Warning… Once you start looking at Paul Heaton’s sketches you won’t be able to stop! Each one is so full of fabulousness (is that a word? Apparently so!) – This guy can sketch like you wouldn’t believe. He does it often (which is very obvious). He’s got a great sense of humor (read his bio below!). He offers online classes via Cratsy (link below). Everyone wants to know how to draw, they say if you draw ten minutes a day, every day you will see a noticeable improvement and it doesn’t take years and years. It’s kind of like writing, none of us were born knowing how to write, but you learn and then TA-DA! You can do it! Wouldn’t it be so cool to learn how to draw – learn perspective and any tips/tricks that would make it a little easier? That’s where I think classes would be a big help – that along with daily practice you will be amazing! So what’s holding you back? Paper, pencils, eraser… easy to take with you wherever you go – and perhaps a Craftsy class?

See more of Paul’s work via these links:

Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Blog  |   Online Classes via Cratsy

Read a bit about Paul, from his blog:

I really like to draw. I paint, too, though I’m not as fond of it (or as good at it). I also teach art, sell art supplies, pretend to blog, and other stuff.

I’ve been a correspondent for Urban Sketchers since (almost) the beginning, first from Bozeman, Montana, then from San Antonio, Texas (my hometown) and now from Denver, Colorado.

 

I received an MFA in painting from Montana State University in 2008 because I’d been there long enough and they acquiesced to my demand of a degree in exchange for my paying tuition and learning and stuff.

 

I am happily married in Denver to the extraordinary and rather intimidating Linda Permann. We have a dog, Freddie, who is not intimidating, but he does smell funny.

 

I also have a daughter, Juniper, who is already starting to threaten my status as the best artist in the family.

 

I have contributed artwork to these books:

 

The Art of Urban Sketching by Gabi Campanario

 

Urban Sketching: The Complete Guide to Techniques by Thomas Thorspecken

 

Capitol Knits by Tanis Gray

 

Other Peoples’ Love Letters by Bill Shapiro

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via Paul Heaston’s FB, Instagram and Blog (links above), used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Sharon Weaver. Loving the light in this tree – it’s that fabulous light that makes everything look so breathtaking! Paintings give you a feel for a place an artist has been – this is a beautiful spot!

See more of Sharon’s work via these links:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Blog  | Classes

Read a bit about Sharon, from her website:

Landscape oil painter

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via SharonWeaver.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Stephanie Hartshorn. Great artist – check out her website – right now many paintings are sold, but they’re fabulous! There is a winter scene that I just adore – you’ve got to see the snow – it’s wonderful!

These cottages are so wonderful, oh how I would love to be in one right now! Stephanie has a great style to her paintings, and her light… wow!

See more of Stephanie’s work via these links:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |   Workshops

Read a bit about Stephanie, from her website:

As a nod to my previous career in architecture, structural themes often arise in my work. I have always loved the details of design: rhythms and complex beauty in the lines and curves of our manmade world. I’m captivated by an alleyway, for instance… piles & stacks, shafts of light that pass through and over old buildings, metal fire escapes.

My work is composed of rural and urban landscapes as well as particular objects that capture my love of sculpted form. My inner geek engages in design dialogue, my quiet side senses a good story. I enjoy the adventure of carving out these ideas on canvas; each brush stroke taking on a form of its own, overall a texture that explores and expresses the object.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via StudioHartshorn.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Susan Graeber. I have featured her in the past, but I enjoy her work so much I just had to feature her again. Isn’t this cone flower painting wonderful? I love the intensity and the proportions of this piece. Stunning!!

Susan is known for her birch tree paintings which I adore, (and also everything else she paints). You can see where her heart is, it shows vividly in each and every painting!

See more of Susan’s work via these links:

Website  |  Instagram

Read a bit about Susan, from her website:

I have had the good fortune of beginning my life long interest in painting from early childhood attending the Bryn Mawr school where creativity was encouraged. I attended Hobart William Smith colleges for one year and decided to commit to going to an art college rather than a liberal arts program,and then transferred into the Boston Museum School for two years. During that time period my family moved to Brussels, Belgium for three years, and I had the benefit of travel as well as painting programs during the summers in europe and seeing the museums first hand. After this time period I transferred into the Maryland Institute and graduated in 1980. I had a few jobs related to the arts including a gallery position, settled down and married an art dealer who is a works on paper dealer, and had two children.

I always painted plein air when our children were growing up, especially enjoying Maine and the Maryland countryside. I now am a full-time painter, and maintain a warehouse studio in Baltimore, but mostly prefer to paint on location. I love to paint on Monhegan island, Mt Desert island, New Mexico and Maryland. I am influenced by the artists Arthur W. Dow, Fairfield Porter,Wayne Tiebolt, Neill Welliver, Eduard Vulliard and others. I am most attracted to places in nature where light is creating abstract shapes, and color is creating a mood. Capturing fleeting light is always a challenge, and a thrill when occasionally it works in a painting! When painting, or even seeing that spot that pulled my attention, I am drawn to unexpected movements of light and beauty.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Images via SusanGraeber.com and CamdenFallsGallery.com, used with permission from the artist…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Jessica Magee. Fabulous abstract paintings. They have such a cool vibe to them. I love her color palette(s). Calming but with a little jolt in some – I like that, a lot!

Having worked in a few galleries in the past I know how some people think that abstracts are so easy to create. “I can do that” I heard many times. Well… try it! I thought that too and let me tell you, if you don’t have some kind of plan, direction, know what works or what doesn’t or if you just don’t have the right kind of creative energy it can be a mess. Sounds like I know from experience, hmmm?

Be sure to check out more of Jessica’s work – some are on paper, some are on canvas – she’s got an eye for these for sure! I see via Jessica’s Instagram that she’s had a pop up show at West Elm and Room & Board. Pretty fantastic!

See more of Jessica’s work via these links:

Website  |  Instagram

Read a bit about Jessica, from her website:

Jessica Magee was born and raised in Central Florida.  Having a Grandma who was a professional artist and sign painter, Jessica became interested in the arts at an early age.  Her Grandma taught her the basics of drawing the human form, how to use oil paints and even how to clean a paint brush. As an adolescent she would spend hours filling up sketchbooks with portraits of people she found in magazines, and in high school she took as many art electives as she could get her hands on.  It was during this time in high school that she developed a love for abstract art and color. Jessica attended the University of Florida and received a Bachelor of Design in Interior Design in 2005, and shortly afterward she moved to Denver, Colorado with her husband.  Jessica worked as a commercial interior designer for almost 10 years before becoming an architectural rep for tile and stone.  During her time as an interior designer, she painted in her free time and became interested in developing acrylic color studies using unique color combinations in flowing and organic forms.  Jessica had her first solo gallery show in 2013, and shortly thereafter received her first corporate commission with a local oil and gas firm.  In 2014 and 2017, she was accepted in to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver, and 2015 – 2017 was accepted in to the Cherry Arts Festival at the Stanley Marketplace through a blind jury process.  Before the Stanley Arts Festival, Jessica had many marketing opportunities present themselves.  She was featured in a local newspaper publication and also was the subject of a television interview on a local Denver news station.  Currently Jessica is working on a partnership with West Elm as a local artist in Denver and Boulder, and continues to produce artwork for corporate and personal collections.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via JessicaMageeArtist.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Harry Stooshinoff. An incredible artist with a wonderful ability to simplify. His paintings are striking! Be sure to check out his website – There is nothing like watching a video of a scene being painted. Magic!

I love Harry’s philosophy! He paints every day – his paintings are VERY reasonably priced. This is a man who clearly does what he loves every single day!

See more of Harry’s work via these links:

Website  |  Instagram  |  Etsy  |  Blog

Read a bit about Harry, from his website:

I am both a painter and teacher. I hold a B Ed, BFA and an MFA. I have been producing artwork almost on a daily basis for over 35 years. A few decades ago I started making small pictures so that I could start and finish the piece in one sitting. The work is small because an intimate scale encourages maximum intuition, freedom, and experimentation.

My work is both abstract and figurative, and there is no inherent contradiction between these sensibilities; one inclination supports the other. 

 I am prolific and I do not wish to die with 10,000 paintings under my bed! Making small work also solved a few practical problems; small work is easy to mail. I very much enjoy selling art online. Mailing pieces to destinations all over the world is a great pleasure.

I live in the rolling countryside of the Oak Ridges Moraine, an ancient landform located just north of Lake Ontario, and am inspired by what I see every day. I roam this unique place in all seasons, and document my impressions. At first view, rural environments may seem natural, but they have been continually altered and reshaped by man. The landscape will be very different tomorrow; it seems negligent not to record how it looked and felt today.

It’s a big NOISY world, so I make small, quiet paintings.

Harry’s right, it IS a big NOISY world – check out those small paintings!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via HarryStooshinoff.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Benz Amataya Kuipers. These paintings are fabulous. Wonderful colors and shapes – to me they are just so happy. I love that Benz has her children join in on her paintings, or at least some of them. She posts wonderful videos of the kids painting. They don’t just splash paint all over, they put thoughtful strokes. Brilliant actually. I think for those of us who wish we could loosen up there is something to be learned here! You cannot help but smile when you look through her paintings on her website, FB and Instagram – I love to watch her children paint, they get so into it!

If you’re in the Chicago area, Benz (Amataya Studio) will be teaching a Family Painting Adventure – this sounds like so much fun! (Visit GrowArtists.com) – I think this is such an amazing opportunity. Two classes, one for ages 2-4 and the other for ages 5-12. In addition to showing their artistic skill, it’s a chance to bond over both of you painting on a single painting while reenforcing what it means to be a “team”.

An all-family painting session for kids 5-12 years old and their parents/caregivers. This is a process painting class. We encourage playful explorations of art materials, colors, lines, shapes and forms. We will provide a different theme for each class and trust the children to show us what they can do with paint. Each adult+child team will create an 8×10 painting to bring home in addition to other works on paper.

See more of Benz’s work via these links:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

Read a bit about Benz, from her website:

I am a Thai contemporary painter currently based in Chicago. I am self taught and started painting at age 34.  I did not grow up making art. Books were my refuge. I spent most of free time in my childhood reading and writing. I wanted to be a writer, but somehow I went to a business school and even got a Master’s in Marketing. I was lost for a long time. Along the way, I have always had the desire to create. I’ve tried taking drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking classes, but nothing has stuck. I’ve always got hung up on the techniques and then I gave up.

It wasn’t until I had my children that I learned a truly liberating way of art making. The way my boys draw and paint amazes me. It’s so fun, so fearless, so real, so raw, so carefree. I wanted to paint like that, so I started exploring and experimenting with process-based art and haven’t stopped since.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My process honors the rawness, innocence, courage, joy, and spontaneity that I found in my children’s art-making process . My paintings are simply my spontaneous and unfiltered responses to my creative urges. My process is straightforward. I don’t plan ahead on how I want my paintings to look. I follow my impulses, choose colors and make marks that feel right to me at the time.                          

My art is open-ended and inviting. My highest hope is to inspire other reluctant painters (or artists, or anyone) to try their hands at art without being too hard on themselves.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via AmatayaStudio.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Painting by Jessica Fields

Jessica Fields. Fabulous paintings – great texture with a palette knife. Each is so interesting to me. I love the layers of color! Be sure to peruse the links below. Many on Jessica’s website are sold – don’t miss Instagram! Fabulous! You can definitely tell that painting puts her in her happy place!

See more of Jessica’s work via these links:

Website  |  Instagram 

Read a bit about Jessica, (from her website):

Jessica Leitko Fields (that’s me) is a working painter, collage gluer and general maker living in Greenville, SC.

I’m originally from, lets say, Houston, because who remembers anything from before they were five anyway. And there I garnered a love for all things flat and stripey. Add a dose of a Louisiana farm on my mother’s side and all those fields start to make sense. Then I married a Fields! Like a joke. I liked them so much I married them. 

I went to school at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design where I learned to love paint and color and texture and to really really hate snow. 

I’m typically a teacher by trade with a special fondness for art history and history in general which will crop up in my titles from time to time. 

This is my happy place. 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via fieldart.work, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Nick Runge. This man creates such interesting, thought provoking paintings. He can clearly paint a portrait, but it’s the abstract qualities in the painting that shift it from a normal painting to a WOW painting. Love these blues – this is brilliant and captures your attention! Abstracted realism indeed!

See more of Nick’s work via these links:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

Read a bit about Nick:

Born in 1985, artist Nick Runge grew up in Colorado. Coming from a creative family of professional artists, he was always interested in drawing and imagining ideas visually. Starting in 2004, he began thinking about art as a career and got the chance to begin small jobs in and out of the comic book industry. After 2006, he worked as an illustrator for various comic companies such as IDW, Dark Horse, and many others. While primarily making a living as a cover artist, he began painting more seriously and started exploring the world of film art and traditionally painted projects, doing various official and private commissions. These days he has stepped away from commercial properties, focusing exclusively on fine art and personal work using oils and watercolor.

As a portrait/figurative painter, Nick works from life as well as photography, describing his art as something close to “abstracted realism”, with an objective of expressing as much of the realistic human element of life as possible through a limited and often simplified approach to his rendering or brushwork, giving an illusion of realism while, at the same time, breaking shapes and form down enough to have a close balance with abstraction.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images/bio via NickRungeArt.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

 

What wonderful paintings! I looked through them forever before selecting one for today’s feature. You must go check for yourself. I could have easily picked any one of Sarkis’s paintings – they are different – they are so wonderfully loose and expressive with gorgeous color and brush strokes. Wow!

See more of Sarkis’s work via these links:

Website  |  Instagram  |  Blog

Read a bit about Sarkis, from his website:

Sarkis was born in 1933 in the Middle East to Armenian parents and immigrated to the United States in 1958. 

After a 35-year career as a pharmacist, he attained his childhood dream of becoming a professional painter and is now a nationally recognized and award-winning artist.

Whether working in his Cheshire, Oregon studio or on location, Sarkis paints and draws in oils, watercolors, pastels and inks. His varied subject matter includes figurative, landscape, still life and abstract. He also enjoys sculpting in clay. Continue reading HERE…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via SarkisAntikajian.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

 

Mark Mehaffey. Mark’s paintings are something special. I love those bits of underpainting showing through – it gives the painting pizazz (as if it really needs it!) – great shadows – the trees are magnificent!

See more of Mark’s work via these links:

Website  |  Instagram  |  Workshops

Read a bit about Mark, from his website:

I’ve been drawing and painting my whole life. I started painting with watercolor at the age of 10 and never stopped. My parents and my early teachers encouraged me to paint, I suspect to keep me out of trouble. It worked….more or less.

Some of my earliest memories include trying to match the colors I saw while using a child’s set of watercolors. Hours were spent in this endeavor. After 55 years of painting I’m now more inclined to paint the colors I feel than the colors I see. Paintings always take on a life of their own. Sometimes a work requires a studied design approach, making a plan and following that plan, at other times a more intuitive visceral approach is called for. I let the idea and content of my work dictate the materials and techniques used….not the other way around. Other ideas dictate an exploration of surface and textures, relying on the initial concept and intuition to bring the work to a conclusion.

Above all I value creativity and honesty. And although I follow many paths and speak with more than one voice, I am on my own journey. I have two wishes…one is to live a few more hundred years, for I shall never have enough time to paint all the ideas in my head. Probably won’t see that wish granted. That second wish? That somewhere along my journey I will communicate with fellow travelers who will see something of what I see and feel something of what I feel…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via MehaffeyGallery.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

 

Mary Sauer. Wow. I love her perspective on people and the different settings she paints – so creative! But don’t just take my word for it… I am loving her paintings! This painting has so much detail and you can look at it for hours yet it still has a painterly quality that makes it so interesting. Not easy!

See more of Mary’s work via these links:

Website  |  Instagram 

Read a bit about Mary, from her website:

Painter Mary Sauer was born in Greenville, Kentucky in 1986. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States including over a dozen shows in New York City alone. Mary is a 2014 recipient of The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant for traditional figure painting and winner of the 2014 Director’s Award at the Springville Museum of Art’s annual Spring Salon. Mary’s art is influenced by nineteenth century painting including John Singer Sargent, the Pre-Raphealites, and the French Academics as well as contemporary realist academic painting and fashion photography. Her philosophy is to combine the nineteenth century techniques of painting with more modern conceptual ideas, especially regarding how we present ourselves to the world psychologically.

Her work has been featured on the cover of American Art Collector Magazine, in the annual, “21 Under 31,” feature in Southwest Art Magazine, and in feature articles in both International Artist Magazine and the April 2014 issue of The Artists Magazine. Her painting, ‘Anna’ was awarded Best in Show at the 2012 Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition, for which she was again a finalist in 2013. Her education includes a BFA in Illustration from Brigham Young University in 2009, further studies at The Art Student’s League of New York and The Grand Central Academy of Art, and an MFA from The University of Utah. For two years she apprenticed in the studio of master painter William Whitaker. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at Brigham Young University teaching advanced life drawing, at the University of Utah teaching painting and drawing, and currently at Utah Valley University where she teaches the Painting the Human Head(portrait painting) class. Her work is in a number of permanent collections including those of the Springville Museum of Art and the LDS Church History Museum. She maintains an active portrait career and is represented by Sloane Merrill Gallery in Boston, Anthony’s Fine Art in Salt Lake City, and Meyer Gallery in Park City, UT.  She currently resides near Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband David, an operatic tenor, and their daughter Scarlett.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via MarySauerArt.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Jennifer Van Cor, a wonderful artist from New Hampshire. Her paintings are striking – full of color and very unique brush strokes. She can paint those “Maine trees” that I love so much – each has their own personality.

See more of Jennifer’s work via these links:

Website  |  Instagram

Read a bit about Jennifer, from her website:

The landscape has always tantalized my senses.  The smell and feel of wet grass, the sound of leaves in the wind, the shape of a shadow through a broken limb.  And with it all the ever changing color; a universe of color.  Each stroke and dip of the brush pushes my senses onto the surface and if I am listening closely and truly, the life of a landscape fills the painting.  As my landscapes progress, they become more about the flow of energy, the experience of a lifetime of color, shape and feeling.  
Poetry has been another way to touch the landscape.  Words mix color and senses through imagery that is very much like painting.  When the two are combined, I feel I have painted a poem.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via JenniferVanCor.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.

Can you believe this painting? The green in the wave where light is coming through is spot on. How?! This is a brilliant painting – absolutely stunning!

See more of Jeanne’s work via these links:

Website  |   Instagram  |  Blog  | Workshops  |  Classes

Read a bit about Jeanne, from her website:

Jeanne Rosier Smith grew up painting, but first discovered pastel when a box of Nupastels arrived in the mail from an uncle in Massachusetts, 20 years ago.  “You might enjoy these,” he said.  He had no idea.  She studied art at Georgetown University and later at the DuCret School of Art in New Jersey.  After earning a Ph.D. in English and teaching college English for ten years, she made the switch to full time professional art in 2000.  She now maintains a Pastel Studio school, teaches around the country, and is represented by several East Coast galleries.  Her subjects are diverse:  landscape, portrait, food, and the sea.  

Smith is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, the American Society of Marine Artists, the Connecticut Pastel Society and the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod, an IAPS Masters Circle member, and a juried artist member of the Copley Society, the Salmagundi Club, and Academic Artists of America.  She has exhibited at the Massachusetts State House, the Guild of Boston Artists, and nationally at the Pastel Society of America, the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Arts Club and American Artist Professional League shows.  Her work has garnered top awards, including the Prix de Pastel (Best in Show) from IAPS, The International Association of Pastel Societies, a Grand Prize in International Artist Magazine Seascape Competition, and an Art Spirit Foundation Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Pastel at the American Artists Professional League.  She has placed in the Pastel Journal’s Pastel 100 for the past five years, including first place in 2017.  Her work has appeared in International Artist Magazine, American Art Collector, and The Pastel Journal, and she is a regular contributor to the Pastel Journal.  Her paintings are in collections on five continents. She is represented by Cecil Byrne Gallery of Charleston SC, Gallery 31 of Orleans MA, Francesca Anderson Fine Art of Lexington MA, Old Spouter Gallery on Nantucket, and Powers Gallery of Acton MA. Continue reading HERE…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

All images via JeanneRosierSmith.com, used with permission…

Images are not for reproduction, they are property of the artist.