MY STORY

Rosana S. Halprine

I have been involved with creating art for as long as I can remember.   On a whim, I purchased an artist box which contained oil paints, brushes and linseed oil.  When I realized I had no idea what to do with it I decided to check out a local art gallery in Collingswood, NJ.  The owner of the gallery invited me to join his art classes, and in 1970, I began oil painting.  This lasted several years until I decided to enroll in the fine arts program at Rutgers University at the Camden, NJ campus.  My oil paintings consisted of portrait work, still life and landscapes.  I also became interested in pen and ink drawing and produced several pieces which were published in two different university art publications.  Just three units short of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art, I moved to San Jose, California hoping to complete my final three units which unfortunately did not occur.  I subsequently achieved a Master of Art in Human Resources Management and spent the next 30 years as a college professor teaching business and basic computer science classes.
In 2014 my husband and I retired and moved to Port Charlotte Florida when I decided to return to painting.    I enrolled in several art classes including abstract art where I began experimenting with different media such as alcohol inks and pastels.  For the past several years I have focused much of my pastel paintings on pet portraits which has become an area of expertise and for which I do commission work.
No matter in which medium I am painting, I like to challenge myself and try new things.  I love vibrant colors and discovered that alcohol inks satisfy that love.   When I paint, I am very much interested in color combinations and depicting movement.  When creating pet portraits I love when I am able to capture the animal’s personality through the eyes.  When I can do that, I am happy.       
I have been influenced mostly by the Impressionism Art movement of the late 19th century by artists such as Amedeo Modigliani, Monet and Degas and other artists such as Aubrey Beardsley and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.