Blovits, Larry (John) 1936-

PERSONAL: Born October 19, 1936, in Detroit, MI; son of George Edward and Audrey (Codde) Blovits; married Jean Curtis (marriage ended); married Joyce Elaine Dreyer, November 17, 1978 (divorced); married Linda Jeanne Felde, February 14, 1997; children: (first marriage) Laurie, Lisa, Jay, Jack, Greg. Education: Wayne State University, B.F.A., 1964, M.F.A., 1966. Has also studied with Aaron Shikler, Daniel Greene, and Richard Whitney, and at the National Portrait Seminar.

ADDRESSES: Home—1835 Luce St. SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49544-8916. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: U.S. Postal Service, Royal Oak, MI, postal worker, 1958-64; Northern Michigan University, Marquette, instructor in art, 1966-67; Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI, professor of art, 1967-93, artist and visiting arts advisor and teacher, 1993-. Visiting artist, Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, MI, 1972; visual arts advisor, Michigan Council on the Arts, 1976-81; member of artist-in-the-schools program, 1977-81; visiting professor of art at public schools and colleges in Michigan, including Montcalm Community College, 1982-83, and Michigan Technical University, 1989. Featured cover artist, Pastel Interpretations, North Light Books, 1993. Exhibitions: Grand Rapids Art Museum, 1977; Knickerbocker Artists, 1983; City Art Gallery, Grand Rapids, 1984; Arnold Klein Gallery, 1985 and 1988; Aquinas College, 1986; Societé Pastellistes de France International Exhibition, Lille, France, 1987; Muskegon Museum of Art, 1988. Military service: U.S. Army, 1954-57.

MEMBER: Pastel Society of America, American Portrait Society, Oil Pastel Association, American Society of Portrait Artists, Midwest Pastel Society, Kansas Pastel Society, Knickerbocker Artists, Salmagundi Club.

AWARDS, HONORS: Grants from Michigan Council on the Arts, 1980 and 1983, National Endowment for the Arts, 1983, and Aquinas College, 1988; named Master Pastelist, 1993.

WRITINGS:

(And featured artist) Pastel Landscape: Technique and Procedure (instructional video), 1991.

Pastel for the Serious Beginner: Basic Lessons in Becoming a Good Painter, Watson-Guptill (New York, NY), 1997.

No Experience Required: Sketching and Drawing, North Light Books (Cincinnati, OH), 2004.

Contributor of artwork to The Best of Flower Painting, North Light Books (Cincinnati, OH), 1997.

SIDELIGHTS: Larry Blovits is a nationally recognized master pastel artist and portraitist who has exhibited his art work and has taught painting and pastel techniques through workshops, videos, and books. Blovits's books Pastel for the Serious Beginner: Basic Lessons in Becoming a Good Painter and No Experience Required: Sketching and Drawing provide step-by-step instructions based on fundamental techniques used for centuries by notable artists. "There are a handful of master pastel teachers around the country, and Blovits is one of them," a reviewer noted in American Artist. The reviewer further commended Blovits for his ability to explain artistic techniques "briefly and clearly."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Artist, May, 1997, review of Pastel for the Serious Beginner: Basic Lessons in Becoming a Good Painter, p. 88.

Booklist, October 1, 2004, Whitney Scott, review of No Experience Required: Sketching and Drawing, p. 291.