Dennis Schmalstig,
Painting and Drawing Instructor

Dennis has been a popular Crealdé instructor since 1992. He teaches fundamental painting and drawing classes and figure painting. An active member of the Central Florida art community, he also serves on the Gallery Committee for the Alice and William Jenkins Gallery. His work has been exhibited at Orlando Museum of Art, Maitland Art Center, Valencia Community College, Union Street Gallery in Chicago and A.C.T. Gallery in Detroit. In addition to teaching at Crealdé, Dennis is an instructor at Valencia Community College and Rollins College.

Artist's Statement
“I began this series of paintings when I became curious about the Biblical roots of my Christian upbringing. I soon realized as I read through the New Testament that each passage could be a rich source of imagery. I decided to thoroughly explore this scripture by making a painting or drawing for each verse, beginning with Matthew and continuing through the Gospels. When doing this work, I try to respect the spirit of the text, try to capture its flavor, but frequently find myself exaggerating and throwing in autobiographical references. In short, the text is simply the starting point for the painting or drawing."