Artists Describing Their Art:

Leni Smoragdova - About 6 years ago I began my art research about hidden faces inside modern society. I called this project Transaction. I look through different edges of the society social, politic and etc Art transaction Wiki, Financial transaction, an agreement, communication, or movement carried out between a buyer and a seller to exchange an asset for payment, The philosophy of art transaction arose as a reaction to the cult of the Golden calf of the generations of the 80s - 00aEURtms, thereby, in the opinion of transaction, put people in the condition of loss of spiritual realities and propaganda hidden faces. ...

Edem Elesh - I am interested in examining the miracle of everyday existence. I have lead a very unique life. Born in Los Angeles and educated from an early age at English boarding schools, I have been exposed to two different cultures. This gives my work an American energy with English sensibilities. I am intrigued by the interplay born of this duality: order and chaos, old and new, the conscious and unconscious, structure and freedom. Not to mention expectation and accident. I am currently working with a new form of mixed media which allows, to an even greater extent, the chances of an interplay between process and providence....

Dave Martsolf - Dave Martsolf I have a hand-drawing personal style that I love, but also use photorealistic collage style for some surreal work. In addition, I continue to enjoy explorations in every direction. My surreal visionary style is conceived in the bowels of endless empty space. Worlds come out of nowhere to define and fill empty space with form and reflected light. I use posed photographs with specific viewpoints that join seamlessly with other images to develop a hallucinogenic, some say gut-wrenching realistic space where mind-bending visions rule. My personal drawing style is in its simplest essence the line the drawn line and what it represented as the delineation of a form, a space, almost the way a topographical line feels out the form of a hill, or the way a blind man feels out the tender forms of his or her lover. That line is also the signature of the vibration of life and lifes emotions, twisted by the influence of others, fighting for a day in the sun, learning the way of calm, the mastery of the surf of life and the swell of love and anger. Brownian motion, cosmic ray decay, elemental particles, the paths of ...

Michael Fornadley - All my life I have been drawing images out of my imagination, without preconceived themes or using any reference material. My work has been described as undefined narratives, relating to human relationships in the context of society. Compositions are filled with figurative gestures, without any attempt to develop a narrative thread, it drives the viewer to find a completed story, however, an unscripted conclusion is what they will find. TitleaEURtms to my tales are literary allusions - commentaries, occurring after the paintings are finished and the storyline, to which the title refers is not a factor in the paintings evolution. I describe my style as illustrative with intellect, sometimes showing opposites through thought and emotion. I try to balance both. I have always enjoyed the Expressionists Movements in art and my work reflects this. My painting technique is traditional. The mediums I use are oils, egg tempera on wood and wood cuts. Distinctive to my paintings are figures running, persons gesturing, eccentric objects, mysterious boxes, and usually one person in the background watching impassively. I lead the eye through a theatrical space walls and stages. Moving the viewer, with head movement, to pointed fingers, to a figure by a peculiar...

David Mihaly - The first series here represents notable historical and pop culture figures, many with Ohio roots, presented in a contemporary style. Each portrait can be seen as a celebration of the individual depicted as well as a meditation on the difference between the bygone era of actual achievement in the arts versus todays culture of instant celebrity. Also included here is a series of textured jazz musician portraits. Each musician painting was made using a layered acrylic technique, evoking the smoky atmosphere of the clubs where the music was born....

Jack Hill - All of my sculptural work is bronze, cast in the "lost wax" technique. Besides sculpting the original work, I am hands on with all the phases of the casting process, including the molds, waxes, metal, and application of the patinas. My foundry experience allows me to ensure the quality and integrity of each idea, from inspiration to final presentation. The ideas are born from observation of the human existence, in all its splendor and absurdity. The addition of my own whimsy and uncommon approach brings about an expression of life in the permanence of bronze. People are only one part of the whole planet and my anthropomorphic works are an exploration of the blending of man into various parts of the environment. With attention to anatomic detail and a tongue-in-cheek twist I wish to stimulate the imagination and, maybe, tickle the funny bone. Questions? Call me at 305/240-3238 A new line of work has been added that I call "Body Armor". The human form is treated as if skin was an armor that could be put on or removed as needed. If it had been lost long ago and recently rediscovered, what would it look like. ...

Hampton Olfus Jr - Art for me is a journey, of a life force expressing it's self through the human experience. Each artist has a vision or personal statement for their artistic journey. My artistic vision, is to be as true,to those who love art, as I I'm to my artistic self. I attempt to transfer the energy of discovery, from the studio to the exhibit space.And I also would like to make the gallery owners happy without the art work becoming,predictable. Too acquire the artistic wisdom of the masters, and remain as fearless as a child, with a box of crayons staring at a blank wall. ...

Hope Brooks - I am often asked the question what is my work about which is a little like being asked what is life about because in art as in life each person must bring their own experience and provide their own answers. Quite simply my work is about life and the enigma that surrounds existence. I make reference to specific experiences or draw on visual reality to act as a frame to the broader content and people bring their own interpretations as well. When I began painting in the 60's I was focused on talking about natural phenomena that I found around me in Jamaica, such as the sea, the mountains, or the moon but I was also trying to find a language that expressed the essence of that place I called home. In 1980 I travelled to Baltimore USA and my visual surroundings changed completely. This city had none of the natural landscape but it had beautiful stained glass windows and during my year at the Maryland Institute I produced a large body of work called "Windows". This included prints as well as paintings of the secular as well as the ecclesiastical windows. Someone looking at the work once said ...

Alexander Donskoi - BioStatement Alexander Donskoi- Visual Artist, Toronto Canada www.alexanderdonskoi.com

Debbi Chan - I am going to do an updated artist's statement. But until I submit it you have a short temporary one. As an artist I an fullfilled and contend. But at the same time I seek more , absorb more, and enjoy more. Art fills and fullfills me..I am always being an artist. My eyes see art always. This is not a hobby that I partake of when time suits. Art feeds me. Art consoles me. And being prolific it also takes my time. And for this I am thankful that i listened to my inner self. I am thankful for a following that grows by the minute. I enjoy you enjoying my portfolio. I also have come to realize that the coined phrase "starving artist" is a reality for some of us. But if you take another quote, my own , you will see that starving and rich pertain to material $. because of you the viewers , and because art is my life and my passion I can truly say that I AM RICH.. RICH WITH NO MONEY... and I can also say with truth that I am happy. I chose the path that allowed this rich life. There will continue ...

Jerry Di Falco - Photography inspires my hand-pulled etchings and also serves as a key element in my art. My imagery originates from my own photographs and those of other artists. I research my subjects in the archives of universities, historical societies, libraries, museums, and foundations. I attempt to balance visual gravity with the narrations within everyday scenes . . . I hope to create a convergence between the metaphysical and physical aspects of space, time, and reflection. My examination of the familiar strives to unveil the splendors of life that are masked by our assumptions My stories emerge from beneath the surfaces of that which we overlook as a result of our neglected perceptions . . . of that which is frequently visible but overlooked. Ironically enough, I blame this inability to see reality . . . or what I call, the phenomenology of connectedness . . . on todays infatuation with and addiction to the new technologies of communication. I see my artworks as windows through which people can see the undiscovered mysteries of human consciousness. In fact, my use of multiple etching plates to create one etched design helps to reinforce the illusion of looking at a scene through a window. Each individual area created in my multiple-plate etchings becomes a ...