Leo Neufeld

Leo Neufeld

I thought I’d write about a New Mexican artist Leo Neufeld. Leo is considered a classic realist and he has a pretty amazing background.

Leo initially studied art at University of Wisconsin Madison and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Painting and Drawing in 1972.  Leo went on to study at the Art Students League of New York (1976-77, 1977-1981, and 1982-1984).  While at the Art Students League he studied with Ted Seth Jacobs, Harvey Dinnerstein, David Leffel and Daniel Greeneas well as taking private studio classes with Burton Silverman.  Leo served as Class Monitor/ASL for both Ted Seth Jacobs and David Leffel.

Note, all of these pictures are from Leo Neufeld’s website.

Leo teaches at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque, NM.  He has also taught at the Andreeva Portrait Academy and the Valdez Studio, Santa Fe, NM and  the National Academy of Design and the New York Academy of Art in NYC, NY.

I studied with Leo for a year when I lived in Albuquerque, NM.  I found him to be an amazing teacher, he was a

Leo Neufeld

master at accurately rendering the human form with minimal strokes.  I learned a great deal from him.  Leo was my first instructor in oil painting.

He ran his class along the lines of the Art Students League, staggered easels, live models, lively music and everyone happily concentrating on learning to paint. I was always tied after class but I was also invigorated as well.

One of the greatest treats for us, was when Leo would bring in his sketchbooks  and allow the students to browse through them.  My favorite drawings were always the ones Leo made on the New York City subways.

Leo is a fixture on the New Mexico art scene.  He does a variety of live demos.  I remember watching him work at a live draw event at a local art gallery in Albuquerque and it was amazing what he could do in 20 minutes.

If you are interested in learning how to paint or draw (charcoal or pastel) and you live in the Albuquerque area, look up the Harwood Art Center.

The photographs are courtesy of Leo’s website.