Chanit
(pronounced ha-neat), a New-York-based artist for over 25 years, maintains
her studio in Midtown Manhattan. She was born in Czechoslovakia during the
Second World War and came to the United States in 1960 to study film and television,
following a strong impulse for the image — photographic, moving, etc
.
While
a student at New York University and the City College of New York, she met
and married Michael, her husband of 40 years. Family took priority as she
raised her two sons Miles and Aram and her daughter Carmel.
The images awaited their turn, expressed occasionally with snapshots
of the children. Even then, looking through the camera, her wish was there
to see directly and to express without the intermediary camera blocking the
intimacy possible between the seer and the seen . . . the perceiver
and the perceived, the sitter and the portrait painter.
When her
children were in school, Chanit studied drawing with Joseph Hirsh and painting
with Harvey Dinnerstein at the National Academy of Fine Art and Design on
scholarship. By then, Chanit's involvement with painting grew into a passion
for art (especially portraits in oil and watercolor). She also studied with
Robert Phillip at the Art Students League and was privately mentored by Anthony
Toney.
Chanit's
paintings have been shown at galleries such as the National Academy of Fine
Art and Design and the Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton. A show of her diverse work was recently exhibited at the Asman Gallery (NBC News Building) in Washington, D.C. For over 25 years,
she has been a portrait artist in New York City and internationally. Her work
is known for being visually elegant and bold, yet still delicate in style.
Chanit
was a resident artist at Gurney's Inn in Montauk in the summer of 1982 and
taught portraiture at Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, Long Island, New
York the following fall and spring. Her motto — “Portraits
of people, places and favorite things" — extends to include
states of mind, emotional landscapes, and energetic abstracts (derived from
her tumultuous past) to the quiet contemplation of delicate flowers.
Her work is diverse. However, her love of the human face predominates. The
portraits, both in oil and — particularly — in watercolor capture
the unique and essential humanity of her sitters of any age.
“I love to look at people, places and many many things. Every existing
phenomena thrills me, when I really look at it. That is why is art is
so exciting. One looks and translates the thing that exists into a new
reality in paint on a two dimensional surface, hoping to retain the unique
spirit inherent in what is seen.
“Many years ago — when I had a poster and a business card with the logo:
Portraits of people, places and favorite things — two wonderful
sisters, who owned an old barn in East Hampton, were attracted to the idea
and commissioned a portrait of the barn facade since all that was left of
the 200-year-old structure was indeed the facade, with its beautiful patina.
So I painted this Favorite Place in the pre-noon light with just
the right spot of sunshine in front of the tree-shaded place.
“The Greene Sisters enjoyed the painting, which hung in their living
room for many years, until they departed from this earth.
“My
husband had a very neat way of eating half a grapefruit, the membranes
between the eaten section were intact. So one morning as I cleared the
breakfast dishes, I painted a portrait of this visually intriguing
subject. One of my clients saw it and commissioned a painting of half
an eaten cantaloupe since that was her preferred breakfast fruit.
“Oh, I could go on and tell many stories of wonderful paintings of
beloved faces, places and things — a unique whistling teapot, a special
coffee cup, too many to name, but then I do need the time for painting and
not for regaling you with tales. ”
Chanit
has illustrated articles for publications such as New York Magazine
and Parabola Magazine. 
Her
writing endeavors include a chapter in A Way of Working: The Spiritual
Dimension of Craft, a collection of eleven essays exploring the relationship
of art, order and craft. Edited by D. M. Dooling. Published by Parabola Books
http://www.parabola.org/
commerce.php. [Search Parabola under BOOKS section. Original, direct link
— http://www.parabola.org/ books/classics/working.html — no longer
works.]
Chanit's paintings of spontaneous watercolor portraits on the spot are an exciting and popular attraction at galas, fairs, private celebrations, fund-raising functions and special events. 
For six consecutive years she has been painting watercolor portraits at the Annual Chocolate Show, which takes place in New York City during the second weekend of November. Also in November 2004, Chanit conducted a Watercolor Workshop in Soho at the Children's Museum of the Arts. Chanit was a feature at the Rudolf Steiner School fairs for many years while her children were students as well as later as an alumni parent. Marriott Marquis Hotel convention galas are another favorite location. Chanit has been painting portraits in oil and watercolor live, on the spot for many years, starting in front of the Metropolitan Museum, from there to Gurney's Inn in Montauk (as resident artist) and Guild Hall Museum of East Hampton (where she taught portrait painting). She conducts unique painting workshops, relating to her motto: Portraits of people, places, and favorite things.
Having a portrait painted by Chanit is a
fun and enriching an experience. Her delight in painting is fueled by a love
of people and discovering the unique spirit of the sitter of any age.
Portraits painted by Chanit make wonderful gifts and reproduce well for many
uses.