The Artist

ABNER COPE spent thirty years teaching drawing and painting at Central State University in Wilberforce, OH, where he was an Associate Professor in the Art Department. During that time Mr. Cope also taught in the Art Departments of the University of Dayton, and Sinclair Community College, in Dayton, OH, and Clark State University, in Springfield, OH. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree (1980) from Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, with a major in drawing. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree (1974) from Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, where he majored in painting and minored in printmaking.

Mr. Cope has spent many years honing his special talent for imbuing his painted subjects with light. A generous portion of his career has been spent teaching drawing and painting classes and workshops. Abner feels that his thirty-year (1980-2010) university teaching career provided him with an opportunity to devote a tremendous amount of time focusing on how the old masters painted the figure. His services on many boards of museums and arts organizations have provided a great opportunity to explore numerous painting styles and have made him more knowledgeable about various painting approaches and techniques. However, it has been his studies of fifteen years or so, with the renown artist Daniel Greene, of New York, that he credits his introduction to, and his development of  portrait painting skills and techniques. He also credits the accomplished portrait painter, Wende Caporale with furthering his development in that genre.

Abner Cope continues to find many ways to combine his knowledge, understanding, and portrait painting techniques with his teaching experience, which is evident in his portrait painting classes. His fascination with portrait painting is about more than a likeness, although that’s mandatory, it’s also about capturing the life-like spirit of the sitter.

Mr. Cope can be reached at copegallery558 @gmail.com for any inquiries.