Artists Describing Their Art:
John Maurer - An early affinity with the French impressionists and expressionists continues to influence my work along with several contemporary artists whom I find inspiring. I try to approach each new work with a fresh eye for color, line and textural variation. My choice of tools is primarily the palette knife but this has grown to include a greater use of brushes and paper towels into the painting process as well as charcoal and pastel. The subject matter is unlimited as I continue to travel in search of fresh, inspiring views. ...
John Tooma - This site is only a guide to my artworks, you will appreciate them alot more when they are seen in real life. These prices are set in US currency, hope you could be aware of this. As a Painter and Graphic DesignerIllustrator, art is huge part of my life. Its a great feeling to have the ability to draw and paint what my eye can see. As an observer, I love to sketch in my A5 pads and photograph most subject matter transferring the visual information onto paper, canvas, clay or the computer. I use digital photographic equipment only as a support for my work. I draw and paint virtually everything but my passion lies with the human body. I use dry and wet medium such as graphite pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, ink, gouache and oil paints. I enjoy experimenting with my subject. I also use the apple computer for retouching and airbrushing technique. You can order Prints from any of these Paintings or Drawings and this would be printed on either Paper or Canvas depending on your preference. It is an absolute pleasure to share my passion with you and to speak about it through art. I enjoy sketching ...
James Morin - I am best known for my work in political cartooning which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 and 2017. However, I started painting when I was young, studied at Syracuse University under Jerome Witkin, and never stopped. While cartooning provided an artistic outlet for the daily foibles of politicians and such, painting offers me a means to explore topics more broadly natures supremacy through the majestic, haunting Banyan tree, cultural degradation through the zombie-like TV watcher, and spiritual desolation symbolized by the foreboding highway entrance. My paintings are my reaction to societal progression, at times a caution sign, or at least bemused reflection....
Janet Munro - American Artist JL. Munro, is a contemporary self - taught painter who in more than 40 years of work, has achieved a great amount of recognition. Paintings by Munro are listed in many important public and private collections, including the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of American Folk Art, The John and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Nantucket Whaling Museum, is to list only a few. JL. Munro was born in Massachusetts, and her earliest American roots trace back to the first settlers of Cape Cod, Nantucket, and New Amsterdam (New York) in the 1600's, including direct family lines to the Swain, Dolor Davis, Gardner, Hyde, Eaton, Holmes, and Cook family trees. Munro describes her canvases as "pictorial - history" or that they are paintings with a message - actually read by the viewer, like a page in a book, with a noted focus on the waterfront lives of her own ancestors. Munro's favorite subjects include her native Massachusetts and New York. Whether it is a bustling town center, a quiet bayside, or illustrating living by the sea, Munro is always striving for realism, and carefully finishes each canvas to tell a story of American History. JL. Munro - born [Janet Andrea Lehne] ...
Renee Rutana - As a child, I was fascinated by the vibrant colors of sunsets, the seasons, flowers and certain landscapes. But all of my life I have suffered from severe asthma. While the other children were outside enjoying the snow or jumping in the fallen leaves, blooming flowers of spring, etc. I was inside, looking out the window wishing I could be a part of it. I would never have acquired my artistic skills if it hadn't been for my asthma. I learned to draw and paint, due to many times staying home in bed or at the hospitals (for a couple weeks at a time)with not much to do. It was my escape, a cherished place I could create and imagine I was there instead. While these days my asthma is better, thanks to new medications, I still feel the joy in my heart of creating a special window to the world, my world, for those also interested to see too. My goal as an artist was to paint these subjects capturing the very things that change quickly due to the season or weather or aging. I wanted to shed light on every day things that many people take ...
Renee Rutana -
Michael Ashcraft - I am a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute. My work reflects the symbolic metaphors in the world around me. I spend a lot of time finding the right physical objects or settings to build the statements I wish to express. I may spend months or even years with an idea before I ever touch a canvas or piece of paper. Once I begin I let the painting dictate its own style. Only the painting can tell me when it is finished. I will usually set them aside for a long time before I come back and decide if they are truly finished or need more work. I hope you enjoy them....
Tomas Castano - Tomas Castano was born in Santander (Spain) in 1953. From a young age shows a special inclination towards drawing, but until the age of 17 years he does not take the first brushes and start painting. Self-taught, Tomas carved himself, based on determination and enthusiasm. He has a realistic style, his paintings are very well drawn and he also worries for the composition and perspective of his works. He is a landscape artist but characterized by his architectural work. His work is characterized by a serene and poetic realism, which translates the artist's delight when he paints streets of old quarters, antique buildings and facades with tradition. His paintings catch the magic of the aesthetics of the antiques, and transmit all the warmth and humanization of unprocessed environments by modern life. He has shown his work in group exhibitions in several countries such as Germany, Netherlands, USA, France, Argentina, Japan, Italy, Korea and numerous solo and group exhibitions in Spain. Tomas Castano works represented Cantabria in the Florence Biennale in the 2005 edition. His work is recognized by the distinctive style and ambience that he creates in finishing his series of old taverns. His work is ...
Donald Neff - Lumen * Aqua * Terra "I paint the places I love to be. I paint the freshness of eternal nature, icy lucid streams, thunderous waterfalls, and soaring granite crests over silent lakes. I paint the descriptions of John Muir, the echoes of Ansel Adams, the American West of Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran. I paint luminosity filtering through the landscape, reaching to the foundation of a stream, bouncing off rocks, and illuminating the shadows. Using oil and acrylic, painting realistically is merely my means to an end. I want the viewer to connect with the places I love to be. I hope the observer will want to walk right into my painting and maybe even drop a line in the water to catch a trout. My published works include both "plein air" and studio paintings, which helps me translate the dynamic experience of the moment and communicate in a more personal way of what I am trying to say.." Light * Water * Earth...
Steven Gordon - Light is the quintessential component in Steven Gordons powerfully luminous landscapes of California. They derive their strength from the artists intimate dialogue with land and light At times I feel as if Im painting with light. Its exciting to take something so completely ephemeral and control and create with it. Since his arrival in California from the Midwest Gordon has been focusing on the visual impact of changing light effects in the Napa Valley wine growing region of California. Continuously exploring and formulating new visions, he has been producing pastel and oil paintings of rare immediacy. Steven Gordon grew up in his native town of Waukegan, Illinois. After having been self-taught in his early years, he decided on formal training in the arts. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelors degree in art. For his masters program, he chose Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri where he earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in painting. After graduate school Steven Gordon came west to settle in the Napa Valley. He secured a job with a local winery in Yountville which turned out to be a fruitful relationship since Gordon was given an annual showing of his ...