Cold by Christine Swann

This is the most stunning pastel painting ever. The way Christine captured the light, the just-washed hair, and the sweetness of this child. The eye contact is heart warming, I also love the bits of red in the faucet…

There were so many wonderful paintings, so hard to chose. Facebook made it easy for me… right now there is a problem when posting more than one image, it seems to grab the last image, even though my words are referencing the first image. So I’m going to wait a bit and see if they can work it out. Be sure to check out “I Didn’t Do It” – precious? Just look at those wisps of hair, that innocent face, so very sweet! One more to be sure to check out is a portrait of Corinne, “Invisible”, she is a beautiful young lady who Christine captured so stunningly. All three are Christine’s children.

If you are a pastel artist, check out Christine’s upcoming workshops!

All images via SwannPortraits.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Where the Road Takes Me by Brett Weaver  36×36″  Oil

Brett Weaver. Whoa… so many wonderful paintings, where to start? This painting struck me, I like to go with my first instinct when I skim through paintings. The light and shadows in the trees, the power lines along with the overall abstract quality and the marks through the paint all made me say WOW. Love this!

I like that Brett painted this on a square canvas. Square is happening right now! It takes a typical landscape painting and changes it up a bit just with the shape of the canvas alone. I like that and am drawn to square paintings…

Check out the rest of Brett’s paintings online! As well as his blog! I think you’ll agree, this guy can paint anything!

Read a bit about Brett, from his website:

Brett is primarily a self-taught artist. His brief introduction to formal art training began as a Civil Engineering Student at Tennessee Tech when he was accepted directly into ‘advanced studio painting’ as a non art major after presenting a portfolio of work to the professor. It was there that he was first taught to be both bold and prolific in his approach to painting. However, he had limited time for extra courses and was encouraged to complete his studies, earning a degree in civil engineering. He later began to realize that his engineering training had given him a solid foundation that provided the mathematical equivalent to two dimensional design and composition in art. After working for several years, in his late twenties, Brett decided to abandon his engineering career in search of more creative endeavors. He began his professional art career studying the old masters, observing nature and painting the landscape, learning to capture depth and atmosphere and building a firm foundation of drawing, color and value and a strong understanding of light and composition.

After painting landscapes for ten years Weaver began also painting abstracts to open up a new world of creativity allowing him to experiment with colors and expression in the use of paint, beyond that which he has experienced in the landscape. Opening up this new perception of color and composition has also allowed him to develop more expressive landscapes. His abstracts are primarily minimalist and non-representational. They are based on ideas, emotions and energy that develop as each painting evolves through layers of color and texture. He believes that being safe and obligated to one style can only stifle creativity and keep you from growing as an artist. His main goal in his abstract work is to say very much with very little and take the viewer to a state of seeing and experiencing what is perhaps not even there.

Weavers influences range from Edgar Payne and Twachtman to Diebenkorn and de Stael. Brett has won numerous awards with his landscapes and his work is in public and private collections including the Tennessee State Museum.

All images via BrettWeaverStudio.com, used with permission… 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Aglow I by Linda Colletta 20×20″  Acrylic

Linda Colletta. I love her work! As many of you know, I am partial to orange, I don’t know what it is that draws me in? I just know that I love it! I think this is a great abstract paired with the toned down background that allows the orange to “sing”.

Read a bit about Linda from her website (Linda has a fabulous website, be sure to check it out!):

Artist Statement

I used to be very concerned with making art that “meant” something, that said something about the world that was utterly unique and important. This concern consumed me; in fact it stopped me from painting for almost 15 years.  Then one day it hit me, the “thing” that I wanted to say, the meaning that meant the most to me, that was always there but I was afraid to say, (as if it wasn’t important enough)… beauty. 

I like to make beautiful things. They make me happy. 
It’s my belief that this world could never have enough beauty added to it, in fact now, I can’t think of anything more important than spending my days doing my part to add a bit more beauty, happiness, color, and flow to this world and to someone’s life.

When I paint, it feels a bit like what I imagine channeling might feel like. I never know what will come out and it doesn’t feel like me doing the painting. It always starts with a color, I get thinking about a color or a combination of colors and the way they ignite when next to one another. Then I just paint. I stay as far away from any preconceived plan or outcome of the work as I can. Of course, it is human nature to try to control and will things to go a certain way. So this is what I explore most in every piece, the balance between my will and the universe. It’s always better when I let the universe win.

Bio

Linda Colletta has been painting and creating art in various media for over 20 years. She currently defines her artistic approach as an abstract expressionist.

Linda first translated her passion for art into a 15 year professional career as a scenic painter in the music television industry before dedicating herself full-time to a painting career. 

An immersion into color, composition and abstraction, Linda’s work is collaboration between exploration and intention. Working in acrylics, oils and pastels — drips, washes, scribbles, and other happy accidents evoke a feeling of freedom and unapologetic happiness. Linda studied at Parsons School of Design and works from her home studio in Weston, CT.

Original artwork can be seen in person by scheduling a studio visit here.

Follow Linda on Instagram @LNMOP, as well as other social media…

All images via LindaColletta.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Sunset at Tolers by Leslie Pratt-Thomas 24×36″

[image]

Leslie Pratt-Thomas. Fabulous artist and nicest person ever! What a striking painting this is! I love the dramatic colors in the sky.

 Shy Guy by Leslie Pratt-Thomas 20×24″

[image]

Another fabulous painting by Leslie, it looks as if you could reach out and touch these sunflowers! So nice!

If you’re in the Charleston, SC area, you can see Leslie’s work up close and personal! Visit Edward Dare Gallery (Charleston) or Sandpiper Gallery (Sullivan’s Island)!

Read a bit about Leslie from her website:

Leslie was born in Canada and has had a rich and varied life experience – from bartending and skiing in the Rockies to working as a paralegal in Charleston, SC, her chosen home. After her post-graduate work she was a practicing therapist working with troubled children and families. Since having children of her own she has devoted her life to artistic endeavors. She approaches life with passion and paints in the same manner.  

She has been painting in oil since the mid 1990s and is driven to learn from the best. She has painted and studied in Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, and Mexico with a variety of noted mentors. Although preferring to paint from life, studio work is a large part of her practice. 

In addition to her numerous local and national awards her piece titled, I Can Fly, was chosen for the cover of the novel Swimming Lessons by New York Times best-selling author Mary Alice Monroe. In 2009 she was asked to illustrate Shackles – a children’s book written by South Carolina Poet Laureate Marjory Heath Wentworth. Both were received with much admiration and Shackles won the Moonbeam award for multi-cultural children’s literature. Leslie was excited and challenged to illustrate these highly acclaimed creations.  

Leslie’s work has been included in both national and international venues. In 2011, three of her pieces were chosen in the Paint America Top 50 and Top 100 national competitions and were exhibited in a show at the Coutts Museum of Art in El Dorado, KS. Another piece reflecting the beauty of coastal shorebirds was chosen to exhibit through 2014 in the Art in Embassies program in Dakar, Senegal.  

In the last few years she has started teaching. According to Leslie teaching new painters is: “Pure pleasure. Seeing my new students’ perspectives and growth reminds me of when I first started painting and began viewing the world through an artistic lens – there is nothing like reliving that experience and sharing what I have learned with new painters.” Her classes are small and limited due to space and time constraints. 

Leslie’s work can be found locally at Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan’s Island, SC, and Edward Dare Gallery in Charleston, SC, also at Muzio Designs in Essex, MA, J. A. Willy Gallery in Naples, FL and on her website, www.lesliepratt-thomas.com

All images used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Spring Still Life  16×20″  Oil

Kyle Buckland. This painting struck me, as it’s different from his usual subject matter (which is fabulous)! Nice composition. I love the many varied colors, the elegant bend of the watering can, the pops of yellow and orange and the airy quality of the white flowers near the top.

Early Spring Pastures  24×30″  Oil

Kyle paints wonderful landscapes. and this one is no exception. I love his brush strokes. What fabulous trees, wonderful color palette – what a great painting!

Read a bit about Kyle, from his website:

Kyle Buckland, born in 1984, lives with his family in the southern region of the Appalachian Mountains. Painting has always been his passion and his true calling. Kyle explains that art is a language to communicate that which cannot be communicated through any other language. It’s the soul in the exterior of all things. It relies on love, beauty and passion to exist, three things which are crucial to our well-being as humans. To me art is everything.

     His talents in painting and drawing were recognized at a very young age, and Kyle was encouraged by his family and teachers to seriously explore the possibilities of art at around age 15. After painting nonstop throughout his high school years, real life came along and Kyle needed to make a living so he began working as a scenic artist painting backdrops for a theater in his hometown. Working on sets for plays was a wonderful experience for Kyle as it allowed him to express some of his artistic yearnings and get a regular paycheck, but something was missing. That something was the complete freedom to do what he had always known he was meant to do…create masterpieces! Kyle met his wife Jennifer who is also an artist and they took a leap of faith and both quit their full-time jobs to make a living solely off of their art. It was rough at times but each year has been better than the last, and we love a good challenge, Kyle explains.

     Now Kyle’s work has been recognized by national publications on plein air painting and featured at outdoorpainter.com, home of Plein Air Magazine, on three different occasions in articles concerning contemporary impressionism. He has garnered many awards and his work hangs in hundreds of private and corporate collections in the US and around the world. No serious collector should overlook the raw talent and passion in Kyle’s work. He is inevitably one of our next great American Impressionist painters!

All images via KyleBuckland.com, used with permission…

Catch you back here tomorrow!