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!