A Canyon of February Storm
By Bruce Gomez
29 x 39 in.
Pastel
During the 13th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, 23 plein air artists from around the country gathered at Grand Canyon National Park, painting plein air along the South Rim of the canyon for a week in September. The artists faced the challenges the canyon presents to those who attempt to capture its beauty, its vastness, its depth, and its ever-changing light and weather patterns on canvas or on paper.
Bruce Gomez, a pastel artist from Denver, Colorado, has participated in Grand Canyon Celebration of Art for the past 7 years, often as the only pastel artist. During the 2017 Celebration of Art his fellow artists presented him with the Artist’s Choice Award. He considers himself fortunate to travel and paint in wonderful places like Telluride, Paris, Rome, and Moab. “I go out and look to capture that one unique and spectacular moment of life,” he says.
All of the participating Celebration of Art artists submit a Grand Canyon themed studio painting prior to the event. Regarding his studio painting “A Canyon of February Storm” Gomez says:
“Imagine the stunning silence of snow and clouds filling the most vast space. I saw this slow dance of a storm breaking below me two decades ago and I’ve forever been wanting to capture this on paper.”
The work of these accomplished artists (both studio and plein air work) will be exhibited and available for purchase at Kolb Studio on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park through January 17, 2022 or online at:
Always and Forever
Acrylic on Canvas
40 x 30 in.
$3,700
Available through Carlton Gallery
Monique Carr is well known for her imaginative and abstract landscapes and florals. The style that emerges in Monique’s work bursts with energy as she combines expressive colors and intriguing textures.
Monique is proudly showing here the painting titled ‘Always and Forever’, which won the prestigious BoldBrush Award for Abstract in July 2022.
From her beginnings in Montreal, Canada, to many years in the tropics of the Cayman Islands, Monique Carr has settled in the mountainous region of east Tennessee. Each chapter of her life has inspired her abstracted landscapes and seascapes, including her recent collections of work displayed at Carlton Gallery and at Dare Gallery.
Monique says, ”I want to leave the viewers of my work with feelings of surprise and joy, allowing them to interpret each work in a soulful way that is uniquely their visual experience.”
Cursive Writing: A Lost Art is a reminder of times gone by when students in the primary grades transitioned from writing in print to cursive writing. Kellum was an elementary school teacher in Virginia and taught cursive writing to her third graders who were eager to learn to write like the ‘grownups.’ Many curriculums do not include the instruction of cursive writing in today’s schools.
This artist works in both oil and pastel, primarily concentrating in still life and animals. Often her still life work depicts a theme or story as it does in this piece. Most works begin as an idea and then require a mission to find all items needed for the setup. Antique stores, Ebay, things from around the house or borrowed from friends are often her source. A large collection of marionettes has provided a series of paintings.
Adding to National and International awards previously earned, the artist recently received the “Best Narrative Award” for Cursive Writing: A Lost Art, from the NOAPS ‘Best of America Small Works Exhibit 2021’ at The Principle Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina. The judges recognized the creativity of the idea and the interesting choice of the subject.
Betsy Kellum’s work is represented by Crossroads Art Center in Richmond, Virginia. Gallery inquiries are welcome.
Contemporary Oil Paintings > “Ilya Gefter’s suite of misty, achingly delicate paintings are a quiet respite,” said R.M. Vaughan of The Globe and Mail*. “Gefter’s crafty focus pulling/focus releasing causes the viewer to first seek out the solid, fully materialized objects being studied, and then to drift toward the liminal spaces, the backgrounds and sunsets, all underpainted veils of muted colour. Absence and presence, negative and positive space, are neatly, even obsessively, balanced, but Gefter’s works are not overly painterly or forced. Sleight of hand rarely feels so honest.”
Ilya was kind enough to respond to questions we had about his work, and about the ways a viewer may gain insight into an artist by looking at his or her work.
Ilya Gefter, “Elevator Portrait,” 100 x 76 cm, Oil on canvas
In what ways and to what extent do your temperament and view of the world reveal themselves in your work?
I believe that these things are beyond conscious control. Whether I want it or not, my temperament manifests itself in every brushstroke. In what ways the work mirrors my emotional make-up and my views, I cannot tell, as I am too engaged in the process. I would assume that the paintings inevitably reflect my passing inner states that change from month to month, and from year to year. And perhaps, somehow, also reflect a deeper core that does not change a lot over the years.
Ilya Gefter, “Masger,” 60 x 80 cm, Oil on canvas
Was there a point in your own life—or perhaps a period in your life—where you looked at a work on the easel, and had an Ah-ha moment, recognizing that work as a unique expression of your voice on canvas?
As a youngster I thought about discovering some style or a personal voice. I do not know whether I ever found it, but I do know that at a certain point I stopped searching for one. Instead of looking for a personal voice, I wish to constantly clarify to myself what my values are. The clearer my vision is of quality and seriousness in art, the more streamlined my efforts are.
I ask myself what I value in art . . . what I value as a human being . . . and what makes a painting meaningful to me. If I do have a personal voice, it is just a byproduct of my reflection on these issues that are, in fact, broad and impersonal: What makes art meaningful? What makes a painting work well visually? What makes a painting significant or profound?
In other words, I am more preoccupied with the content of the pictorial conversations and less concerned with the voice. The content, in turn, determines the particular qualities of the voice, which remain secondary.
Ilya Gefter, “Self Portrait,” 100 x 100 cm, Oil on canvas
Is it fair to say that every piece an artist paints is in a way an amalgam not just of the scene in front of them and the paints on their palette, but an entire life experience, synthesized to a greater or lesser extent on the canvas? If this is true, do you have a sense of obligation—or anxiety—about speaking your life experience clearly through your oil paintings?
I do not believe there is such a thing as “obligation.” There are urges, desires and decisions. But fulfilling certain desires takes a tremendous amount of courage. It definitely takes some courage to fulfill the urge of expressing personal experiences on a canvas. I feel like I constantly have to dismantle limitations and safety nets that we build for ourselves through education and training.
Like all of us, I’ve invested my efforts in figuring out the craft. Artifice is necessary to unveil the human experience—but it may also conceal it, when it becomes self-referential. It does take a fair bit of honesty and courage to have the craft speak of personal experience.
Your oil paintings seemed to move progressively into the evening and night hours and grew in intensity and interest as it did. What are some of the challenges and advantages of low-light settings?
Since my last year in college, I was interested in the issue of light. Light is both a revealing and a concealing principle. Sometimes the light mainly reveals, like crisp, sunny weather does at mid-day. Evening light, on the other hand, conceals things. Being less interested in the landscape of facts, and more concerned with atmosphere, the qualities of concealment are essential to me. There’s more mystery in evening and twilight hours.
Ilya Gefter, “Table,” 89 x 66 cm, Oil on canvas
How heavily do you rely on photography to guide your painting?
The camera has multiple functions for me. First and foremost the lens of the camera is a seeing aid—a tool that unifies the visual flux into a manageable scale and a rectangular format. The camera is also an efficient tool to select motifs. When I started using the camera extensively about nine years ago, I took multiple photos before starting to paint, but in the end, the work was done entirely from observation without ever looking at the snapshots.
As the work was becoming more layered, more complex, or simply larger, it necessitated a certain distance from the motif. Gradually, I started using the photographs beyond the initial stages of selection. Now, the photos stay with me throughout much of the process. Direct experience of the motif, however, remains indispensable. And a painting is always measured and weighed against itself, not in relation to the photography.
In what ways is your current work a logical next step in your development or vision?
That I may only know when my current work becomes my past work. Seeing such things requires some distance.
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Thomas Blackshear, "Swan Song," 1993, oil on board, 28 x 50 in., private collection
An excerpt from a Fine Art Connoisseur feature on the Western Art of Thomas Blackshear (who is on the faculty of the upcoming 2nd Annual Realism Live virtual art conference), written by Michael J. Pearce
Western Art, Western Nouveau
Learn from Thomas Blackshear in person at the 2nd Annual Realism Live, November 11-13, 2021 (Beginner’s Day on November 10)
The golden glow of success has gathered around Thomas Blackshear II (b. 1955). In September 2020 his painting “Swan Song” (above) was a smashing success at the 14th annual Jackson Hole Art Auction, where it sold for $77,350 — more than double its high estimate. That same week, Blackshear’s painting “Hunter’s Watch” appeared on the commemorative poster of the Jackson Hall Fall Arts Festival and then sold for $37,000.
The following month, he was inducted into the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame, an honor previously accorded to such legends as Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell, and Dean Cornwell. This past March, three new Blackshear paintings — “The Wait,” “American Nobility,” and “Native American with Feather” — appeared in the Masters of the American West sale at Los Angeles’s Autry Museum of the American West, where “The Wait” won the Artists’ Choice award.
It is easy to see why. Blackshear’s “Western Nouveau” paintings are light, decorative, and elegant, a romantic and fresh kind of imagery that has captured the imagination of Western art connoisseurs, who always have a sharp eye for a rising star.
Divine Inspiration
Blackshear has found divine support. He has a deep Christian faith, and has long enjoyed success selling religious paintings and prints to evangelical churches throughout the U.S. Prayer and painting are closely tied, which makes this body of work a spiritual journey for Blackshear.
Gold is the most material of substances, but it also symbolizes God. So, does the gold he paints with have a spiritual component? Blackshear is ambivalent about whether the gilding itself might be spiritual, in the way that monks illuminating their manuscripts once considered their craftsmanship as prayer.
Thomas Blackshear, “Forgiven,” 1991, oil on canvas, 33 x 16 1/4 in., Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas
His religious imagery transcends denominations. When a friend set off on a missionary trip to India, Blackshear gave him a selection of his own prints. In Calcutta that friend visited Mother Teresa (1910–1997) and offered her two of them — “Forgiven” and “Coat of Many Colors, Lord of All.”
She asked him, “May I put them in the room of the dying?” Of course, the friend agreed, assuming she would hang them in a hospice ward. A year later, the friend met a nun from Mother Teresa’s facility who invited him to visit the hospice. Not seeing the Blackshear prints anywhere, he asked what had become of them. His guide replied, “You misunderstood. When Mother Teresa asked, ‘Do you mind if I put it in the room of the dying?’ she meant herself.” In her last days, St. Teresa had kept Blackshear’s prints in her bedroom, which is now a shrine to her memory. In 2010, he was commissioned to design a U.S. Postal Service stamp commemorating her.
A lay spirituality is manifest in Blackshear’s paintings of Native Americans, who are elemental guides. Here he follows the conventions of Western art, painting indigenous people as “noble savages” and flavoring their images with romanticism. The men bear smoking incense that curls around them in decorative flourishes that are also seen in Mucha’s gorgeous embellished posters. Blackshear’s “Native American Nouveau” features a warrior wearing a headdress fashioned as a butterfly’s wing, suggesting the transience and fragility of the tribes.
Thomas Blackshear, “Native American Nouveau,” 2018, oil on canvas, 38 x 48 in., private collection
Blackshear’s “A Common Thread” echoes the heartfelt plea for racial tolerance that Rockwell conveyed in his famous “Golden Rule (Do unto Others)” in 1961. Figures representing the four races bear lit candles; they are unified as a community, as light-bearers, as keepers of the flame of decency and truth, which they hold up against the threatening darkness of intolerance.
Thomas Blackshear, “A Common Thread,” 2015, oil on board with gold leaf, 38 x 25 in., collection of the artist
Though decorative, Blackshear’s Western paintings avoid much of the sentimental excess that afflicts the genre. His images of black cowboys are a necessary reminder that the Old West wasn’t actually as white as Hollywood has suggested. Wrapped in rawhide, his rugged black buckaroos chew tobacco and smoke with the same machismo as their white colleagues.
Thomas Blackshear, “The Wait,” 2021, oil on canvas, 40 x 61 1/2 in., private collection
“The Wait,” Blackshear’s latest addition to a series examining African-Americans’ role in shaping the U.S., is a powerful reminder that black Union soldiers also paid the ultimate price in the Civil War: 180,000 black men served in that fight for justice, and thousands died in battle or hospital.
Thomas Blackshear, “Airman’s Inspiration,” 2020, oil on canvas, 33 x 29 in., private collection
Blackshear’s soldier waits for a better world. Moving forward in time, “Airman’s Inspiration” is a sensitive portrait of a Tuskegee pilot with the wings of Perseus, caught in a quiet, beautiful moment with a hummingbird balanced on the finger of his leather gauntlet. Yes, there is nostalgia and romance in Blackshear’s work, but it is aimed at a broad and inclusive audience, an audience of all Americans.
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Anton Maria Maragliano (1664–1739), "The Baptism of Christ," 1723–25, gilt and polychromed wood, 86 5/8 x 82 11/16 x 53 1/8 in. (without base), Parrocchia di San Giovanni Battista, Pieve di Teco, photo: Luigino Visconti
A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750
National Gallery
Washington, D.C. nga.gov
Through January 9, 2022
The National Gallery of Art is back to mounting massive loan exhibitions, and its first one post-pandemic is “A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750.”
It features 130 paintings, sculptures, decorative artworks, drawings, and prints borrowed from 56 lenders around the world, including 13 private collections and five churches in Italy.
In the 16th century the Italian port of Genoa transformed itself into the banking center of Europe. Aided by its unique strategic location, it developed far-reaching commercial networks and became a Mediterranean naval power. Its artists synthesized local and foreign impulses, absorbing and adapting the revolutionary approach introduced by followers of Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens.
Genoa’s leading families accumulated huge wealth and competed to invest in civic buildings, churches, and their own residences, which were filled with the fresco decoration and collections for which the city is still famous. Their aesthetic was an exuberant expression of the baroque style, and this is its first comprehensive examination in the U.S.
The project has been organized with Rome’s Scuderie del Quirinale, where it will appear March 4 through June 19, 2022. Those who cannot visit should consider ordering its impressive 370-page catalogue.
> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.
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Abigail Gutting, "The Professional," oil, 30 x 40 in.
Congratulations to Abigail Gutting (abigailgutting.com), whose work has been recognized in the PleinAir Salon, a monthly art competition with many categories in which to enter your art.
Gutting’s painting, “The Professional” won in the Best Western category of the June 2021 PleinAir Salon.
“‘The Professional’ has an emphasis on movement and weight,” said Gutting, “and, as the title suggests, tells a story about this bareback bronc in particular. As is the case with most of my work, the composition is very simple in order to focus on the structure of the animal and direction of the light.
“I paint the 21st-century American West. The themes of my work are often action focused and purposely emphasize anatomy. It’s my favorite part of painting animals, both western and wildlife.”
Other categories for the PleinAir Salon art competition include Best Building, Best Drawing and Sketches, and many more! Visit pleinairsalon.com to view the complete list.
Why should a contemporary realist enter the PleinAir Salon?
Because this art contest is created by Plein Air magazine, which features not only plein air paintings, but also studio paintings, all types of paintings are eligible and do not need to have been completed in plein air, but should originate from a plein air study or plein air experience. As we know, many studio paintings start with plein air sketches. Our interest is in rewarding great paintings.
The PleinAir Salon awards $50,000 in CASH each year! Learn more at pleinairsalon.com, and enter your best work for your chance to win this art competition. Enter now – the next deadline is coming soon!
Shelby Keefe, “Solista del Sol,” 24 x 30 in., oil on canvas, 2019
Caught in the act of plein air painting at the Door County Plein Air Festival, 2021
How did you get started and then develop your career?
Shelby Keefe: I always knew I was an artist, even as a young child. I came from a family of artists and crafters in rural Wisconsin and was always encouraged to draw and paint. As I grew up, I realized an artist has to make a living, so, after earning a BFA in Milwaukee, I landed a career in graphic design. Moving to the big city opened a whole new world for me, and I became enamored with the urban landscape.
Though most of my time was spent as a graphic designer and mother of two boys, I made the time to pursue my passion. By doing group exhibitions and commission work (mostly painting Milwaukee cityscapes), I gradually gained the attention of enough collectors and was able to leave graphic design and work full-time as a fine artist. I matured as a painter by participating in plein air painting competitions, teaching workshops and painting for national shows like Oil Painters of America and American Impressionist Society.
Making a living as a fine artist takes a lot of hard work, patience with the process, and faith in one’s self and a higher power! But it all comes down to the support I get from my collectors, students and my family because without them, I wouldn’t have been able to grow and develop as an independent artist.
How do you describe success?
Happiness (for the most part) = Success.
How do you find inspiration?
My inspiration is driven by light. I am constantly drawn to scenes that are dramatically lit, presenting me with the ultimate challenge of creating the illusion of glowing, sparkling, reflecting and emanating light merely by putting light values next to dark values. I am attracted to how sunlight hits the sides of buildings, how trees can cast long shadows that create patterns and stark contrasts. I love painting night scenes where the light emanates from headlights, stoplights, interior shop lights and colorful neon lights. There’s just something magical and addicting about painting a backlit subject as well. For me, it’s all about the light, the glow, the reflection and a fleeting moment in time.
What is the best thing about being an artist?
The best thing about being an artist is creating something from nothing. That “something” becomes a treasure for someone to enjoy, bringing beauty and peace to their environment. To help people find the “extra” in the “ordinary” is a privilege that brings me a sense of purpose to my passion. The other best thing about being an artist is freedom from a desk job!
Who do you collect?
I have a small collection of paintings from wonderful group of artists with whom I’ve had the pleasure of painting with. My favorites are Jill Carver, Ann Templeton, Marc Hanson, James Richards, Joshua Been, Frank Gardner and Michael Hernandez. Of course, I have a large collection of my grandmother’s work and several pieces by my painting teacher and mentor from college, Sr. Thomasita Fessler.
Shelby Keefe, “Twilight Drive,” 12 x 16 in., oil on linen, 2021Shelby Keefe, “Maltese Princess,” 24 x 20 in., oil on canvas, 2021Shelby Keefe, “Gold Rush,” 20 x 16 in., oil on linen, 2021Shelby Keefe, “Caught in Old Havana,” 24 x 36 in., oil on canvas, 2017
As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this week’s “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the artwork below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
On the Avenue by Rani Garner, Oil, 30 x 40 in. (37 x 47 in. framed); Anderson Fine Art Gallery
Santa’s Helper by Stuart Dunkel (Born 1952), Oil on panel, 6 x 8 in., Signed; Rehs Contemporary
The Awakening of Love (Le Reveil de l’Amour) by Leon Jean Bazile Perrault (1832 – 1908), Oil on canvas, 32 1/4 x 44 3/8 in., Signed and dated ’91; Rehs Galleries, Inc.Sixes Sunrise by Mehl Lawson, Bronze; ArtzLine.com
Want to see your gallery featured in an upcoming Virtual Gallery Walk? Contact us at [email protected] to advertise today. Don’t delay, as spaces are first come, first served, and availability is limited.
El Bar de Tequila
By Barbara Rudolph
20 x 30 in.
Oil
$8,500
Barbara’s realistic oil paintings tell a story. They are unique, thought provoking and often have a sense of humor. Paying special attention to detail, her subjects include a birds, sports, music and wildlife. “I desire to create something of beauty to uplift the human spirit. My oil paintings capture a moment in time or a fond memory that will surely bring a smile to your face. The process begins by photographing birds or other animals, but often placing them in unexpected places as opposed to their natural habitat. Once the ideas begin to flow, I carefully craft each scene. The story slowly reveals itself and comes to life on the canvas. When people look at my paintings, they are often drawn to the extreme detail and beauty of my wildlife and still life subjects. They feel a sense of attachment to the piece because of the emotion it evokes within them.” Barbara resides in Phoenix, AZ.
You can find Barbara and her work, along with 100 other artists, at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona, January 15 – March 27, 2022. Contact 480-443-7695 or [email protected]
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