Exploring the Portrait Tradition at Preservation Hall

Master artist Paul Schulenburg and Wellfleet oysterman Richard Blakeley to Welcome the Public

If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to meet Paul Schulenburg or Richard Blakeley, men who have mastered intriguing, distinctive career paths, now’s your chance.

Paul Schulenburg and members of the Schulenburg Studio Figure Painting Group will begin painting Wellfleet oysterman Richard Blakeley at 3:00 at WPH. Painting will continue through the start of the reception (a great time to meet with artists and to learn more about their work) at 5:00. This event marks the opening of the month-long exhibition of Schulenburg’s Figure Paintings.

Long before the onset of photography, portraits served to capture a person’s likeness. As well, portraits conveyed power, familial ties, virtue, or other aspects of the subject. Today, portraits continue to portray far more of a person than a photograph. They can speak volumes about an individual’s personality and their life.

“Paul Schulenburg is one of those rare painters who can capture not just what something looks like but what it feels like. . . That alone makes his work a treasure.” —Sebastian Junger, author of A Perfect Storm

It is always interesting to watch a diverse group of painters develop a work from a live model. This congenial group of artists is eager to share their knowledge and will happily answer audience questions. The model for this session, Richard Blakeley, is a popular Wellfleetian integrally tied to the oyster industry. The Schulenburg Figure Painters have created portraits of such recognizable figures as film stars Dermot Mulroney and Alfie Woodward, artists Salvatore Del Deo and Cynthia Packard, and fisherman Keith Rose.

Schulenburg’s work of the Cape’s fishing fleet is collected nationally. Speaking of his passion, Schulenburg said, “One reason I am drawn to painting the fleet because the work is foreign to me. These men and women risk their lives in an unprotected environment. I paint on dry land, working to produce a painting, to capture a tradition.
“We are involved in work that goes back to early days. Humans have long caught fish for nourishment, and they have drawn — in the sand and on cave walls — for pleasure and to communicate. Today, with diminishing fish stocks and AI, our ancient endeavors hang in a precarious balance. I am honored that so many appreciate my commitment to these endeavors.”