Recently I have added a Submission to Be Featured page to my blog (at the top). Once you click on it, you’ll see Architect Submission, Artist Submission and Emerging Artist Submission. I would like to share with you three of the Emerging Artist submissions I have received… be sure to check these artists out – and check back with them! It takes a lot to become an artist. A LOT! Sure, it’s “fun”, but it truly is a job. You have to be dedicated, manage your time wisely, and in many cases, still work a full-time job. However an artist reaches his/her peak, I truly believe it’s through struggle, (as Jerome says… DRAW, it’s the foundation!), practice, failure (which you learn from) and humble sincerity.

I’ve included a sample of each artist’s work… click on their name to be taken to their website.

All images (and Bios) via artists website, used with permission…

Jane Albin – As you’ll quickly see, Jane paints in Oil and Watercolor, she also paints Plein Air. Great work Jane! More pen and ink! Very nice!

Jane Albin creates in watercolors, oils and ink.   

A resident of Lewisburg Pennsylvania,  Jane’s subjects range from local street scenes to views of the Susquehanna River and surrounding countryside.   She paints out of doors whenever possible.  
In 2013, she won Artists’ Choice and First Place awards in the Plein Air Camp Hill Quick Draw.  
Two weeks later she won first place at the Gettysburg Festival plein air quick draw.   
She won the Plein Air Camp Hill Quickdraw again in 2014!

Jane worked in fashion design and production after acquiring a BFA from Parsons School of Design in NYC.   While working for Calvin Klein Inc., Jane met and married husband, Bob.   They had two children and started their own children’s clothing company.  Jane and Bob operated KatieCo. for 17 years.   Today, they own and operate the Tawsty Flower B&B.   

Jane currently teaches adult watercolor classes at the Sunbury YMCA Arts Center in Sunbury Pennsylvania.    You can find her most Thursday mornings and some Saturdays at Brushstrokes in Lewisburg. 

Scott Dwyer – Scott has one of the best websites I have ever seen for an artist. I was blown away. The importance of having a good website should be very high. Unless maybe you sell your work through a gallery. These days everyone wants to see your work, read about you, and not just your awards, achievements and shows. People like to know a bit about YOU. It makes buying art from you more personal, and Scott has excelled at this. I am envious of his website, truly I am. Check it out, it’s beautiful, and I love how he mentions his family, his motivation for painting, etc. Stories like this keep us connected to an artist. Great work Scott! Keep on painting, we all look forward to following you!

As an emerging artist, Scott appreciates the challenge and elation that goes into making a piece of art. To an untrained eye, the tasks are masked by the simplicity and beauty of outcome; to those that study, practice, fail, and persevere, the success represents so much more – it represents the enormity of something bigger that culminates inside of a picture frame.

While considered an artist, Scott understands and respects the other titles he wears with pride. Husband, father, and finance professional quickly come to mind. After graduating with a Bachelor of Finance degree, Scott pursued a career in higher education financial administration and later obtained his MBA. It is clear that throughout his life, the quest for knowledge, acceptance of challenge, and the pursuit of the uncharted have been Scott’s hallmarks. He constantly looks for ways to make himself more educated, well-rounded, and cultural, each in an effort to make his life more meaningful. The journey towards becoming an artist is no exception.

Through competing demands, Scott finds solace in the evenings and weekends that provide precious focused time to devote to his craft. He spends that time in a combination of balanced learning and practice. When not at the easel, his artistic education is focused on a litany of art education books, magazines, and digital media. Well-thumbed books and frequently-viewed educational DVDs are only a few of the resources he uses to learn at his own pace. Those physical assets are augmented with online exploration of other artists’ work, attendance at lectures and demonstrations, and exploring galleries whenever possible.This package of educational opportunities complements his self-guided approach to art education, relying on recognized professionals that are willing to share their experience and knowledge. As an extension of that thought, he is actively seeking a mentor that can provide guidance, insight, and support to his artistic journey. For any and all of the above, he is eternally grateful.

As much as Scott understands education provides the foundation for understanding, he is keenly aware that true artistic growth mainly happens behind the brush. Principles of composition, value, color, edge, temperature, and texture culminate in Scott’s impressionistic approach. In particular, he is drawn to the use of broken color and how it takes on a more complex and brilliant visual image seen at a slight distance. Through that process, he has come to love the allure of the brushstroke and how different applications create a variety of visual aspects. Through plein air studies and finished studio pieces, Scott’s artwork continues to advance through exploration and practice of technique. He continually strives for artistic growth.

Scott finds equal inspiration from the landscape and personal relationships. While the connection to the land is obvious in most of his work, the reasons behind some pieces are not. To him, this is the part that is most satisfying, allowing him to deploy his craft as a means for strengthening relationships that he holds dear. Pieces in the possession of Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, and Chick-fil-a in Durham, North Carolina are examples of this.

After a childhood spent in suburban Maryland, Scott now resides in Hillsborough, North Carolina with his wife and two sons. Their contact is his most important influence and source of inspiration.

Jerome Rochon – This guy can draw like no one’s business! He is so right that if you want to be an artist you need to DRAW. A LOT! He does, and it shows, check out his drawings, they are beautiful. The DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) is a beautiful place to visit, if you’re ever in Detroit, be sure to check it out! You won’t be sorry! Great work Jerome!

I love to draw and paint. In ’91 I got a BFA from Wayne State University in Detroit. Almost twenty years later through Saginaw Valley State, I was certified to teach K – 12 Art in Michigan. Between times in college, I got a real education drawing perspectives for the top architectural illustrator in the Midwest, my dad, Richard Rochon. He gave me on the job training – the best opportunity to learn to draw. Now I teach other people’s kids how to make art.

I would like to share this bit of advice, from Jerome’s website:

Are you an artist?  Then you know how important it is to draw – a lot.  Do you want to be an artist?  You must start with drawing.  There is no other way to excel.

“Ars longa, vita brevis.”  Very roughly translated: To learn art takes a lot of time.  So begin!

Good advice!

On another note: Thinking about those who have served and kept the country safe. Keep them in your thoughts this Memorial Day! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Gayle Levee, an artist from Nashville, TN! Stunning work! I love the harmony in this painting, the colors, the subject, it’s all just so perfect. She has such a great style! Head over to her website and check out her work! Then you’ll see what I mean!

Gayle also teaches Workshops & Classes… what a fantastic opportunity!

Read a bit about Gayle, from her website:

Gayle Levée, a third generation artist, was formed by the expanses of the West. Born in Montana, her artistic eye was sharpened by her experiences while growing up in the high, clear air and brisk winds of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. During her studies in Painting at the University of Denver, her work found a following in galleries located in Estes Park, Taos, and Santa Fe. She has since studied with Robert Douglas Hunter and Matt Smith. 

Levée’s artistic style found its true voice in New England, where she began mastering the techniques of painting encompassed by a movement known as “The Boston School of Impressionism“. Boston School impressionists emphasize carefully planned compositions based upon accurate drawing, bold use of color, and the delightful interplay of light and shadow to create atmosphere and depth within a painting. But there is more to what The Boston School offered and demanded of artists; it also developed artists who could teach.

The Boston School carries with it an adaptation of “French atelier” methods of instruction. The techniques, which make impressionist art stand out, are passed from one Master to the next through gentle and intense tutelage. Levée’s artistic family had given her the foundations central to become an artist of The Boston School, but there was an even more rewarding place for her within the movement. Gayle flowered into not only an accomplished artist because of The Boston School, but she also fully embraced the movement’s charge, later described by a mentor as, “to never know something quite as well as when you can teach it”.

Levée became a link in a chain of American impressionist artists produced by The Boston School while studying under Robert Douglas Hunter. According the the The Guild of Boston Artists, “if there were a brick and mortar educational institution called ‘The Boston School’, then Robert Douglas Hunter would surely be their Dean. Mr. Hunter has personally taught over forty successful, accomplished artists, many of whom have accepted the mantle of developing the next generation of American Impressionists.” Levée is privileged to be included in that number.

Fine Art, as practiced by Impressionists, relies heavily upon experiences seen by the artists in real life and space. Too many paintings strive to be photographic and lose depth and meaning because of it. The Boston School of impressionism relies upon capturing that which is seen by the artist’s eye, whether it be in the setting of a still-life, a plein-air landscape, a portrait, or sketch. Nothing can replace the experience captured by the artist better than “being there” and letting the shadows, colors, and form work their magic for the viewer.

Levée’s work in fine art continued while she also pursued a career in commercial illustration and even as a political cartoonist. The drive to create Fine Art, and to teach it, were always grounded in her foundations learned from The Boston School. She taught at Monserrat College of Art, The Art Institute of Boston, and later at the Tennessee Art League, the Centennial Club of Nashville, Cheekwood, and Plaza of Nashville. Many of her students have developed into Fine Artists in their own right, thus adding to the lineage of American Impressionism.

Levée continues to enjoy commercial success in sales of paintings produced at her studios located in Middle Tennessee. Her work is represented and distributed through galleries across the country. Gayle also has produced a number of private commissioned pieces.

An artist’s biography is a difficult thing to capture in words. Many artists will list Juried Awards they have won and exhibitions in which they have participated. Levée’s listing of such accomplishments is impressive; she has been the subject of articles in American Artistmagazine and has a following of students from across the globe because of her award-winning DVD instructional series entitled “Learn and Master Painting with Gayle Levée”.

However, the true accomplishments of a successful artist lie in how her actions and art have influenced the world. Levée’s art is enjoyed by hundreds within their homes, by people she will never meet, because the work is worth keeping in special places. For those collector’s of Levée’s art, she is grateful and knows those pieces will endure because it speaks to those owners in special ways. New offerings of her work appear frequently in her galleries.

Further exciting events are unfolding in the “Great Happenings” of Levée’s art. In addition to her exquisite course curricula of Boston School techniques offered in her wildly popular classes, Gayle is offering innovative, significant, and personalized workshops in exciting, scenic locations in near the future. Ranging in locale from Nashville, to New England’s Cape Anne, to Colorado, to Civil War Battlefields, to even Paris (a year or so down the road), the Boston School is alive under the direction of Gayle Levée Fine Art.

Fine Art isn’t a “thing”. Fine Art is a verb. It is experienced, it is shared, it is felt, it isn’t common. It is beautiful.

Perhaps the most expressive statement about art, the sharing of it, the enjoyment of it, and the creation of it, can be summed up in Gayle’s own words….

Would You Join Me?

Image via GayleLevee.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Gage Opdenbrouw. I am mesmerized by this guys window paintings. They are out of this world and so interesting. He’s giving you a glimpse into his space, and a wonderful space it is. What I love…. The darkness in the foreground, with the strokes where light is hitting the floor, the flower, and the window in the distance – and of course that great light coming from the window on the right. Stunning!

Simple, peaceful, makes me want to be sitting there with a good book, listening to the snow hit the window, or maybe hear the wind howl, while I’m inside nice and toasty. Love that plant. The light on it is amazing.

Gage also teaches, and wow, would I ever like to spend some time learning from him! He’s got such a cool style! So, if you’re in the San Fran area, check it out! He’s got so many stunning paintings and such a great style! I love his use of color and how he paints ordinary things (window) and makes them extraordinary!

Read a bit about Gage, Check out his website for a little more… engageingart.com – also check out the NEWS tab for more wonderful paintings!

A Bay Area artist, Gage Opdenbrouw was born and raised in San Jose, California, who lives, works, and teaches in San Francisco. He is a painter whose work evinces many interests and influences.  Regardless of the style or subject, he aims to distill his images to a point where there is a powerful emotional resonance.

He paints primarily in oil, and the vast majority of his works involve the figure or the landscape in one way or another. Opdenbrouw’s paintings comprise several distinct, yet interrelated bodies of work.

In addition to his studio work, he also teaches painting & drawing both in a private capacity, and at the Sharon Art Studio, where he teaches classes for adults, and NCMACC, where he shares his love of art with children, both in San Francisco.

At the ripe young age of 32 his paintings have been the subject of ten solo exhibitions, and over forty group, juried, and 2 person shows in museums and galleries around the country.

 All images via engageingart.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

First off, I have to say, that Sandra Stevens is such a neat person. I haven’t met her, but just from the emails that have gone back and forth, she’s someone I would like to be friends with. She truly loves what she does and it shows! Each painting is wonderful and very different. It brings a smile for sure!

Be sure to check out Sandra’s paintings, and also her blog! It’s fabulous!

I had to add one more painting… Rose at Twenty-Five… stunning, isn’t it? I would say that Sandra is very connected to the subject matter she paints. Stunning!

Read a bit about Sandra from her website:

I paint what I love.

Animals and art have always been the two constants in my life. I grew up on a ranch in Texas, and the livestock and the land are forever a part of my soul.

As soon as I could hold a pencil, I was drawing the horses and cattle on our ranch, and later received private art lessons as a child.

After attending a small rural college, I entered the corporate world and also began a career as a fine-art photographer. When the photographic realm turned digital and became 100% computer-dependent, I sold my darkroom and returned to painting — where, with just a few colors, an artist can almost bring a scene to life — no electricity required!

Other than a few lessons or workshops, my art education comes from observation and practice.

I’m often asked why cattle are my main subject — that’s because they are what I know and care about. My husband and I have several Texas Longhorns on our ranch near Columbus, Texas . These animals connect me to the land and to my own roots. So, it is no surprise they naturally become the subjects of many of my paintings.

When painting in a realistic style, I want the viewer to relate to the same beauty and character in these animals as seen through my eyes. And, when painting in a whimsical manner, I strive to bring a smile or laugh to the viewer. And always, no matter how or what I paint, my wish is to be successful in conveying my vision.

I am very blessed and grateful to be able to support myself doing what I love, and I am honored when a collector chooses to give one of my paintings a home on their wall. Creating my art fulfills me. It gets no better than that.

Images via SandraStevensArt.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

This is a fabulous piece by David Michael Slonim. His work really strikes me. Those oranges, and then the whites and grays to calm it back down some… very nice! This is a fabulous painting! It’s available as I write this, at the Visions West Gallery…

David has just finished teaching a workshop that would have been amazing to attend! You may want to check out his blog so you don’t miss his next one!

Did you know that David also illustrates/writes children’s books. Some of the books he illustrates, and some, like He Came With the Couch, he writes as well. The illustrations are magical. These are books that, as a kid, I would keep forever! Truly magical!

This is one that he illustrated – I love it!:

Read a bit about David from his website:

David Michael Slonim’s fine art career began with a sold-out show in 1998 at Overland Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ.  His work has been selected for the Coors Western Art Exhibit, Great American Artists, The C.M.Russell Auction, The Western Rendezvous of Art, the Western Miniatures Show at the C.M. Russell Museum, and the Rising Stars exhibit at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum.

Solo exhibitions at regional museums include the Richmond Art Museum, Richmond, IN, Minnetrista Cultural Center, Muncie, IN, and Anderson Center for the Arts, Anderson, IN.   

Slonim’s paintings hang in corporate, museum and private collections nationally. His work has been featured in American Art Collector, Western Art & Architecture, Southwest Art, Big Sky Journal, USArt, Plein Air Magazine, and Indianpolis Monthly.

Images via DavidMichaelSlonim.com / DavidSlonim.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Anelecia Brooks. She’s got to be one cool woman. I would like to meet her. Her paintings are so different, full of life, fun, and thought provoking all at the same time. Clearly this woman can paint anything. Her subject matter is so different… refreshing!

No matter what she paints, it’s amazing! Look at this, it looks like you can reach right into the painting and turn on the water! Wow…

There is a great article about her in Fine Art Connoisseur, check it out!  Read a bit about Anelecia, from her website, but it’s short – so also check out FAC article above!

Anelecia currently lives and paints by the sea in North Carolina and in the grey light of the Pacific Northwest, alongside her husband, artist Charles Philip Brooks.

 Images via Anelcia.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Ben Aronson. I KNOW! Just look how beautiful this painting is! How the pretty lady so elegantly holds the saucer, the sun glowing on her blond hair, the dark background, and the wonderful shadows. You can feel that she is deep in thought. Just look at all the color in the cup of coffee, fabulous!

Ben paints figures (mostly of his wife, Eileen), cityscapes, a series on Wall Street and more. His website is spectacular, so I urge you to check it out.

Another wonderful painting by Ben, Orchids – so simple, so elegant, so beautiful!

Read a bit about Ben, from the Artsy.net website:

Ben Aronson’s painterly urban landscapes combine photorealistic accuracy with gestural immediacy, portraying a world populated by urbane figures. Although the settings are more luxurious than Edward Hopper’s stark interiors, the figures often exude a similar sense of vulnerability, as in the solitary woman lost in contemplation in The Recollection (2008). Click Here to continue reading…

Images via BenAronson.net, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Sandra Flood. Very different, her work stands out. Check out her website! I love her Greyhound paintings! Sandra has a blog and she also has a spectacular book! Check it out!

Sandra’s work was part of an exhibit at the Robert Lange Gallery called TEN, celebrating a decade in Charleston. A few of Sandra’s pieces sold, and more may be on the way, so be on the lookout if you’re in Charleston, SC!

Another stunning piece by Sandra, love her titles!

Read a bit about Sandra, from her website:

Sandra Flood, is a full-time, self taught oil painter who’s work has been received with enormous popularity over recent years.
Her work is primarily figurative, imbued with subtle yet compelling emotion.
She greatly admires a wide range of both contemporary and historic masters- notably: Egon Schiele; Lucian Freud; Degas; Motherwell; Whistler; and Antonio Lopez-Garcia. 
Without exception, even her most recent works reside in private collections in Zurich, Hong Kong, Greenwich, Manhattan, Princeton, Philadelphia and Chicago. 
Sandra lives in a 140 yr old house in Frenchtown NJ, on the Delaware River with her husband and three dogs.

Images via SandraFlood.Artspan.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Holly Ready, a Maine artist who captures the views so well! Look at the color of that water, spectacular! The wispy clouds, the breaking surf, and high crashing waves. Very nice!

I have seen some of the most spectacular sunsets while in Maine, and Holly captures that so well…

Read a bit about Holly, from her website, and take this opportunity to check out the rest of her work:

From early childhood, I was influenced by the artists in my family. To this day, when I walk into a studio and smell the aroma of turpentine and a freshly painted surface, I feel that I have returned “home.” 

Living on the Maine seacoast, with its abstract shapes and constantly changing light and reflections, provides a continuous source of inspiration. The surfaces of water, land, and sky are incredibly diverse, and the diffusion and intensity of light in each are unique. Hour by hour, day by day, season by season, the light constantly changes. 

Light and color are my avenues for involving the viewer and instilling a lasting impression. I want color to convey the inner experience, to transcend the viewer. My palette holds the colors that I’m seeing, the colors that I’m feeling, and the relationship between them. 

My work reflects the emotions felt while painting each piece. The layering and building of paint enable me to get beneath the surface and create the depth and luminosity that I crave in paintings. From the very first time I apply a stroke of paint to a blank surface, the interaction between the painting and my paintbrush becomes a dance of intuitive experiences. 

Although my work is strongly influenced by changing light, I’m constantly exploring different formats and compositions to further enhance the moment felt. I hope that I never feel too comfortable with the medium or the process. I strive to be constantly challenged and growing with my art. 

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust

 All images via HollyReady.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Paul Wright is an amazing artist from England. I featured Paul a while back, but I haven’t featured his interiors and WOW, are they amazing or what?I think they exude such style, color and even movement. Stunning!

Now THAT’S a yellow door! Just look at that fabulous chair, the color of the room, the walls, again… that wonderful movement, the bits of splattered paint – WOW. I am a huge fan of Paul’s work!

Read a bit about Paul from his website:

Artist Statement

I have spent the last 15 years developing a painterly language through which I seek to capture a vitality beyond the establishment of a mere ‘likeness’ to the subject. Whilst I appreciate the importance of the subject being recognisable, they are glimpsed rather than exposed, their inner selves hinted at but ultimately inscrutable.

Though I often work on a large, potentially imposing scale, the work remains immediate through fluency of brush mark and a rich palette. The spaces the subjects inhabit are often indeterminate, providing an atmosphere that allows for ambiguity of psychological state. The subjects retain their integrity and yet a sense of intimacy is evoked.

All images via paul-wright.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Frank Bruckmann is a fabulous artist who I wrote about years ago… a fascinating story, if you get a chance, check it out. Frank is an artist who spent time with his family on Monhegan. It’s a wonderful story for sure!

Looking through Frank’s paintings I absolutely love the paintings from his “Breaking Bread” series. Wonderful, intimate dinners between friends/family. They evoke so much feeling and breath life! Wonderful! You must check them out!

WORKSHOP ALERT: If you’re going to be in the Monhegan Island area June 6-13, 2015, as I write this there are TWO SPOTS left in Frank’s workshop. It sounds heavenly! Check it out!

Read a bit about Frank, from his website:

Frank began his studies at the DuCret school of Art in New Jersey, and then took classes at the Art Students League in NYC. In Paris he sketched at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and spent 8 years in France and Spain, copying the masters in the great museums like the Lourve and the Prado, and painting plein air landscapes in the cities and countryside. 

Now a resident of New Haven, CT, Frank has found endless subject matter for landscapes in New England, but periodically packs his easel and travels farther and wider in his VW camper. To continue reading, click HERE.

Image via FBruckmann.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Cynthia Britain has a cool style. I enjoyed looking through her website! Fabulous paintings with wonderful light, shadow and contrast, which I think is so important!

Are you looking to take a workshop this year? Check out Cynthia’s WORKSHOP schedule!

Read a bit about Cynthia, from her website:

“My intent is to express the intrinsic truth and beauty of my subject. To reveal the power or presence of spirit in a place or person. I am inspired by what I feel and by what I see…They reflect one another.”

Cynthia’s favorite activities are twofold – painting and spending time in nature. It is the combination of these two passions that have resulted in her becoming an award winning plein air painter. “I can’t imagine a more gratifying experience than painting outdoors while listening to the birds sing and feeling the sun on my face.”

While majorning in fine art at Fullerton College, Cynthia was introduced tot he Impressionist painters. She continued her studies at UCLA and Putney College of Art in England. Both the French Impressionists and the early California Impressionists deeply influenced the direction and concentration of her work.

Europe, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and the Yucatan Peninsula area all locales where she has enjoyed painting, but California holds a special place in her heart. “Future generations will not thave the experience of this quickly disappearing natural landscape. I aspire to create a permanent repository of these unique places in my paintings.”

Cynthia Britain’s work has been shown at The Laguna Art Museum, The Orange County Museum of Art, and the San Diego Museum of Art, where she was awarded a Gold Medal. Her work is shown in a corporate and private collections throughout the world.

Image via CynthiaBritain.com, used with permission… 

Catch you back here tomorrow!