Jim Wright is the president of the Pastel Society of America right now (2019). If you want to belong to a prestige pastel society whose president is professional and is always there to help all the PSA members with with any problems with sympathetic understanding, I would suggest that you go somewhere else.

I have done intense research on this idiot and I have found that he really doesn’t care about you or anyone as long as he and his limited amount friends are in control and do exactly what they want. This includes governing over this society with an iron fist…..kind of like Hitler in Nazi Germany.

As an example, when his failed annual exhibit rolls around, he has three members as the election committee and always makes himself the Chairman. This is so he can have control and final say as to just who gets selected for his shows. If there are artists he is jealous of or, just doesn’t like for whatever reason, he will destroy that artist’s entry form so he or she will never be selected. Many artist judges in the past have told me so. This happens more than you think! Great artists are omitted from some of these shows only because Wright doesn’t like them or, he is jealous of their talent…better than he is!. 

Just recently, Wright would not allow a very talented artist into the show because he hates this guy. Why, because Wright is jealous of him! As the story goes, the artist was accused falsely of an allegation a few years back and Wright, after being presented with proof of the artist’s innocence by an attorney, he refused to reinstate the artist back into the PSA with a Master-Pastelist title. Why would that happen. I would think that a president would love to help a fellow member with any problem. Not this guy!  This is part of what Wright is involved with. He lies and cheats and has no desire to help a member out when it is greatly needed. 

This used to be one of the premier art societies in America. With Rae Smith who followed Wright as their president, the PSA started to go down. Both she and Wright are very good friends so, the corruption kept going when Jim Wright took over. This society is now looked on as being a failed organization full of crime and misdeeds.

Besides being on the PSA Selection committee for their shows every year, they constantly get Award Judges who know nothing about what great art looks like. All the wrong artists keep getting all the high awards when they shouldn’t have gotten anything. This is the presidents obligation to get the best judges he can for the annual shows, Wright obviously doesn’t do that. After all, when all you paint are portraits of yourself and goofy flower paintings like Wright does, you really don’t have the ability to understand that a judge must have expertise in all subjects and genre. Wright can only paint two subjects and in only one medium so, he’s more of a Sunday painter than anything else….not a real fine artist!

If you are looking for a pastel society to join, you would be better served joining your state’s society or, one that has a reputable president and officers. There are many out there so please overlook the Pastel Society of America until a better president comes along. You’ll be glad you did! As of now, there is so much crime and corruption in the PSA, it reminds one of the Mafia. It’s very sad to see this happen. I took a survey and I found that all artists (pastel and watercolor) think that Jim Wright is the worst president in a fine art society in America.

I once copied another artist’s painting and then, won the Best in Show for it in my own PSA exhibition….favoritism! You can see this and read about it on a site called “overratedartistshome.wordpress.com.” Read the article below.

As you look at my paintings, you can see that I paint so bad that it appears to have been done by an amateur who only paints on the weekend. If you would like to see what I mean, go to the site named “overratedartistshome.wordpress.com.” Read the article below.

Years ago, I thought it would save a lot of time if I took the technique and vision of the great master Andrew Wyeth. I got away with it because I am black….everyone is afraid to criticize me for fear of being called “racist!” You can read more about this in an article on me below!

When I paint, my work looks very amateurish and I can’t paint with pastel. You can see this on a site called “overratedartistshome.wordpress.com.” Read the article below.

I can only use one medium when I paint and I am not versatile. You can see my work at a site called “overratedartistshome.wordpress.com.” Read the article below.

When I paint, I have no depth of field and I can’t draw. You can see what I mean at a site called “overratedartistshome.wordpress.com.”

I’m a horrible watercolor artist and I even stole money from a AWS member and didn’t give it back. You can read all about it on my site called “overratedartistshome.wordpress.com.” Read the article below.

For many years, I noticed and watched all the credit given to some artists when I felt they didn’t deserve it. The artists were way over-rated and given notoriety simply because of politics, they were friends with a lot of people, and or, they were African Americans who received awards only because of their race…..political correctness!

I also witnessed the crimes, corruption and politics from many of the larger fine art societies in America. The most surprising thing to me was that nobody said anything out of fear. Therefore, for about three years now, I have been calling and emailing many artists from around the country asking them to give me their opinion of art society corruption and artists who are overrated and simply a pain in the ass! With that information, I put this blog together.

Please keep in mind that what is discussed in this blog is just not my opinion but, mostly the consensus of some of the most prominent artists painting today. The information about certain artists and art societies was given to me and double checked to make sure the accusations were true. Along with that, I took the opportunity to critique some of the paintings of the artists who were picked out as being the most overrated in order to teach beginners how to paint much better in the future. I then exercised my First Amendment right to free speech and wrote this blog with all my findings from the artists I interviewed!

All that is analyzed on this blog is true and has been verified several times. Crimes and politics in the larger societies is mentioned and brought to light. It seems that there is a lot of corruption behind the scenes of some or the biggest most notable art societies in the country such as the American Watercolor Society and the Pastel Society of America. They are probably the most corrupt! Also, the people listed on this blog are some of the most disliked and overvalued artists in America.   

This failed crumbling society was founded by a woman named Flora Giffuni in 1972 and she was it’s first president. Those were the glory days when everything was the way a respected professional society should be run. As far as everyone knew, there was no thing as favoritism and politics being played behind the scenes as there is today. I wanted to be a member because it would be prestigious and look good on my bio. I improved as an artist so much that I started to enter my paintings into their exhibitions. Finally, I started to win awards. I won enough to be selected as a member. That was one happy day for me. The worst was yet to come!

Then, Ms. Guffuni passed away and a new presidents came in and took control. That was time that things started to change drastically. Strange shenanigans were going on behind the scenes. It was then that I also began to notice odd things happening during all the PSA shows. Artists who were absolutely horrible got their atrocious paintings in some of the shows. Why…as it turned out, they knew the judges and as friends, those very same judges accepted their work. Yes folks….this goes on even today in all fine art society shows across America. Artists who had no business being in the PSA shows also sometimes won awards! If you don’t believe that all this is going on , you’re terribly naive!

As the years went by, I became so disillusioned and frustrated by all this corruption that I gave up entering paintings into their exhibitions. The same thing is also happening in the American Watercolor Society so, I stopped showing work there too. All the politics, along with the president the PSA has now (Jim Wright), turned me off to their whole organization. Mr. Wright is a very odd looking character who really brought a lot of unprofessionalism and crime to the PSA. I have talked to many pastel artists who wish that he would resign his post.

I talked to several people about a very strange thing that Mr. Wright did as president of the PSA. It is well known that he once got rid of a famous artist by an accusation of plagiarism that was proven to be false by the artist’s attorney. Wright refused to give the artist his membership back and looked for another reason to “keep things the way they were!” Why would he do that? Don’t you think a more professional artist would try to help a member falsely accused of something back into the society…I would!!!!! It that wasn’t bad enough Mr.Wright then sent the artist a cartoon that he created making fun of this artist’s situation. There is something else going on here that we all don’t know about! This is way beyond being professional and doing what’s correct, which makes me think that Wright has jealousy issues with the artist.Why else would he act as if he were an immature schoolboy? Is this the kind of person the PSA really wants to head their society? I guess so!! It’s time to get rid of him and get someone you can have respect for!

Aside from all the corruption going on there now, the biggest joke and embarrassment is what they call the Hall of Fame Honoree. When this prestigious list began years ago, it selected  artists like Cassatt, Daniel Greene, William Merritt cause, Ramon Kelley, Albert Handell, Burton Silverman and Harvey Dinnerstein. It wasn’t until 2000 when Duane Wakeham was added to the list that it all started to go downhill. Now their are some of the worst and over-rated pastel artists in the country on that list, such as Alan Fattmann Sally Strand, Richard McKinley, Bill Creevy, Don Slapo, Rae Smith and Rhonda Yanow. Most of these people were accepted only because they knew the president well and kissed his or her asses. That all started with Mr. Wakeham! Today, it is a joke and a big embarrassment to all the great masters that deserved to be on that list in the beginning!!!! Tody, it’s looks as if the PSA is settling for just anyone because they have to have an Honoree every year for their exhibition. This prestigious list is now not that glamorous or prestigious to be associated with!

If you are a beginner painting with pastel, I would not enter any of their shows and wait for several years…whenever Jim Wright leaves to become a member. Right now the Pastel Society of America is a failed society full of corruption and crimes. I would seriously look for another pastel society to join!!!!