Featured Artist… Burton Silverman!

On August 10, 2012December 8, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

Isn’t this fabulous? The description that Burton Silverman had to go along with this painting: …”Italy version of the scenes in my neighborhood of women looking out to see neighbors,watch their kids and ruminate”

The woman in this painting looks like she’s doing just that… I love that area to the left of the window… so spectacular with the light… also the shadows from the shutter against the house, the cool draping of the fabric. The fixed stare in the woman’s eyes, like she’s watching something so intriguing… something she can pass on to her neighbors. I think it’s a very cool vantage point that this was painted from, down closer to the street, but zoomed in a bit, looking up, you get the effect as if you were the one she was watching. Such depth, very very nice. Check out Burton’s work if you get a chance, it’s amazing. Very difficult to choose only one painting!

Here’s a blip about Burton from his website, click HERE for more:

Mr. Silverman been painting and exhibiting as a painter for 60 years. He has had had 33 solo shows across the country including venues in New York, Boston, Philadelphia ,Washington, D.C,., San Francisco, Maine and Nashville TN He has appeared in numerous national and international exhibitions including the National Portrait Gallery, the National Academy Annuals, the Mexico City Museum of Art, the Royal Academy of Art in London and the Butler Midyear Annuals. He has won 37 major prizes and awards from several of these annual exhibitions and the National Academy Museum has honored him with 9 awards including the Ranger Purchase Awards in 1983 and 1965. His paintings are represented in more than two dozen public collections including the Arkansas Art Institute, the Brooklyn Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the New Britain Museum, the Denver Art Museum, the National Museum of American Art, the Columbus Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. His work is included in numerous private collections both in the U.S. and Europe. Since 1993 he has lectured in museums and university graduate programs on the nature of 21st Century Realism. and written articles extensively on the same subject matter.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Artist to watch… Daniela Astone!

On January 4, 2012December 9, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

self_portrait_studio AnnLongFineArt DanielaAstone — Self Portrait in Studio by Daniela Astone/Image: AnnLongFineArt.com

I love paintings of artists painting, or of their studios. For some reason those kinds of paintings fascinate me. I love seeing into someones life. How they do things, are they organized or does the creativity flow without order? That seems to be the case for many artists. Maybe I spend too much time getting things the way I want them… then oops… time to make dinner… ha ha… I guess I need to lighten up, or maybe pick up a paintbrush. That’s on the list of things to do this year… didn’t really work out last year, but… Anyway, artist Daniela Astone painted a fantastic piece, a self portrait in her studio. Very nice Daniela!

Locally, Daniela has her work at Ann Long Fine Art in Charleston, SC. If you’re in the area, stop by and check it out, otherwise check it out online, they have a great website! Daniela has the most interesting blog, it’s like visiting Italy! She teaches near Florence, Italy and lives the the nearby countryside. Here is a blip about the artist from her website:

Daniela Astone was born in Pisa in 1980 and raised in the town of Porto S. Stefano in Maremma, Italy. She discovered her passion for drawing and painting at a very young age and thus began cultivating this desire. In 1997, after graduating from the Visual Arts High School of Maremma, her motivation for the arts initiated a move to Florence. The cultural city of Florence provided her with the opportunity to deepen her knowledge and love of the art by both challenging and motivating her. Daniela’s first experience in Florence was working in the illustration school. In 2001, she enrolled in the Florence Academy of Art, one of the most serious art schools of Florence. Upon graduating in 2004, she received the painting award, the highest honor of her class. Daniela’s accomplishments include participation in the exhibition “Realism Revisited” in the Panorama Museum, Bad Frankenhausen Germany in 2003 as well as two successful solo shows with Ann Long Fine Art in 2005 and 2007. Daniela currently teaches at the Florence Academy of Art in Florence and resides in the nearby countryside.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Artist to watch… Mark Horton!

On November 9, 2011December 9, 2013 By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

TheBarbershop12x9500170557 — The Barbershop - Image via HortonHayes.com

Mark Horton is a fabulous artist (as well as a super nice guy). That’s nothing new, however I’m seeing some work like none I’ve ever seen of his and I like it. A lot! This painting is one from the workshop he and Chris Groves gave in Italy this year. It’s so unique. I love it!

If you’re in the Charleston, SC area be sure to stop in the Horton Hayes Gallery! Stop by, say hello and check out the wonderful art work! If you aren’t in the area, check out Mark’s work on the gallery website. Here’s a blip from the gallery website, there’s more, so check it out!

Mark Kelvin Horton was born and raised in rural North Carolina. After graduating from East Carolina University School of Art in 1983, Horton moved to New York City to begin a career in advertising and design. He carried with him the dream of someday becoming a painter.

Eighteen years of living in New York were spent working as a creative director in various advertising agencies and eventually founding his own design company. Those years also provided an invaluable opportunity for Horton to view and study firsthand the seemingly endless number of masterworks of art in the city’s museums and galleries. Horton became particularly fascinated with the works of George Inness, Herman Herzog, Frederick Church and the tonalist photographer, Edward Steichen. He was also captivated by the realism of John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer as well as the romantic landscapes of the Hudson River School painters. The experience had a profound effect on his artistic development.

During his years working as an artistic director and designer, Horton continued to nurture his “fine art side”, drawing, sketching and painting whenever he had the opportunity. In early 2001 Horton made the decision to devote himself full-time to painting. He left New York City and returned to his Southern roots, moving to Charleston, South Carolina.

Horton is particularly fascinated with the effects of light and weather upon the landscape. He paints beyond a literal interpretation of a scene to portray nature in a way that reflects his own ideas and sensibilities while capturing the spirit, color and changing light of a place.

Adding this a bit late, but just in time… this past weekend we went to a fabulous demo that Mark Horton and Chris Groves gave at the Horton Hayes Gallery, it was about painting the English countryside and it was AMAZING! To watch these guys paint is fascinating. I took notes like a crazy person and can’t wait to try what they mentioned. They are full of information, and lucky for you they have workshops in your future! There are a few in England that will blow you away. We’ve seen the photos, seen the paintings and whoa! If you have ever thought about taking a workshop, check them out! Besides learning a lot, trust me, you’ll have a good time. They’re fun! Click HERE to go to the Horton Hayes workshop link!