Students of Frank Rampolla – Jeb Prazak
1.) What year did you study with Frank Rampolla and what was the title of the class?
My name in school was Julia Brownell. JEB is my initials. I started at Ringling in 1964 and was there for 3 years. My first year I studied drawing in black and white ONLY, with Frank and thereafter painting in oils. I took all the classes with him that were offered.
2.) What do you remember about Frank Rampolla? What sticks out in your memory about him?
There are sooooo many memories of Frank. My first recollection is the drawing class previously mentioned. We used charcoal and crummy newsprint so if there was a decent drawing… which he must not have expected….it would be worthless on that paper. He would set up a still life….no instructions and we would draw. Saying nothing he would walk around the room and every now and then select a drawing to go up on the board….why was that drawing so nice…..well, it was up to you to figure it out by what went up…..thereby engaging the thinking side of your brain….so necessary for critiquing your own work in the future. I feel that was one of the most valuable classes ever taken by me….all art is based on drawing and if you cannot work in black and white then you might as well forget about using color. Thought I’d lose my mind with all that redundancy but best lessons are seldom easy.
3.) How were you influenced by Frank Rampolla’s teachings or his artwork?
The gusto and passion so evident in his work was most contagious. He allowed you every freedom to find your own…never saying you had to do it this way or that way. I recall working on a painting of a man and of course the face became an issue. He’d come along and say, “Oh. He looks like your first boyfriend must have looked.” I’d try again and he’d say something like, “Is that your dad?”….on and on until I realized the viewer would fill in the details…..I didn’t need to put it ALL down. But again, Frank made you figure it out because those lessons are the ones remembered. He was an incredible teacher and to me much more than that. He was my mentor. I recall his face every time I pick up a brush- heart still racing to put down that first stroke!
