Oil Paintings

Artists Describing Their Art:

Bernard Marie Collet - paintings and pastels around nature and history, through rocks and leaves,waters and skyes; through broken statues, steles and temples left by history to our questioning present. French artist living in Paris. peintures et pastels autour de la nature et de l'histoire Retrouver la nature encore sauvage, lorsque l'homme ne la dominait pas, vegetaux, rochers, eaux courantes, ciels. Travaux autour de l'histoire aussi. Quelle est la resonnance du passe a nos regards numerises ? Reconnaitre les heritages a travers l'epaisseur du temps, les reintegrer a notre errance. Savoir au moins d'ou l'on vient a defaut de savoir ou l'on va. ...

Edmond Gjikopulli - Artistic statement Like a film fragment standing daily before our eyes, a film where we feel being at the same time viewers and actors, Albania of the years 2000 is obsessed by a consumerist fever, from the beginning of another system of references, which nevertheless, unable to substitute entirely the old one and matching everyday with him, is aiming to reach a much dreamed Eldorado. We experience around us a strong loging for consume, a loging which gradually is transforming our psyche and our system of values, but that nevertheless hasn't been able to reach the essence of what is original, "exotic", interesting and sincere. These are moments that I see everyday, people that I know, people living the everyday poetic and prosaic moments of existence, people anonymous and real in the capitalist Albania of the years 2000. We participate in this fairytale since fifteen years, with absurd scenes, tragicomic, kind and painful, grotesques and unique, which at the same time are the features of the new Albanian identity of these last years. Witnessing everyday this transformation is difficult not to be stimulated by these signals which are found everywhere, you can't keep yourself by turning the head ...

Simon Blackwood - About the paintings of Simon Blackwood The property of beauty is to shine. Its' light extends infinitely both inwardly and outwardly. It is both overwhelming and inspiring and whatever it illuminates is consumed as it is also created by it. In short, beauty is not partial. I have chosen to follow a spiritual orientation toward all things I do. The road and the destination in this journey is the love of beauty. (A statement inspired by the writings of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi and Jelaleddin Rumi.) Painting is a metamorphosis from base elements into an image of another reality beyond those original elements. It can allude to sublime ideals through subject matter or by the means of the juxtaposition of colour, shape and form. At best it reveals the highest aspirations of man striving to praise the gift of intelligence, love of beauty and life itself. Paintings can recall or remind us by illusory means; they may also point towards something beyond the material object of the 'tableau' hanging on a wall. The paintings represented here also attempt, without abstraction, to point beyond the subject matter, alluding to the hidden, in the world of man, that gives rise to his creativity. ...

Theo Radic - Everyone experiences drawing and painting as children. I was perhaps one year old therefore when I was first initiated into the painter's craft. I continued these universal beginnings throughout my school years and sporadic courses in college (which gave me few insights into this art). [...] I had only myself as a teacher in the art of painting. My evolution as a painter paralleled that of art history in general, beginning with my prehistoric period as a one-year-old-clutcher-of-crayolas, groping through Egyptian and Greek periods; a Renaissance period; and then neo-classicism, romanticism and naturalism; impressionism and fauvism; cubism and abstract expressionism. At nineteen I went to Europe, thirsty for scope and depth in Art which America lacks. Having established myself in the south of France, I absorbed the emanations of the modern masters who had lived and painted there. I was profoundly moved by the bizarre snow storm over La Cote d'Azur on the night of Picasso's death. No such storm had ever been seen before in April, as old-timers in Nice told me. [...] Fully acknowledging my debt to 'abstract expressionism', I nonetheless do not consider my art'abstract' - a word ...

Patrick Sean Kelley - Behind the Art There is nothing more intimidating than standing in front of a blank canvas and wondering what it will become. There is also nothing more exhilarating. As I begin to apply paint to canvas I find my work seems to be in continuous motion. Always changing. Always progressing. Much like the oil paints that actually embody my visions. I am influenced by many places, things, people and of course, many artists. My latest work is changing yet again. The palette has become softer more jewel toned and the subjects more somber. They speak to me as I paint each stroke awaiting life on the canvas. I am clearly influenced by some of the more modern masters like, Klimpt, Kandinsky, Mirot, Caldwell and as always, Picasso. The art is Inspired by the subject. By a woman's beauty as it is seen and felt both internally and externally. The images in my vision actually seem to mask their true identities as they glance out at the viewer exuding an air of aloofness and mystique. Each stroke is painstakingly smoothed and controlled to create subtle dimensions and color that create the mysterious creatures that appear to come to life on ...

Lisa Reinke - Recognize yourself, someone, everyone and no one in my faces - celebrate color in the shape of a nose, the curve of the ears, the mask of the eyes, and the lines of the lips and hair. Most of all remember the humanity in humanity. The human face inspires me. As humans, we respond to its image beyond all others. For all its familiarity, we rarely pause to consider the face as a visual form, something more than the recognition of a friend or an interaction with a stranger. I paint the face in ways to cause the viewer to reconsider its splendor and renew faith in all things human. Colors and sunlight playing across faces remind me of our connection to the universe and symbolize eternal and fleeting moments simultaneously. I love how we recognize and explore human faces for clues to identity and personality. I am happy to be creating my work and hope that my art inspires you to look around and see the world as a vibrant and exciting place where the most amazing patterns are on display all the time. Lisa Reinke ...

Winnie Davies - I started my initial art training with traditional Chinese painting and Chinese Calligraphy. I've found that the traditional art training gave me a good foundation for my further development of art, even in oil painting and sculpture. I love art of all forms and all media, art shouldn't have any limitation....