Our Instructors

  Bill Graf is an art instructor at The Atelier of Flowerfield, The Art League of Long Island & The National Art League where he teaches both oil and watercolor classes in landscape, still life, portrait painting and drawing. 

He also conducts private & group sessions as well as portrait & figure drawing workshops from his Fine Art Studio in Huntington NY & his Farmingdale NY locations.

Bill has become an international art instructor conducting plein air workshops in both oil & watercolor painting with his students from the hills & towns of Tuscany to the dramatic coast of Maine as well as here on Long Island. 

With the COVID-19 circumstances, he has made a successful transition to teaching all of his classes both private & group from the online platform Zoom. With his photoshop skills, he has integrated a teaching method process which includes live & video instruction. 

Beginning with the Arts Student League in NYC, Bill completed his studies in Florence, Italy at the Cecil Graves Academy & went on to become an illustrator with book publishing accounts like Harlequin, Thomas Nelson and Bethany House, earning him the Christy Award for best Christian book cover design & illustration. Recipient of the Frank J. Reilly Scholarship Award.

His diverse painting skills in watercolor & oil have made him an award-winning artist in the International Richeson75 Portrait/Figure & The Small Works 2019 Painting Exhibits. His latest painting “Orange” won Best in Show which was proceeded by being sold at The Atelier of Flowerfield Art Gallery in St James.

His work has been published in two Richeson75 Hardcover and online Books. He was featured http://tbrnewsmedia.com/artist-of-the-month-william-graf/. 

One of his noteworthy commissions was for a mural depicting a scene of President Theodore Roosevelt’s children in the White House, which was painted to be displayed in the Museum of American History.

Recipient of numerous awards from the International Miniature Portrait Show of Montreal, the NYC Students Art League Figure Drawing 1st Prize for figure drawing, Huntington NY Arts Council for Best in Show for Portraiture & Honorable Mentions, NY Nassau County Art Leagues 1st Prize for figure painting 1st prize for still life. 

The Best in Show awards for Small Works in the Richeson75 International Exhibit, The Gold medal Award at The National Art League 88th Annual Juried Open Exhibit & a merit award at 89th Annual Juried Open Exhibit. 

In 2019 Bill Graf has had multiple Shows ranging from 2019 Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors, several Art League of Long Island Instructor’s Exhibition(s)The Atelier of Flowerfield, The 39th Setauket Artists, Exhibition, The Deepwell Mansion Spring Exhibition, The National Art League & the Barnes Gallery.

Learn more about Bill

and see his artwork at: https://www.williamgraffineart.com/ 

  Tyler Hughes is an interdisciplinary visual artist and representational oil painter residing in Patchogue, New York. 

He attended the State University of New York at New Paltz for four years, earning a Bachelor of Science in Visual Arts in 2015.

He has been training classically, being heavily influenced by tenebrists such as Caravaggio and Ribera, and naturalists from the Renaissance to Sargent, bringing traditional techniques into contemporary settings.

Tyler’s work centers around the figure as a representation of sensitivity, energy, and emotion. 

His quick, expressive marks convey a sense of embodiment that draws the viewer into an ephemeral moment of time. He is captivated by the way in which the figure moves and how it can be abstracted while still holding weight in its forms.

In 2016, he became a teaching assistant at The Atelier at Flowerfield, and has since begun teaching classes of his own. 

 Learn more about Tyler

and see his artwork at: 

 http://www.tylerhughesart.com

James Beihl has been illustrating professionally since 2011. In 2011 he graduated from Pratt Institute BFA program in Communications Design, and has been a regular guest at New York Comic Con, one of the biggest comic conventions in North America and has seen several books published in both print and web. 

James has in the past worked on several projects that are both comic and concept art related, one of which was in collaboration with Halo and Star Wars author Karen Traviss. 

James is also a member of the Glasshouse Graphics Talent Agency, whose stable includes many Marvel and DC creators. 

Before doing Illustration full time James worked for Victoria's Secret Pink as a graphic designer and cites this experience as helping inform the way he approaches designing pages. 

Since James was very young he fell in love with comics as a medium, because of the creative freedom that comics offered as well as the way they provoked the imagination.

Learn more about James 

and see his artwork at:

 https://mmajames.artstation.com

After 34 years as an administrative assistant in the financial services industry, Linda left the hectic business world and began pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a freelance artist and art instructor. 

Linda has been studying classical art since June 2017 at the Atelier at Flowerfield under the direction of her teacher and mentor, William Graf, who has helped Linda hone her skills in drawing and painting.

To cover the costs of her art school tuitions, she has created a successful pet portrait business.

Her paintings have been featured at The Long Island Museum, Stony Brook, Gold Coast Bank, East Setauket and Mills Pond Gallery, St. James where her painting, The Waiting, won Second Place in the Time Juried Fine Art Exhibition in May 2019.

Learn more about Linda 

and see her artwork at:

 https://badharedaydesigns.com

Christian White was born in Rome, Italy in 1953, while his father, sculptor Robert White, was on a Prix de Rome fellowship at The American Academy in Rome. He grew up in a family of artists studying drawing, painting and sculpture from a very young age. 

He began taking life drawing at Stony Brook University at age 10. He studied welding, stained glass and mosaics in Holland at age 13. He began studying painting in 1966 with Paul Russotto before attending Liceo Artistico in Rome, Italy in 1968-69. 

Christian has a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. He had his first solo exhibition in 1975 at The Harbor Gallery in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. 

His first solo show in Manhattan was at The Steven Adams Gallery in the East Village in 1986, followed by shows at Ingber Gallery, The Garrison Art Center and The Great American Salvage Company. 

He has had yearly one-man shows at Gallery North, in Setauket, Long Island, since 1983. Mr. White's work has been reviewed many times in the New York Times, as well as in many other newspapers and magazines articles. His work is included in many public and private collections.

Learn more about Christian

and see his artwork at:

www.christianwhitestudio.com

 Anthony Davis is a contemporary realist oil/pastel artist.  

Born and raised on Long Island, he learned of his artistic ability early in life, though it was only after a long career in health care that his desire to pursue art blossomed.  Almost immediately he discovered his preferred subject matter: water, whether it be the ocean or coastal scenery.  He took workshops with notable painters and found great inspiration from the likes of Donald Demers, Christopher Blossom and Clyde Aspevig.  

Immersing himself in painting from life, he came to understand that truth in recreating the landscape exists only outdoors.  Over the years his work has evolved to be more tonalist in quality, though he remains dedicated to the scene in front of him. 

Anthony is a Signature member of the American Society of Marine Artists and Artist member of both the Salmagundi Club and Lyme Art Association.  

His artwork has been shown in museum exhibitions across the country and in numerous plein air events.  He won Best in Show at Northport’s 3rd Annual Plein Air Event, and has garnered entrance into Plein Air Easton, the country’s largest Plein Air Competition, in 2011.  

His work has been featured on the cover of Pastel Journal and in International Artist, and his paintings have won many awards.  

Over the years, Anthony has taught his approach to coastal/seascape painting across the country, and has given numerous demonstrations.  He is represented by galleries on Long Island, New York and in Connecticut.  

Learn more about Anthony

and see his artwork at

 https://www.anthonysgallery.com

 Jane is a Signature Member/Master Pastelist, Pastel Society of America and a Master Circle Recipient, International Association of Pastel Societies. 

Jane was chosen as “Member of the Year” by the Catharine Lorrilard Wolfe Art Club in 2019, at their Annual Juried Show held at the National Arts Club, NYC. She was on the cover, Plein Air Magazine, with 5 page article, Oct/Nov, 2017. 

She is included in “Pure Pastel” a nationally published book about pastels released in 2019. In 2014 and 2015, she was invited to be a demonstrator and a field artist at the Plein Air Convention held in Monterey, CA, hosted by Plein Air Magazine. 

Jane’s artwork has been featured on the cover of the 2013 December issue of The Pastel Journal along with an 8 page article.

She was featured Artist December 2017: Huntington Times News, NY.

Jane is a resident artist in the Salmagundi Art Club, New York, NY and is on the Board of Directors for The Catharine Lorillardn Wolfe Art Club. 

She is a former instructor at The Teaching Studios of Art in Oyster Bay, NY and teaches presently at her home in East Northport, NY.

Learn more about Jane 

and see her artwork at:

 https://www.janemcgraw-teubner.com

Randall is an American artist whose formal art training began in illustration at the High School of Art & Design in NYC.  His transition to fine art soon followed at the Art Students League of NY.

After obtaining his BA in Art History at Buffalo State College, he resumed his studio art training at the Stevenson Academy of Fine Arts in Oyster Bay, NY, under the late master Attila Hejja.  After Attila's passing in 2007, Randall studied at the LI Academy of Fine Art in Riverhead, NY, under master draftsman and painter Robert Armetta.  He then worked briefly as an animator and as an Autodesk Maya instructor in the 3D digital art industry.  Randall earned his MFA in Drawing from the NY Academy of Art in 2012.

Randall's career as a commercial artist has been diverse, ranging from mechanical drafting, signage & media display, book illustration, yacht design, 3D animation and large scale projection mapping.  His is presently the creative director & principal artist of Phi-nimation Studios, LLC.  Still, his true passion has always been in fine art and teaching classical art technique. 

His drawings, paintings and watercolors have exhibited in and sold in numerous galleries throughout the Tri-State area and the Florida Keys.  His fine artwork has sold at auction at a variey of venues, including Sotheby's.  His paintings and drawing are commissioned and owned by high-profile collectors.

He instructs & lectures on linear perspective & artistic anatomy at the NY Academy of Art and the LI Academy of Fine Art.

Randall's workshop is on the Eastern Long Island's South Shore, where he resides, paints, draws, designs, builds, fishes, surfs and stargazes with his lovely wife, Barbara & their rough collie, Scully and their cat, Spats.

Learn more about Randall

and see his artwork at:

 https://www.randalleum.com

Liz Fusco is an award-winning, Long Island artist and has been painting and drawing for most of her life. Liz began painting in oils and her subjects were typically landscape and nature scenes. She loves plein-air painting in oil and watercolor.

Being an avid gardener and lover of plants and flowers, Liz had always wanted to learn the skill of Botanical Illustration. After completing a three-year long process at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, New York, Liz added Certified Botanical Illustration to her other education credentials.

A nature lover, Liz enjoys painting "flower portraits"and butterflies in watercolor, using the many specimens in her own garden as her subjects. She works either outside in her garden or home studio in Kings Park, New York. 

Liz teaches watercolor workshops throughout Long Island. 

Awards: Roth Award for Distinction in Botanical Illustration, Filoli Gardens, San Francisco, 2017

Honorable Mention Award: Art League of Long Island, New York, 2019

Dorothy Fortuna has a Masters in Education and a Masters in Social Work from Stony Brook University, as well as a Bachelor's of Arts in Child Study from St. Joseph's College in New York. 

She has worked as an Art Educator for different school districts such as Sachem, Patchogue, USDAN Center for the Performing Arts, and Three Village, teaching grades K-12. She then switched careers as a Social Worker for a number of years through different agencies while still pursing her passion for the arts by taking several art classes. 

For the last few years Dorothy has been working in pastel as well as other mediums, and showcased her work in Galleries and Museums. 

She continually enjoys sparking the creative spirit with her students.

Robert J Gowdie is an illustrator, modelmaker, and photographer. He has worked in a number of fields as a commercial artist and graphic designer.

 Learning is a passion for RJ, and he is also a student of history. He studied at the Fashion institute of technology with famed airbrush artist Radu Vero. RJ’s air brushing skills led him to the Power of Ten exhibit. This stunning display received the praise of many astronomers including Carl Sagan. 

He designed and oversaw the manufacture of a number of projects for clients like Palmolive, VH1, Disney and the Museum of Science in Boston. RJ was one of several project managers at Rathe productions during the construction of Expo 1998 in Lisbon. In 2007 RJ worked as a storyboard artist for HBO’s The Pacific. In 2017 RJ created his first graphic novel. Most of his interests today are in sharpening his skills in 3D programs like SketchUp and ZBrush. 

RJ loves the outdoors and enjoys spending time in his garden. He is an avid fisherman.

Noted sculptor Gwen Marcus has exhibited throughout the United States and Europe. Her work is included in many important collections worldwide. Critics have praised Marcus for her sensitivity and comprehension of the human form. Marcus has received many honors and commissions, among them the highly regarded Gold Medal of Honor from the Allied Artists of America. In addition, she was awarded the Gold Medal of Honor, Audubon Artist, Inc, as well as The Hudson Valley Art Association Gold Medal. She is (a four-time recipient) of the Gold Medal of Honor from the American Professional League and has received the Centennial Medal of Honor and (two-time recipient) of the Gold medal of Honor from The Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.Marcus is a fellow and served on the board of the National Sculpture Society.

Her education expanded in New York University, Rhode Island School of Design, Art Students League, National Academy of Design.Studied privately with: Clemente Spampinato, Bruno Lucchesi, Edgar Whitney and Isaac Soyer
Gwen has several of her pieces in Museums and Public Collections such as:

• Stamford Hospital, Stamford, Connecticut      ('Hatti')
• Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina      ('Bather')
• Lifetime Entertainment Network Corporate      Offices, New York ('Hatti')
• Chi Mei Museum, Taiwan ('Serenity',      'Bather', 'Raincatcher', 'The Catch' and additional other works)
• Champs Hill, West Sussex, England      ('Serenity, 'Bather', Raincatcher','Hatti', and additional other works)
• First National Bank, Missouri, USA      ('Raincatcher', 'The Catch', 'Hatti' and additional other works)
• Braves Baseball Field, Curtis Walker Park,      Conway, Arkansas ('The Catch')
• Long Island Museum of American Art,       A Smithsonian Institute Affiliate      Stony Brook, NY ('The Tempest')
• The David A Straz Jr., Performing Arts      Center, Tampa, Florida
• Cape Cod Museum of Art, Cape Cod,      Massachusetts (The Tempest)
• Firebirds Baseball Field, Eldredge Park,      Massachusetts (The Catch)

Gwen's education led her to develop roles in lectures/teaching positions in places like

• Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina:      Lecture, Masterclass Workshop       'Modeling the Graceful Figure',       Artist in Residence 2012
• Scottsdale Artists' School, Arizona:      Sculpture Workshop 'Capturing Beauty in Clay'
• National Cheng Kung University Art Center,      Taiwan: Lecture
• Long Island Museum of American Art,      A Smithsonian Institute Affiliate      Stony Brook, NY: Lecture
• Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina:      Lecture, Masterclass Workshop "Modeling the Female Figure",      Artist in Residence, Exhibition, 2019

Learn More about Gwen Markus www.gwenmarcus.com. 

Mel Pekarsky is an American artist best known for his paintings and drawings of the desert, and is recognized by art critic Donald Kuspit  as "one of the most significant contemporary landscape artists."  Pekarsky's work has been shown by the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Fogg Museum of Art at Harvard University, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Butler Institute of American Art among many other venues. He studied painting, art history and theory at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University, earning both his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Northwestern. He taught at Northwestern, Kendall College, the School of Visual Arts, and New York University before coming to Stony Brook, where he has served the Department of Art as Chair, Studio Programs Director, and MFA Director. He was a founding member of City Walls, Inc., an artist-run public art corporation that evolved into New York's Public Art Fund.
He has long been engaged with environmental issues, and designed the posters for the first Earth Day. His work has been shown in the United States and abroad, and his paintings, drawings, prints and artist’s books, ranging from wall to pocket-size, are included in many public, private and corporate collections. For over five decades, Pekarsky’s work has focused on images of the desert as icons of the earth's fragility, and on the tense and provocative relationship between abstraction and representation.  
Mel graciously donated one of his pieces "Dry Season" to The Atelier, and is currently on display in the gallery.