Richard Schmid (b. 1934 in Chicago, IL) is an American realist painter and author. Richard's initial studies in landscape painting, figure drawing, and anatomy began at the age of twelve and continued into classical techniques under William H. Mosby at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Throughout the 2nd half of the 20th Century when representational art was out of vogue, Schmid kept alive the knowledge he received from Mosby and from Mosby's circle of luminaries that included Sargent, Monet, and Degas. Studies with him involved working exclusively from life, at first using the conceptual and technical methods of the Flemish, Dutch, and Spanish masters, and eventually all of the late 19th-century European and American painters. The emphasis in each period was on Alla Prima, or Direct Painting systems of the various periods. However, Richard's individual style and the content of his work developed along personal lines. A gifted teacher himself, Schmid has generously shared this knowledge through his books and through his mentoring of young artists. Richard Schmid is widely viewed as an American Master by his collectors and peers and students. At ceremonies hosted by the American Society of Portrait Artists in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2000, Schmid received the John Singer Sargent Medal for Lifetime Achievement. In May 2005, Schmid received the prestigious gold-medal award from The Portrait Society of America. Additional awards include the Medal of Honor from the prestigious Salmagundi Club of New York City, the $100,000 National Arts for the Parks award, American Watercolor Gold Medal. Schmid is the author of Alla Prima, Everything I Know About Painting, an art instruction book first published in 1998 by Stove Prairie Press, LLC. Stove Prairie Press, LLC is Richard Schmid's independent publishing company. Throughout his career, Richard Schmid has promoted art education through his books, articles, workshops, seminars, and television presentations - from Amzon