When was Donald Zolan born?

Answer 1

Born on August 11, 1937 and a fifth generation artist, Zolan began drawing at the age of 3, completing his first oil painting by age 8. A graduate of Chicago's American Academy of Art, Zolan began his artistic career apprenticing under the famous Chicago illustrator Haddon Sundblom. Zolan died in 2009.

Donald Zolan's artistry is world renown. Zolan said that most of his ideas come from memories of growing up in the quintessential Norman Rockwell town of Brookfield, IL. He described it as a happy and wonderful childhood and in each of his paintings, he always included some aspect of his childhood experiences.

He started drawing when he was three years old. At age five, he created his first watercolor which he copied from the cover of a favorite Walt Disney comic book. He fondly remembers his Mom thinking he had torn the cover off the book. Zolan came from a family of artists (spanning four generations prior to his). According to Zolan "my parents always supported and encouraged my work throughout my life."

Zolan attended the Chicago Art Institute and the American Academy of Fine Art. He spent most of his time drawing and painting from live models establishing the foundation to interpret the human form. He remembers painting the stages and faces of human life from children to philosophers, rabbis, and artisans. He said "it is very fulfilling for me to capture children discovering the precious gifts of life for the first time with sheer joy, wonder and innocence, and on the other end of life's spectrum to portray philosophers writing what they have learned from their life."

By the time he opened his first gallery, portrait commissions and his paintings of Rabbis, children and Native Americans were the most sought after works. According to Zolan, "after painting a wide array of subjects, my first love is still children."

Answer 2

Donald Zelen Jr was born on December 31, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.