business as a storyboard artist, illustrator and assistant art director.
She trained in Florence, Italy at The Angel Academy of Art, graduating in 2007. Shortly afterwards, two still life paintings were selected for exhibition in “Annigoni’s Legacy” held in London, England. Rosemary’s time is divided between portrait commissions of both people and animals and figurative work for exhibition in 2011. One of the bodies of works in progress is figurative paintings of the talented young violinist, Dr. Draw in performance. She has recently finished a portrait commission of Ken Kirkby, artist and president of The Nile Creek Enhancement Society.
Rosemary’s work is in private collections in Amsterdam, Chicago, Hawaii, Hungary, Italy, Salt Spring Island, Toronto and Vancouver. She is an elected member of Classical Realism Canada and recently an invited and accepted honourary member of The Drawing Society of Canada, and a member of The Portrait Society of Canada.
