Stanka Kordic ~ Abstract/Realist figure painter

Stanka Kordic is an American painter born of Croatian parents. The cultural tradition provided to her by her family armed Kordic with a strong work ethic, and a passion for life that can be seen reflected in her success as a freelance artist. After graduating the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1985, Kordic traveled Europe, taking in as much art as humanly possible - searching for her own voice as a painter.

When she returned to the States, she took up work as an illustrator, and for the next several years, completed projects in editorial art, package design, and book illustration. Seeking greater artistic freedom, she left the commercial art world in 1988 to establish a fine art studio, and began concentrating her efforts on painting the landscape and figure. This led to local recognition, awards and inclusion in several corporate collections throughout the midwest, including the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and Key Bank. Inspired by humanity, she turned to the field of commissioned portraiture in 1998.

Her extensive client list spans the US, and crosses the ocean as well, including sitters from both England and Croatia. Kordic continues to work from life, and her own source materials, as she studies the figure in many different environments, integrating elements of abstraction with realism. She believes in the goal of transcending a likeness to make a portrait a truly great piece of art, and calls her philosophy Alternative Portraiture.

Stanka Kordic shares her love of painting with students at Beaumont School (a Nationally Recognized School of Excellence) in Cleveland Heights, Ohio where she serves as Artist in Residence. This position provides an on-campus studio where she teaches oil painting and portraiture while exemplifying the principles of a Life of Art.