Threshold by Kenny Harris  54×48″  Oil

Kenny Harris. He is one well-traveled artist! Kenny has had the opportunity to study at some pretty amazing places. His website shows his paintings grouped by area. It fascinating to see the different locations, having never been there. You will notice a great sense of light and shadow in his paintings, which make them really come alive.

This painting, Threshold is from the China series. I love the blue going up the stairway and the view into the next room. Look at how the floor shows the light, amazing!

Istanbul Balcony by Kenny Harris  8×6″  Oil

Is this a stunning painting or what? Just look at the light on these floors. Check out the wonderful view (I would like to be here right now!), and that little pop of red that brings this all together and makes you say… WOW!

Read a bit about Kenny, from his website:

Kenny Harris was born in 1974 and is currently living and painting in Venice, CA.

Raised in the SF Bay Area, he received his B.A. in Fine Art from Colorado College in Colorado Springs. During his junior year abroad, he studied in Florence, Italy, immersing himself in Renaissance Art History, and classical figure drawing at the atelier of Charles Cecil. After living and painting in San Francisco, he moved to New York, where he studied under Frank Mason at Art Students’ League.

In the spring of 2001 he left New York for Central America, painting through Honduras, Guatemala and the Yucatan. He then landed in Venice Beach, where he has been ever since. Travel has continued to influence his painting; his experiences around the world inspiring bodies of work. Central and South America, Europe, Cuba, Istanbul and China have been recent subjects. He also draws inspiration from his environs in Venice, California.

Kenny combines his classical training with the energetic, gestural use of line and color from the latter half of the 20th century. His oils walk the line between calm, naturalistic light studies and boldly defined color fields, with brilliant light and reflections. They define a place and a mood, charging spaces and cityscapes with personality and resonance.

From 2002-12 he has participated as an exhibitor in the prestigious Venice Art Walk. He exhibits on both coasts, and teaches undergraduate and graduate level painting at Laguna College of Art and Design.

He currently shows at Koplin Del Rio in Culver City and George Billis in New York.

All images via Kenny-Harris.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Islanders Breakfast by Tina Ingraham  20×24″ Oil

Tina Ingraham. A unique style with soft brushstrokes, wonderful color palette, and charming subject matter. Tina also mentors (coaches) students, so if you’re interested, be sure to check out her website.

The Islanders Breakfast. Lovely painting. Happy colors. There is depth to Tina’s paintings and it really makes them stand out! Nice soft edges and fabulous light in this painting!

Open Door II by Tina Ingraham  12×18″  Oil

Another wonderful painting (It wasn’t easy to pick two images!) – I love the light on this building and all the layers underneath. Fabulous! Tina leaves out the details which makes the overall painting so much stronger. The sky, clouds and utility pole just add more charm. Both of these paintings are available at Sylvan Gallery in Wiscasset, Maine!

Read a bit about Carol from the Sylvan Gallery Website:

Tina Ingraham was born in Kenton, Ohio and received her Bachelor of Science in Design from the University of Cincinnati and MFA in Painting from Brooklyn College of CUNY where she received a Graduate Teaching Fellowship and The Charles G. Shaw Memorial Award for Scholarship and Art. As a life-long painter she has painted professionally for thirty-eight years, while incorporating periods of teaching at Bowdoin College and Maine College of Art in Maine, International School of Art in Italy, Stephens College in Missouri, and Brooklyn College, City University of New York. She now mentors painters privately by coaching artists, and teaching her originally designed process of building a painting and teaching color theory in paint: “It’s on the Palette.” Ms. Ingraham received a Fellowship from The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation in 1999, followed by a grant from The Pollock-Krasner Foundation for research in Painting. She was the recipient of The Sally and Milton Avery Fellowship in 1998 which funded her two-month residence at MacDowell Colony prior to her Guggenheim Fellowship year in Italy. While living and working in Italy from 1999 to 2002, she exhibited one-person shows of her still life, figure and landscape paintings in Germany, Italy and New York City and participated in an exhibition with the Association of Munich and German Artists at Haus der Kunst, in Munich. Ms. Ingraham relocated to the United States in 2003 and resides and works from her studios in Bath, Maine. Ms. Ingraham’s paintings hang internationally in private and public collections, including the portrait of Joshua Chamberlain commissioned by Bowdoin College. 

Images via TinaIngraham.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Galilee by Bo Bartlett  88×120″  oil/linen

Galilee, just another of Bo Bartlett’s masterpieces! Bo grew up drawing (in Columbus, GA), and his paintings have become iconic. Once you see them, you’ll know why. Each one is stunning. Each masterfully tells a story. You can tell with a quick glimpse that these paintings are different, in an out-of-this-world way. I love the stories they tell! Be sure to check out Bo’s website, there is so much wonderful reading and great videos to watch – you will be floored!

DO NOT MISS the Videos, they are outstanding. Bo and his family are just so very interesting.

Bo’s Messages come straight from the heart, and I think he has such a wonderful attitude about life and all that goes with it. Do not miss these! There is so much more, just spend some time on his website. These paintings are stunning! We’ve seen his work in person at Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland, Maine, and WOW. You can look at them forever! I have to agree with Bo… It’s a magic world, and I think his paintings add that magic!

Read a bit about Bo, from his website:

All images via BoBarlett.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Morning Deliveries by Cathleen Windham  12 x 9″ Oil

I love how Cathleen chose such an everyday scene to paint. Most of us wouldn’t think much about painting a delivery area full of trash cans, old trucks and buildings… BUT just look at the interest that there is. Those trash cans are so cool, as is the dumpster. The yellow on the side wall guides your eye to it, and (to me) that subtle mark at the top right brings your eye towards the upper center where the various lines take it across, down to the trashcans, and back up again. I love the bright strokes in the truck window. Very nice!

Read a bit about Cathleen, from her website:

Cathleen Windham is an American artist who works in oils. Windham’s paintings are characterized by the use of every day scenes and settings in an atmosphere where recognition plays an important role. By addressing daily life as subject matter, every day objects undergo transubstantiation. 

In search for new methods to “read the city”, she seduces the viewer into a world of ongoing equilibrium and the interval that articulates the stream of daily events. Her works are an investigation into representations of (seemingly) concrete ages, often providing a backdrop to recapture an abandoned memory. 

Through her interpretation, Windham’s nocturnes in particular evoke a sensation of mystery within a familiar theater. Composed principally in plein-air, these portraits of refulgent light in contradiction against the piceous ambiance of the dark, entice the viewer towards palpitation of intimacy and immense intrigue. Cathleen Windham currently lives and works in Nashville, TN.

All images via WindhamStudio.net, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Leaf Catchers by Beverly Ford Evans  Oil  18×24″

A striking painting indeed! I love the pop of color from the sky reflection as well as the color of the leaves. Nice movement in the water and reflections. Very nice!

Beverly has some shows coming up this year and next, so be sure to check it out!

Read a bit about Beverly from her website, check out her other paintings as well!:

Beverly is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. As a child she was drawn to the beauty that surrounded her. Encouraged by her parents, she began drawing and painting. As and adult Beverly has become a prolific artist. She has studied with accomplished artist Roger Dale Brown, OPA, Dawn Whitelaw, Paula Frizbe and Jeremy Lipking.

What inspired Beverly to return to her love of painting, after a carrier in interior design, was the beauty of her home state. Tennessee is abundant in natural beauty and history. Beverly captures its essence and shares it through her paintings. She also loves to pack her paints and travel to other parts of our beautiful country, where she is inspired by the diversity and beauty at every turn in the road.

Beverly assists her husband, Roger Dale Brown, teaching plein air and studio workshops across the country. Visit www.rogerdalebrown.com    for their workshop schedule.

In recent years, Beverly has combined her love of the outdoors and animals into her art, and has become known for her sporting art. 

All images via BeverlyFordEvans.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Cumulous Collective by Kelly Berger  48×48″

Kelly Berger. Just look at this fabulous painting. Bold brush strokes, color that says WOW as well as great subject matter! I love this!

Read a bit about Kelly from Kelly (I love stories like hers!); be sure to check out the Brush Strokes Studio website:

Denver painter Kelly Berger embodies mid-life reinvention, having ditched a career in public relations, part-time philanthropic work and full-time parenting for a long-shelved pursuit of painting. Kelly’s contemporary representational art is gaining regional note and is widely collected in the mountain West and beyond.

During her p.r. phase, Kelly took periodic detours to the art world via drawing classes at the Art Students League and Parsons in New York, as well as the League in Denver. At a career crossroads five years ago, she had the opportunity to commit full-time to painting, which had been her passion all along. Kelly was soon showing her work at Denver area galleries and was invited to join Denver’s prominent Brushstrokes Studio-Gallery as it’s fourth artist/partner in early 2012.  

“Years in the marketing arena have informed the underlying graphic structure of my work,” Kelly explains.  “I’m drawn to strong color, powerful contrast, and dramatic perspective. In terms of process, I’ve recently turned to painting studies en plein air, complementing visual information from my own photography. My formative years in Nebraska and college in Iowa are evidenced in pieces depicting rural towns and plains; my family’s zeal for Colorado mountain life inspires mountain and ski themes; and several years in NYC has driven my passionate focus on urban themes.”

Artistically, Kelly has been further exploring elements of abstraction—casting aside detail where possible, honing in on the center of interest, and letting the viewer mentally  “finish” of the piece.  “This is hardly and original goal, but one I’m pursuing nonetheless,” she explains.  Her medium of choice is primarily acrylic due to its immediacy.  “Today’s pro acrylics are not your granny’s chalky stuff; I find I can build the painting more quickly without risk of muddy color, as is the risk with oil. I actually have had galleries sell my work assuming they are oil paintings.

Though largely self-taught, and a voracious student of the masters, Kelly credits Denver artist Mark D. Nelson with much of her evolution, having attended his studio class regularly for years. She also thanks her partners at Brushstrokes for their tutelage in painting and the art business.

All images via BrushStrokeStudio.com, used with permission from the artist…

Catch you back here tomorrow!