wisconsin – ultrawolvesunderthefullmoon

Zack Zdrale, “Conversation”, Oil on Canvas, 2011

Zack Zdrale is from Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a BA of Science-Art degree in 1999. Upon graduation, he continued to study life drawing with Robert L. Schultz. His training culminated in a Master’s degree in figurative painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He graduated with honors and now teaches in the graduate Fine Art department.

Zdrale focuses primarily on the human figure, conveying a wide variety of attitudes and emotions through the pose of the body and facial expression. His palette is subdued and moody, and his figures are painted in accurate tones against dark, dramatic backgrounds. Zdrale is a master of light and shadow, and he utilizes its interplay on the figure to great effect.

Andrea Rich, “Thistle”, 2001, Woodcut on Hosho Paper, 50.8 x 60.1 cm, Edition: 4/30; Collection of Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin

Since 1980, internationally recognized woodcut printmaker and artist Andrea Rich has traveled the world observing wildlife in their natural habitat. Madagascar, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Africa and Europe are some of the places outside North America that she has visited in search of interesting subjects. She then designs her drawing based upon personal observations in the field, carves and hand-pulls prints in her studio in Santa Cruz California.

A typical print requires ten to twenty blocks. Working in the studio full time, a print could take two or three weeks to design and carve the blocks, and another two weeks to press as many as 20 colors on each print. Editions of her work generally number 30 or less.