Tag: artist

Featured Artist… Roger Dale Brown!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

“Harbor at Dusk” by Roger Dale Brown

Roger Dale Brown… this is another man who can paint anything! The twinkle of the lights in this painting is pure genius! It drew me right in and made me love it right off the bat! Very, very nice!

“Creekside” by Roger Dale Brown

“Creekside” is a plein air piece that Roger did and I think it has such character. As simple as it is, I LOVE THOSE WINDOWS! The fabulous shade on the sunny building, and in the sunlit grass, so very nice! I think character adds so much to a painting, and lines that aren’t always straight really gives it that character, doesn’t it? I see that Roger does a lot of the plein air events all over the country, check out his website to see when he’ll be near you!

A blip about Roger from his website:

Originally from Nashville, Tennessee Roger is avid about traveling studying, teaching, and competing in national painting competitions.  These experiences expand his knowledge of history, nature, and architecture, which inspire his oil paintings. 

 Roger believes, as the historical master artists, such as John Carlson and Edgar Payne, that “plein air” painting is an essential element in being a great artist.  He spends countless hours studying and painting on location, to continue to perfect seeing important nuances of a scene, a day, or an object, which are necessary in creating a great painting. Roger works hard to balance the emotion of a scene, with the knowledge of painting, in every painting he paints.

Roger’s oil paintings have been displayed in galleries throughout the United States and have won many awards which include: First Place in the Barnes and Farms National Juried Art Show, Museum Purchase Award and third place at the Easton Plein Air Competition, Best of Show at the Central South National Juried Show, as well as the Gold Medal Award from the Hudson Valley Art Association.  His work has also been accepted in the Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, and Salon International. Roger has been published by: International Artist Magazine, American Artist Magazine, American Art Collector Magazine, and the Artist Magazine. His works are owned by private collectors across the country and include many well-known celebrities and major corporations.

 Roger shares his knowledge teaching workshops throughout the country. He believes in capturing the essence of his subjects and instills this in his students whether teaching plein air, figurative, studio or still life.

Fabulous work! His work has that step-back-in-time feel to it, how wonderful! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Frank Emrick!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

“Polka Dot Princess” by Frank Emrick

What a sweet face. Polka Dot Princess, perfect name for this painting! I love how the face is so detailed yet there is no background… For some reason I just love the shadow underneath her collar. Great painting Frank!

I enjoyed this artist’s website so much I just had to share it with you. He has such a refreshing sense of humor, it truly is a delight to read! And his paintings… VERY nice!

Here is a little blip from Frank’s website... I’m telling you, you’ve GOT to check it out!

This web site was created to encourage the sale of my art (I’m frame poor) which will inspire me to paint more pictures which will keep me out of my spouse’s comfort zone and thus contribute to my peaceful retirement. Hers too.You can contribute to this effort by forwarding my web address to everyone you know.
http://www.emrickart.com
Do it!

I love his sense of humor!

If you click on the EMRICK WHO? link on Frank’s website, this is the first line… I encourage you to read the remainder…

IT’S ALL ABOUT ME, FRANK A. EMRICK

Me being an opinionated, 82 year old representational artist.

Now… THIS man is creative! Ha ha… Catch you back here tomorrow!

Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine – at the Portland Museum!

On By Barbara StroudIn ARTLeave a comment

WEATHERBEATEN: Winslow Homer and Maine. What a show this will be and it all begins T O M O R R O W ! If you happen to be in the Portland, Maine area anywhere between September 22, 2012 and December 30, 2012 you might want to pop in to see a chance of a lifetime exhibit! You also have the option to check out Winslow Homer’s studio! Ticket information below…

“One of the Best Museum Shows of 2012” – Fodors.com

From the Portland Museum website:

To celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Winslow Homer Studio at Prouts Neck, the Portland Museum of Art presentsWeatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine. This extraordinary exhibition showcases more than 35 masterpieces that the great American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910) created during the final decades of his life, when he lived and worked in Maine. Inspired by the rugged beauty and changeable weather along the coast at Prouts Neck, Homer painted powerful marine narratives and seascapes that capture the specificity of place with vivid intensity, while also investigating existential themes of life and death, of humankind’s relationship with the natural world. Highly admired for their originality and sense of authenticity, these paintings helped to establish an iconic image of the New England coast in the national imagination-one that endures to the present day.

Weatherbeaten provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the range and complexity of Homer’s most critically acclaimed works. The featured paintings, watercolors, and etchings are drawn from private collections and museums throughout the country-including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia), the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C.), and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (Williamstown, Massachusetts). The Portland Museum of Art is the only venue for this important exhibition.

Tickets to the Exhibition-Please call, (207) 775-6148. 

  • Advance reservations are recommended. Members receive FREE tickets and admission is based on level of membership. Click here for ticket details for members. Not a member?  Join Today »
  • Advance reservations are recommended for the public. There is a $5 special exhibition surcharge added to each adult admission.
  • Adult groups tours: Tours must be a minimum of 10 people to receive the group rate of $10 per person. An additional $25 flat fee will be applied for a Docent led tour. Tour time slots are available at 2:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., Mon. through Sun. Reservations are required and tours are limited. For tickets, please call (207) 775-6148. 

Corporate sponsorship is provided by Bank of America. Foundation support is provided by The Henry Luce Foundation and by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Media support is provided by WCSH 6, The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, and the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Winslow Homer’s Studio

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Images: PortlandMuseum.org

Featured Artist… Eric Zener!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist2 Comments

“Free” by Eric Zener

I know what you’re going to say… “WHOA!!”, right? Amazingly realistic, wouldn’t you say? This painting is so Norman Rockwell in my eyes… absolutely amazing. The dark suit against the fabulously cloudy sky, the tease of the lifeguard stand in the background with just  a little pop of color. FABULOUS! I’m sure this is something Eric Zener has heard time and time again. He’s got quite the long list of publications, awards, etc. A bio that I read on him said he was self taught. Now THAT is amazing. He has certainly taught himself well!

Here is another, entitled “Woman Treading Water” – can you believe how realistic this woman looks?

Here’s a blip about Eric from Joanne Artman Gallery in Laguna Beach, CA:

Eric Zener (b. 1966, Astoria, Oregon) is an American photorealist artist best known for figure paintings of lone subjects, often in or about swimming pools. Zener is a self-taught artist. His paintings, mostly in oil, are in a photorealist or “super-realist” style Zener describes as “Contemporary Renaissance”. In 2003, while living in the Costa Brava region of Spain, Zener became interested in watching bathers, and began a series of paintings of water, and of people interacting with water. Many paintings from this period depict women swimming underwater amidst air bubbles, or diving into the water, and have been described as reminiscent of Hudson River School and Barbizon School painters.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Images: Gallery Henoch

Featured Artist… Tibor Nagy!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

“A Voiceless Belfry” by Tibor Nagy

What is not to love about this painting? Look at that exquisite brushwork! Oh, and the fabulous layering that makes his work so interesting. Tibor’s subject matter is so interesting as well, you wonder what it’s like as you walk through that opening, what awaits you as you walk deep inside? VERY intriguing…

“Layers” by Tibor Nagy

“Layers” has been aptly named. LOOK at those fantastic layers. Nothing flat and disinteresting about Tibor’s work.

Tibor has a wonderful website, included on his website are two videos that will blow you away! One is for the first painting “A Voiceless Belfry” the other is for “Country Church II”, click HERE to select which video to watch… I am oh so impressed!

Here is a blip about Tibor from his website:

Why the landscapes are special to me

When I observe the land itself, the first thing that happens is that it evokes 
a feeling or mood in me. A while later I slowly start to explore colors, 
structures and other details in general. And this very first notion is what 
interests me the most; trying to capture the vitality and rich diversity 
of the scenery while concentrating on the emotional context which is crucial for me.

I prefer to work using a “loose style” with many abstract forms, which I love, trying
to find a balance between what is abstract and what is real.

This form of expression is very energetic and often makes me push the envelope
a bit further. At this point I need some courage because beyond this border starts
an unknown territory and since I’m not just relying on the knowledge I’ve gathered
over time anymore, I never know what might surprise me. It’s like being on the edge. 
Sometimes I fall and other times new, unexpected possibilities of expression and 
technique become available to me. This is the way I can improve, being constantly
on the edge, where the process of thinking temporarily stops and spontaneity comes
in instead. If I manage to maintain this fragile balance, a work of art is created.

Experience slowly teaches me that it’s better not to think too much but to trust your
intuition instead. Having the courage to leave the safe but often boring road 
and “stay alive” is what matters to me.

I also make an extra effort to remain constantly open to new possibilities and innovative
ways and, if possible, not to remain at the same stage all the time. In this way I give new creative processes the opportunity
to carry me forward.

Check out his work, it’s amazing! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Monhegan Island… artists everywhere!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, THOUGHTS, TRAVEL1 Comment

I love this photo! It makes me look like I’m an artist, hee hee… If I would have listened to my friend (KD you know who you are) I would be painting now… but instead I’m going to watch and sketch… I need to get my drawing skills perfected before I kill another canvas with a bad drawing! Maybe this winter I will paint? Hmmm. Only time will tell! Whichever path I choose to take I will always love this photo. Art is fabulous in so many ways. You can meet the coolest people through art, whether you paint or you just have heartfelt interest!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Nancy Rhodes Harper!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist3 Comments

“Sunflowers At The Lake” by Nancy Rhodes Harper

Nancy Rhodes Harper is an artist with a talent for painting people, fun people, quirky cool people… women that you’d like to sit down and talk to because they just seem so interesting! I think this painting is a fabulous deviation for her! I absolutely love this painting, it’s got such nice composition, the sunflowers are so nice and loose yet you know exactly what they are. This is a fabulous painting! Check out Nancy’s website for more paintings, she’s a very talented lady!

Nancy shows her work locally at the Atelier Gallery on King Street, stop in and check it out! She also does paintings for DailyPaintWorks.com, which is a wonderful site, fabulous paintings, if you have the time check it out!

Here is a blip about Nancy from her website NancyRhodesHarperFineArt.com

About The Artist

 Alabama Daily Painter

Nancy Rhodes Harper grew up in a small town in the Ozark Mountains surrounded by paint and brushes in her fathers sign shop. She started painting at a very early age.  Continuing to study in school Nancy received a BA degree in Art Education from The University of Central Arkansas in 1977. After marriage and her husbands stint  in graduate school, the couple landed in Huntsville, Alabama in 1981. Nancy continued to paint and grow as an artist while working in interior design, sign painting and freelancing as an artist. After raising a son with the support of her husband and family Nancy decided to pursue painting full time.
      Nancy has studied with many of the finest artists in the world today, Quang Ho, Kim English, Ken Auster, Nancy Chaboun, Karin Jurick, Carol Marine, Anne Blair Brown, Elio Camacho and The Cumberland Socity Painters (Dawn Whitelaw-Roger Dale Brown-Michael Shane Neal-Paula Frisbee- Pam Padgett).
       Nancy’s love of portraying people while they go about their daily lives while capturing a small moment in time is what keeps her excited as an artist. Using bold color, lush descriptive brushstrokes and very often whimsy Nancy sets about doing what she loves. Painting everyday! 
      Nancy Rhodes Harper’s work is collected in many states across America as she continues to grow and study on her journey as an artist.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Robert Lange!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

“There Are No Words” by Robert Lange

Image: Robert Lange Studios Facebook

It takes the brain a few seconds to realize this is a painting and not a photograph. Amazing isn’t it? This painting entitled “There Are No Words” is by local Charleston, SC artist, Robert Lange. Robert and his wife Megan own Robert Lange Studios, a very nice gallery located in the hustle and bustle of downtown Charleston, SC. Those of you who know me know how much I love Maine. To me it’s a place I cannot get out of my system, same for my husband. The very first time we visited it was actually heartbreaking to leave. What?! We live in one of the coolest cities in America, and we’re heartbroken to return after spending a week on Monhegan Island and some time in Port Clyde and Rockland?! The title of this painting really caught my attention. THERE ARE NO WORDS. Very poetic. That’s just how I feel.

After 12 days in Maine, this was the first painting that Robert did. It’s amazing and I simply cannot wait to see the rest of them!

September 7th was the opening of Charles Williams’ solo show at Robert Lange Studios… stop by and check it out! The show runs through September!

Here’s a blip about Robert from his gallery website:

Born in 1980 in Colorado, Robert Lange began painting at a young age but was recognized as a mathematical prodigy and subsequently followed his gift to college. It wasn’t until his second year at Northeastern University, which he attended on a full math scholarship that he decided to follow his passion for art and transfered to Rhode Island School of Design, where he was again awarded a full scholarship but this time for his painting abilities. He was most influenced by teacher and painter Julia Jacquette, who taught him new perspectives leading him to become professional in 2003. That year he both graduated from RISD and opened his first gallery, Robert Lange Studios, in Charleston SC.

He first specialized in realist painting, particularly of people, emphasizing narrative moments. In 2010 he opened his second gallery, RLS Gallery and his work became more surreal, following into the category of hyper-realism or surrealism. His most notable bodies of work Measure (2009) and Go (2010) were nationally recognized and internationally collected. Lange has been featured in numerous magazines, including the cover of American Art Collector and Art Magazine, and in New American Paintings.

“Robert’s depiction of a heightened suburbia distances his work from the political commitment and social self-importance of most contemporary postmodern painters. Someplace between Charleston’s cobblestone streets and New York’s stark concrete living rooms, is the work of Robert Lange.” – City Paper 2008

 Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Randy Sexton!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist4 Comments

“Toot’s” by Randy Sexton

“Toot’s” is a fabulous painting! Look at those brushstrokes… the layering of color, especially in the steps, it’s spectacular! Isn’t it amazing how a small brushstroke going a different way really makes the subject look like what it is? For instance the different  building materials used in this structure… you can tell they’re different not only by the different colors but the way the stroke was put on the canvas with the brush. Such wonderful looseness all the while keeping the coolest details. I love Randy’s work. It’s mesmerizing how an artist can be so diverse. Below is a painting I saw that was posted on his Facebook page… it caught my attention. It’s nothing but a dish rack with dishes but LOOK how fabulous it is!?!

“Lemon Press and the Spotfrees” by Randy Sexton – Image: Randy Sexton Facebook

Excerpt from Facebook: “This piece, “Lemon Press and the Spotfrees”, will be included in the upcoming Still Life and Trompe L’Oeil exhibit at the John Pence Gallery in San Francisco, 9/7 – 10/6.”

Here’s a blip about Randy from his website:

The Artist’s point of view:
“My concerns as an artist have always been rather straight forward. The discipline of direct painting, both in the plein air experience and in the studio, has helped me to develop a loose handling of paint that speaks as much about the paint itself as it does any given subject matter. I try to combine traditional methods of painting with a “sense of myself living in the present”. My paintings are a direct response from the world around me as I strive to be “in the moment” while I work. Nature has proven to be the most demanding and inspiring teacher…so I work from life, as often as possible and try to remain open to new ideas and new approaches.

Each painting is a simple sentence in an ongoing story that will take a lifetime to unfold. The tale is a compilation of images that reflect the magic of life itself and the mysteries of light, color, and shape as I respond to the world around me. Painting has enabled me to be more observant and appreciative of the beauty and richness in everyday life”.

Background:
California based artist, Randall Sexton, is nationally known for the use of color and expressive brushwork in his oil paintings of “everyday” scenes. Raised in rural Connecticut, Sexton moved to San Francisco, CA in 1980 after completing a BFA from the University of CT, Storrs.

The Bay area has proven to be home, where he has earned a great reputation for being an educator as well as a fine artist. He taught classes in drawing, painting, and composition at the San Francisco Academy of Art until 2005.

He now leads private workshops- both nationally and abroad. In the fall of 2008, he led a group of Plein air painters on a trip to Tuscany, Italy through a program hosted by the Sedona Art Center in Arizona. Acknowledged by jurors and artists alike, Randall has garnered national awards for his paintings. Most notably, in 2008, Randy was honored with the coveted “Artists’ Choice Award” in Laguna Beach at the 10th Annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Event held at the Laguna Museum Of Art. He also won the same award in Telluride, CO (Sheridan Plein Air Festival) and in Napa, CA (Napa Valley Land Trust Art Festival), both in 2008. . He received the same award in 2006 in Sedona, AZ and Maui, HI at their respective painting festivals. He received Jurors Choice- “Best of Show” in “Northern Views a biennial landscape show hosted by the Napa Valley Museum, and in the Maui Plein Air Festival of 2006.

He has been featured in various national journals including: “American Artist”-August 2000, “Southwest Art”-July 2003, “Plein Air” (currently- “Fine Art Connoisseur”)-November 2004, and “Workshop”-December 2006 He has been a member of the California Art Club, The Laguna Beach Plein Air Painters Association, “The Outsiders”, a group of artists loosely connected to “The Society of Six” and The Baywood Artists Group committed to working on environmentally sensitive projects.

Although his career has enabled him to travel and paint in faraway places, most days Sexton can be found at work in his studio in historic downtown Crockett. His new workplace has provided fresh insights into his process…one that keeps him “in the moment”. In his words, “Painting is an adventure. Each work is a simple sentence in an ongoing story that will take a lifetime to unfold.”

Fabulous work! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Steve Kennedy!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist2 Comments

“Evening, The Bradford House” by Steve Kennedy – Image: AddisonArtGallery

Dusk. Lamps on in a house at dark. Dramatic shadows at nighttime. The wonderful deep dark blue in the sky. Lights on the house. All elements of a great nocturnal painting. This painting by artist Steve Kennedy is a great example of just that. I love his explanation of this painting (from Addison Art Gallery):

“What makes this painting of the Bradford House unique is that it was painted entirely ‘plein air’ — that is, outside, at night, directly from life. The first night a street light was utilized as light source. Before the second night’s painting session I decided a bedside night reader LED lamp would very helpful! And indeed it was. Some nights the fog would roll in while I was painting, giving the buildings an eerie glow. And water could be poured out of my palette by the end of the evening.”

I think it’s interesting hearing the story about a painting, makes it much more interesting if you’re the buyer! Here’s a blip about Steve from the Addison Art Gallery website:

In the mid 1970s, at the urging of a school instructor, Steve Kennedy began painting in the “plein air” tradition. A graduate of Paier College of Art (New Haven, CT), Kennedy moved to Cape Cod in 1981 and began focusing more on the traditional “plein air” manner of painting, working outdoors in all four seasons. He refers to his style as “painterly realism” because he works in a loose yet representational way.

While smaller paintings are typically completed in one session, for larger works Kennedy may return to the same site several times because of the constantly changing light and weather conditions. Kennedy enjoys the challenge of painting outdoors year round; intense heat and sun in the summer, snow, wind and bitter cold in the winter. He utilizes sunlight to strengthen form and create a mood, and his use of color complements the graphic patterns of light and shadow found in his paintings. He’s drawn inspiration from the rooftops of Provincetown, the harbor and streets of Gloucester, the catboats of Wellfleet, and views around cities like New Bedford and Portland, Maine.

“One of my goals is to capture the luminosity of Cape light by working early in the morning or late in the day when color and drama are at their height”, he says. In addition to capturing the light, another objective Kennedy has is balancing loose brushwork against the craft of drawing, especially as it concerns architecture and boats. Subjects are chosen carefully, with favoritism towards older more time worn themes — sometimes with a contrast of something new against it for a sense of realism. Kennedy’s typical emphasis is on street and maritime subjects. In this world of constant change, older things that somehow ‘seem more comforting’ appeal to him. He is especially drawn to places where land and water meet; he considers these areas ‘places of power.’ Influences include the work of Edward Hopper, Frederick J. Mulhaupt, John Carlson and photographer David Plowden.

Steve and his wife, Lucy, have lived on Cape Cod for over 30 years. Kennedy’s work has won numerous awards, and is in many public and private collections including the permanent collection of the Cahoon Museum of American Art, New Haven Paint and Clay Club, Cape Cod Museum of Art, Albany Institute of History and Art, Seamen’s Bank, Wequassett Inn, and the Key Bank and People’s Heritage Bank (former names, both in Maine).

Though he’s committed to plein air painting, Kennedy also works in his studio. Indoor paintings are done from photographs, sketches and field notes. The studio affords him the opportunity to capture fleeting effects of light not easily painted on location.

He has taught painting in Provincetown for many years and is a member of the North Shore Arts Association, Cape Cod Plein Air Painters and Creative Arts Center.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City, 1931 – Diego Rivera

On By Barbara StroudIn ART2 Comments

“The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City” by Diego Rivera, 1931

Photo: David Wakely (Image: MuralsandMosaics.org)

What better way to celebrate Labor Day and include art? Diego Rivera the famous fresco artist who’s work is seen all over the world created this fresco in 1931. It’s at the San Francisco Art Institute. This fresco was a gift of William Gerstle. What a fabulous gift! I’ve seen Diego Rivera’s work at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). It’s unbelievable… anyone who grew up in Michigan, or ever went to the DIA will remember, I do think it’s quite impossible to forget!

Check out a blip about “The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City” by reading more from MuralsandMosaics.org, it’s quite fascinating!

Have a great Labor Day, catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Mara Schasteen!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

“Backyard Chickens” by Mara Schasteen

I saw a magnificent still life on Facebook that Mara had done. Whoa! I scooted right over to her site to check out her work. Nothing short of impressive. I love the “Backyard Chickens” painting. The dark chicken right next to the white chicken really makes them both pop out at you. What caught my eye that I really loved was the sunlight hitting the one dark chicken. The areas of sun form a nice little path that keeps your eye nicely in the painting. I guess it’s no surprise that this painting was one of the Top 50 finalist in the America China Oil Painting Artists League 2011 realist painting competition! Great job Mara! If you get a second, check out her site, her paintings are fantastic and she gives you a step by step on many of her paintings on her blog. So amazing!

Here’s a blip about Mara from her website:

Mara Schasteen is a Wyoming native and a lifetime artist. Her passion for art began as a small child, carving drawings into planks of wood with tools from her dad’s shed. Growing up in the beautiful Big Horn Mountains, Mara developed a passion for nature and a desire to express its beauty in unique and exciting ways. Today, Mara’s intense self-study of the arts has produced a fresh technical style that draws elements from many of her heroes in art, past and present.

Studying graphic design and advertising at Oklahoma Christian University provided Mara with a solid foundation in design, color theory and the effort required to become excellent at whatever the task may be. Mara began a family shortly after college and as she set about the important mission of raising four brilliant children, she discovered and slowly developed her true passion for fine art and portraiture.
 
Mara now considers herself an expressive naturalist painter, desiring to convey moods, emotions and energy with textures, colors and intimate subjects. Mara finds great joy in her gift of art and she boldly uses her talent to celebrate simple beauty.
 
Working most commonly as a direct painter, alla prima, Mara is most fulfilled when she expresses a subject in the simplest terms. Her ability to combine illusions of reality with expressive textures treats the viewer to a simple telling of poetic stories, inviting the eye to enjoy the nature of oil paint itself and experience the energy carefully placed into each stroke.
 
Mara currently lives and paints in Sheridan, Wyoming with her husband, four children and six chickens.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Joe Paquet!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist4 Comments

“Sprinkler and Spring Greens” by Joe Paquet

I think this is a fabulous painting. I can’t tell you how much I love the sprinkler! Who would guess it could add so much to a painting… Fabulous greens in this painting, lovely light and shadows and an unexpected sprinkler surprise! Joe is a very talented artist. I perused his many paintings via his website and they are SPECTACULAR!

Here’s a blip about Joe from his website:

Joseph Paquet, while pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York, had the good fortune of finding a mentor in John Foote who opened his eyes to the joys of drawing the human figure. After graduating, Joe met another major influence in his life, John Osborne, who was uniquely gifted in producing convincing landscape paintings from memory. Osborne believed a landscape painting should begin on location, but that its poetic essence should be completed in the solitude of the artist’s studio. Paquet experienced a demanding and rewarding apprenticeship, in which he learned to fuse field studies with the image he could see in his mind’s eye. To summarize this experience, he explains, “The intellectual process became married to the intuitive. Paint what you know well as what you see.” He goes on to expand the possibilities, “If I have the need or desire to move a mountain, add a figure or change the course of a river, I can do so. I am no longer shackled to nature. Now, I am painting my picture.” Paquet teaches and paints at Hurinenko and Paquet Studio in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He has been featured in an October 1995 article in the Washington Post Sunday Magazine, the May 2002 issue of The Artist Magazine, the March 2004 issue of American Artist and the July 2005 issue of Plein Air Magazine. Paquet’s recent awards include both Artists’ Choice and Collectors’ Choice from the 2007 Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational as well as the 2008 Alden Bryan Memorial Prize from the Salmagundi Club of New York and the First Place in Landscape from the Richeson 75: Artist’s Choice Competition.

Paquet is a Signature Member of the Plein Air Painters of America, The Salmagundi Club and an Out-of-State Artist Member of the California Art Club.

Now how many of you remember this?? A DRIVE IN movie?!! With those little boxes that hooked on your window with the sound. How much fun was this?! Actually when I think back, the mosquitoes, the poor sound quality, the heat of the night, it would make you wonder why they were so popular. BUT… it was an adventure. It was fun. I have vivid memories of seeing Snow White at the drive in… my sister started crying, wanted to go home, she got scared… she conveniently got plopped into the backseat, and if I remember correctly was entertained by my mom while my dad and I watched the movie! Funny the things you remember. This is a sweet painting with great memories!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Sprinkler and Spring Greens – Image via Roger’s Gardens Facebook… 

Two Choices for Saturday Night – Image via Plein Air Painters of America Facebook

Featured Artist… William Berra!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist2 Comments

This piece caught my eye. Artist William (Bill) Berra uses a stunning mix of color and light. I stop in my tracks at that warm golden light, with just enough of the sun hitting the landscape to make it so interesting.The light is so radiant and warm, the strokes loose and deliberate. All the great shadows from the cloudy day. THE. CLOUDS. WHOA! Amazing how light is peeking through. Very nice. I was happy to find that Bill Berra’s work is right here in Charleston, SC at the Sylvan Gallery. So if you’re in town… stop by and check it out! This painting is nothing short of amazing, click to enlarge (at least I know I can with my MAC)… hopefully all computers can??

Here’s a blip about Bill from the Sylvan Gallery website:

William Berra was raised in York, Pennsylvania and studied art there at the York Academy before moving on to the Maryland Institute of Fine Arts in Baltimore.  He left his formal training in favor of a nomadic life-style that carried him all across the country seeking subject matter for his plein-air paintings.  A winter storm stranded him in Santa Fe and he has made it his home ever since.  But the spirit of wanderlust still calls as he travels the world extensively in search of new material to paint.

William’s training as a “plein-air” painter is evident in the loose spontaneity of his pieces although he now does a great deal of his painting in the studio using his travel photographs as reference material.  His ability to make the viewer feel “oh, I’ve been there” has made him one of the most widely collected young artists in the country.

William’s work has been featured at many fine galleries throughout the country.  His work has also been exhibited at the Albuquerque Museum, at the Artists of America show in Denver, the Carmel Plein Air Competition and the Americana Museum in El Paso.  He was also the subject of an extensive article in a recent issue of Southwest Art.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Romel de la Torre!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

“Katie’s Mom” by Romel de la Torre

I think this is the nicest woman… look at her kind eyes and her gentle smile. She’s about to tell you everything is going to be ok… not to worry, right? You can almost hear the words about to come out of her mouth. I would like to know Katie’s mom! She is so detailed yet the background just makes her stand out that much more. I think this is an amazing painting! Romel de la Torre is definitely one talented artist, as you’ll soon read. What a gift! He’s got a great website, so check it out!

Here’s a blip about Romel from his website:

Born in Cebu City, Philippines in a community of artists, Romel de la Torre’s artistic interest started at a very young age. With the encouragement of his parents he began sketching the world around him. He started getting awards and recognition from school competitions and at age 10 appeared on TV after receiving a medal for his painting.

In the late 70’s Romel and his family migrated to the United States where he began going to museums studying and learning on his own; works of famous artists like Sargent, Sorolla, Fechin, Mucha, and the American Impressionists. The exposure to these masters’ paintings laid a strong foundation to his belief of what great art is.

He attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he was awarded the President’s Foundation Award and the Union League Scholarship Award. After graduating with a fine arts concentration, Romel continued to paint in the Chicago area and joined The Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, where he began painting with nationally renowned artist Richard Schmid and a community of other painters. It was a turning point of his creative and artistic career.

“My painting is the world, channeled through my eyes, through the prism of my own feeling, emotions and preferences. It is a unity of the visual world and the internal, abstraction and realism…” the artist’s says. A consummate artist in all media, Romel de la Torre is one of today’s most highly regarded artists. His figures, landscape, portraits, and still life paintings display unparalleled technical skill, fluid style, and thorough understanding of light, color, form and design.

The artist has been painting full time and currently instructs advanced painting and portraiture at The Palette and Chisel Academy on Fine Arts, Chicago. He is a signature member of the Oil Painters of America & the Portrait Society of America; his oils, pastels, watercolors, and portraits are housed in private collections throughout the United States and several foreign countries. His paintings have been published in The Artists Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, U.S. Art Magazine and the American Art Collectors Magazine.

Among his most important honors is the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition/ Grand Prize and the Artists Magazine Portrait Artist of the Year. His most recent award includes; 2007 Raymar Fine Arts Competition, 2008 Gold Medal & the People’s Choice Award from the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts Gold Medal show and one of the top finalist in the 2007 and 2008 International Portrait Competition given by the prestigeous Portrait Society of America. 

Artist’s statement:
“I find spiritual beauty in all the things that I paint. The innocence of a child’s face, the endlesss blue color of the sky, the smell of flowers in the garden, the sound of raindrops falling on the roof. These gives joy in my heart, inspiration, and gratitude…… of being an artist.”

Catch you back here tomorrow!