Patrick Milbourn started painting at the age of five. Though he has no formal training, Milbourn considers the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which he did not visit until he was in his 20s) and his large collection of magazine illustrations from the 1860s through the 1940s to have been invaluable teaching tools. After moving to New York City from his native Kansas, Milbourn began his career as an artist illustrating for magazines, including the New Yorker, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, and GQ, among other publications.

Earlier this year, Milbourn and his wife Alyson opened the M Gallery on Main Street in Catskill in a storefront beneath his painting studio after a year-long renovation of the space. Their second show, "American Tonalism: Poetically Correct," which closed on November 15, featured portraits and landscapes by Milbourn.

As evidenced by this month's cover image, The Black Shirt, Milbourn is not interested in portraiture as a process of airbrushing for longevity, or rendering beautiful models in bucolic settings; he searches out models with unique features and faces with interesting shapes. Most of the work in the "American Tonalism" show was painted from studies of non-comissioned models; sometimes Milbourn brings people right in off the street to pose for him. (Many of Milbourn's portraits are painted on commission.) "I like faces with character," Milbourn told Catskill Mountain Region Guide in 2002. "If a person has big ears or a lazy eye, I'll put it in. I find that much more interesting than a conventionally pretty person. The models are very important to me. If they're interesting or odd, I know I can create the shapes I need and get more and more excited about what I'm doing."

Milbourn's portraits possess an edgy quality that moves beyond simple mimesis into expressionism. It's no surprise that he counts William Bouguereau and Jean-Auguste Ingres as significant influences. Milbourn has been received recognition for his painting from the National Academy of Art, the Pastel Society of America, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

An exhibition of vintage magazine illustrations curated by Milbourn from his swelling collection, "Social Distinctions: The Have or Have-Nots," will be exhibited at M Gallery, 350 Main Street, in Catskill, December 10 through January 15.  There will be an opening reception on Saturday, December 10, 5 to 7pm. For more information, call (518) 943-0380.