Recent Art by Exceptional Artists

“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”

• Prejudice - I love Venice! It may be the most paint worthy place on earth and this little painting really sums up that feeling you have as your heading down the canals enjoying one little picturesque window after another.
• Style - I don’t talk about this much when speaking about paintings because I believe it is something an artist just simply has. It is a reflection of how the individual sees the world and the way he naturally applies paint. Miro’s means of applying the paint makes viewing one of his paintings a journey. First you see the whole of the subject and it’s impact on you and then you get to take a wonderful trip through all the patches of color and paint.
• The Basics - This painting is a great example of how you can put paint on a canvas in any manner you choose and as long as you have good drawing, good color, good values and good composition you will end up with an exceptional work of art. Miro’s means of applying paint moves his work well beyond just these basics to a very enjoyable experience for the viewer.

Look and Enjoy!

• Miro Sinovcic’s Blog
• Miro Sinovcic’s Website

“Still Life With Homegrown Basil and Tomatoes” 4″x6″ Oil on Panel

Abbey Ryan is one of a very select few “daily painters” that consistently stuns me with her work. I am not usually drawn to paintings that have this level of detail but I find that Abbey’s work has a poetic aspect to it that draws me in. Another compelling aspect to her work is the consistency of her productivity and her amazing ability to paint on such a small scale. As you will see below, her work is also priced where most collector’s could add several of her paintings to their collections.

What I like about “Still Life With Homegrown Basil and Tomatoes”

• #1 Sense of Light - The modeling of form makes you feel like you could reach out and grab one of these tomatoes. There is no doubt what direction the light is coming from and the warmth of the light source is evident but not overdone. As I have mentioned before, this feel of light comes from careful observation and skillful interpretation of what nature has set before the artist.
• #2 Poetry - I never really know how to explain this in words but it is certainly a part of this painting. I don’t normally find a poetic feel in still life paintings but that feeling is evident in the majority of Abbey’s work. This most likely comes from having a good idea of what compositions communicates to our emotional side.
• #3 Color of the highlights - O.K. this is one of my pet peeves. The highlights on objects have color. They are almost never white. It’s evident that Abbey understands this. I really like this little painting.

Look and Enjoy!

• Abbey’s blog
• Bid on this painting!
• Abbey also has an interesting blog entry on “becoming a daily painter”. It gives some good information on the start of the PAD movement several years back.

It has come to my attention that since many of you are not artist that there may be some terms I use to describe the work of other artists which are unfamiliar to you or that you may misunderstand my application of the term. To deal with this I am writing a series of articles on “the basics” of representational art. Here you can read the first one on the basic skill of “drawing”.

“Embrace” 16″ x 26″

I love painting for a living. My second love is following other artists who paint for a living. I’m not exactly sure how I’ve managed not to run into Johanna Harmon’s work before now but it has been my loss. I came across her site via a link on another artists site and I’m thrilled that I made that one little click. As with all the painters that I post here, she handles the basics with great skill but she also has some aspects to her work that is very difficult to put into words. You can call it soul, feeling, essence or emotion but there is a magic to Johanna’s work that impacts that wordless part of the viewer. Your just impacted and this quality is found in almost all of her paintings.

What I like about the oil painting “Embrace”

• Color Harmony - This is one of the qualities that you find in the oil paintings of exceptional artist. From a technical standpoint this comes from sticking with consistent light source temperature. I really need to write a short article about this for those of you who are not artist but “Embrace” is a great example of doing this well.
• Flow - I spoke of the flow of paint in my last post but here I am using “flow” to refer to the composition. You view this painting and feel like you are viewing an elegant dance. Once again this is a difficult aspect to analyze with words but you can feel the grace and flow of this composition.
• Center of interest - The way the light in this composition moves from right to left draws you gently to the models face and then there is this wonderful area of dark values to the left of the models head which solidifies this area as the center of interest. Wonderfully done!
• A site note - Johanna does workshops, which is always nice for those of us striving to bring our work up to another level.

Look and Enjoy!

• Johanna’s Website

“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″.

• Faithfulness - She is in Europe for a month and despite the overwhelming visual information that is being presented to her she is sticking with simple subject matter that has an intense emotional draw (at least for me). She is being faithful to the beauty she sees in the world. It is easy to get caught up in painting what you “should paint” and it seems to me that Carol always makes it her intent to paint what speaks to her.
• Loose handling - This is an area where my family and I most often disagree on artwork.  I love work that is handled in a loose manner but yet the values, drawing and color are spot on. Carols paintings are very painterly and I really enjoy the flow of this one!
• Depth - Due to the excellent composition it feels like you could just move straight through this oil painting and go see whats on the other side of that hill. I love it, and it’s only 6″x6″.

Look and Enjoy!

• Bid on this painting!
• Carol’s blog
• Carol’s Website

I have limited posting time this morning so I thought I would hook you up with this painting demonstration by Scott Burdick. Scott is one of the nations top painters and he has also been very generous with his knowledge by taking the time to teach other artists. His website has a vast amount of information on painting, a full archive of his work as well as the work of Susan Lyon and some very interesting journals from their painting trips around the world. Take an afternoon and check out their site! By the way, I believe this painting is of the daughter of the artist Morgan Wiestling.

Look and Enjoy!

• Painting Demonstration
• Website

This artist / blogger has been sick for the past week. Sorry for the lack of posts. We’ll try and make it a great week!

-John Kelley

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.

• Simplification - I live in the woods in Alabama and have painted green woodland scenes many times… and I think I’ve burned everyone. It is very difficult subject matter because it demands great simplification. If you put all that you see in the picture the eye goes insane trying to determine what it is looking at. Steve does a fantastic job of squinting down and painting only the essentials of the scene.
• Color - Not only is there a need to simplify the scene but there is also a need to simplify the color. When your looking at that many shapes, that many dabs of light, that many yellows, greens, reds, purples, blues…. which do you really need? Steve makes these choices without producing a picture that is overly dark and oppressive. I love it!
• Field studies - I just can’t help but respect a guy that calls his outdoor works “studies”. It shows a great appreciation for the time and effort it takes to create finished works. Don’t misunderstand me. This is a piece of art that I would love to have hanging on my wall but location pieces are qualitatively different from a piece you work on over several days.
• One more - I really like the feel of depth in this painting.  As I browsed Steve site I see that he has this quality in a lot of his work. It is the result of really good composition ( a moving through the painting instead of across it) and his handling of the atmosphere of the air.

Look and Enjoy!

• Steve’s Blog
• Steve’s Website
• Steve’s Bio

“Safety” 18′x12″ Oil on Canvas

I love Robert Coombs work so much that I actually have one of his paintings hanging in my house. It was certainly a splurge for us but it was well worth it. I had the honor of being at one of Roberts gallery openings in Sante Fe New Mexico in 2004. What was particular interesting about the show (other than the fact that he sold all of his paintings) was that many of the works were purchased by other artist. Artist know great art at a great price when they see it. We also knew that with that level of quality there was no way his prices could stay so low. As I looked around his website I was stunned to see that his paintings have gotten better than I remember! Please check out his works below, they are well worth the time. You will also see below a link to his upcoming show at the legacy gallery. I wish I could be there.

What I like about the oil painting “Safety” by Robert Coombs.

• Emotional Appeal - As I have noted before on this blog, people love art that has an emotional tug and when you can portray a subject that has an emotional appeal and also maintain the highest quality of artistry then you have a real winner on your hands. I don’t think I need to explain the emotional appeal of “safety”
• Brush work - Outstanding! Every shape, direction and edge (hardness or softness) is intentional. Robert makes every stroke add to the overall reality and atmosphere of this piece.
• The Basics - This painting is a clinic on doing all the basics right: value, color, edges, drawing, composition. I could write several posts on how this oil painting does all of those things in a superior way. As you look through the website below you will find that everyone of his paintings is a winner in handling the basics with great skill.
• Emotional appeal again - I just can’t get over it! Because Robert is so skilled at the basics the center of focus (or communication) is unhindered and you hear and feel it load and clear.

Look and Enjoy!

• Roberts website
• Roberts upcoming show at the Legacy Gallery.

“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”.

• #1 Color - Frank is an expert as using color to communicate form. The value ranges in most of his paintings are limited. This makes his paintings very colorful. It is very difficult to paint this way and he does it very well.
• #2 Drawing - I know I keep saying this but I’m stunned at how well Frank handles the drawing elements at this small size! In painting you are not just drawing the lines but the shapes. So when Frank has a triangle shaped brushstroke that defines the light hitting the top of the horns… well that’s one very well thought out brush stroke.
• #3 It’s just beautiful! - Makes me glad I’m a painter and it gives me something to strive toward.

Look and Enjoy!

• Check out Frank’s website and remember to read the bio. It is very interesting.
• See Frank’s daily work on his blog