In my opinion he is simply the best landscape painter in the country. Below you can check out his website (make sure and look at his studio - it’s every artist dream!) as well as connect with some available works.
“Winter Morning” 30″x48″ Oil On Canvas
On Monday morning I was delivering a commission piece to the Bennett Galleries in Nashville TN. While waiting for the paper work I went upstairs to see what was hanging in the current show. There is nothing like seeing art in person. It tells you so much more than you can ever observe on a computer or in print and these paintings by Jason Saunders just took my breath away. Every piece in the show was worth posting on this blog and by following the link to his website at the bottom of this post you can see all of them.
What I like about “Winter Morning”
Values - All of Jason’s work has this. Solid values in a limited range which portray a wonderful sense of reality. I was amazed as I viewed his painting at how closely related the values were but yet maintaining the degree of difference needed to provide contrast. Jason really does this well.
Harmony - My guess is that Jason has spent a significant amount of time painting on location. When you paint out in nature, nature itself gives you some beautiful harmonies.
Color - You could say that this painting has limited color as well as limited values but all of the color swatches are accurate in there degree of difference which just makes these puppies sing! I can’t tell you howe much I enjoyed looking at his work and how much I learned from seeing how he handles the different aspects of painting. You should really stop by the Bennett Galleries and see what I mean.
Look and Enjoy!
“Daybreak Sail” 24″x36″ Oil on Canvas
Available at J. Russel Jinishian Gallery, Inc.
I first read about Joseph McGurl’s paintings about 10 years ago in an American Artist article about a group of painters who traveled to France to paint together. I have always been captivated by his work and as you can see it is of the very highest quality. One of the things I find intriguing about his work is that he approaches it in a more academic manner. As I have mentioned in my post on Sarah Lamb, this manner of painting has regained steam in the past twenty years and the work that is being produced is astounding. To see a short demo of Joseph’s approach you can go to his “Works in Progress” page on his site. If you are interested in exploring artist (both past and present) who paint this way you can also visit The Art Renewal Center. You will never make it through all the paintings on that site but it is sure worth trying! The Art Renewal Center also has several pages of articles on the revival of classical realism and articles on “What is art?”.
What I like about “Daybreak Sail”
It glows - Which is very appropriate for a sunset and it is also one of the reasons they are so hard to paint. If you have ever tried to take a photo of a sunset you realize that it never really works out because sunsets glow and photos do not. The layering process that Joseph uses (and a excellent handling of values and colors) makes this painting glow. I would love to see it in person.
Drawing - As I read information in Josephs biography section on how he learned to paint I noted that he does all of his large scale paintings not from photos but from smaller paintings he does on location. You can’t do that if you can’t draw well.
Patience - There are not many who can paint this way. I really appreciate the patience involeved in paintings using layers. It is a testimony to McGurls integrity as an artist in a day and age where often volume is valued over quality.
Look and Enjoy!
“Next Exit, Hill Street” Oil, 11″x14″
Maybe I rely to heavily on my own prejudices in deciding what is good art but it seems to me that when you can take my least favorite subject matter and transform it into a piece of art that I would enjoy looking at for the rest of my life, then you are an artist in every sense of the word. You have moved me beyond where I thought I could go. I am not a fan of urban landscapes but I am now a fan of the way Jennifer McCristian paints urban landscapes (as well as her other works).
What I like about “Next Exit Hill Street”
Soft edges - You can feel the haze in this painting. You can feel the depth in this painting. Much of this is due to the wonderful way Jennifer handles her edges and she does it without sacrificing her drawing in anyway. Just look at those light post!
Depth - The edges help to define depth in this painting but so does the the cooling of the values from front to back. With the exception of the sky there are only two major values after you pass the Highway signs….just a wonderful display of limited value and the use of color to define form.
Warm and Cool Colors - They are everywhere! This painting vibrates even with the limited capabilities of my computer monitor.
Look and Enjoy!
“Details of Venice” 12″x16″ Oil on Canvas
I hesitated to post Miro’s work because it is very different from my particular artistic bent. Then I realized I could not stop looking at his wonderful paintings. The more I looked at them the more apparent it became that his compelling style had captured my imagination. The colors are great, the compositions are compelling and ….. well you can see, via the links below, it’s very difficult to stop looking at his work.
What I like about “Details of Venice”
Look and Enjoy!
“The Way Home 2″ 6′x6″ Oil painting on Raymar Panel
This is the second post I’ve done on Carol Marines work. It would be a lot less work for me if I just posted one of her paintings every other day. she is so consistently good, and so prolific, that I can always count on seeing something of fine quality on her blog. She is primarily known as a still life artist but I love these landscapes she has been doing while traveling in Europe. Another thing that is fantastic about her work is that it is VERY affordable. You can check out her links below.
What I like about the oil painting “The Way Home 2″.
Look and Enjoy!
Lanternman Falls - field study - 9″x12″ Oil on Canvas
One of the things you will often hear in conversations with great artists is that they were formerly illustrators. It seems to be a natural transition. Illustrators are often better trained in the basics of representational art than many University art graduates are. Steve Atkinson work shows a very clear understanding of value, color, drawing and composition. I’m glad that he made the jump from illustration to fine art and I think you will really enjoy observing his work through the links I’ve posted below.
What I like about “Lanternman Falls” a field study.
Look and Enjoy!
“Open Gate II”, 6×8″ oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
I realize the majority of the people who frequent this blog are not art buyers but rather friends who may or may not be interested in art in general. So when you see a painting of a cow, walking to a gate, you may not immeaditly get why I love this painting and why I love Frank Gardners work. Let me just say that is one beautifully painted cow and Frank Gardner consistantly produces incredible work. He also has a biography that is really interesting and I encourage you to go to the site link below and read it. He essentially found a place in the world he loved to paint and moved there!
What I like about “Open Gate II”.
Look and Enjoy!
