Contemporary Realist Art in Lockdown: What’s Going Well? What’s Not?
These are extraordinary times, so find out what 9 equally extraordinary artists, educators, and dealers are doing to move their careers – and contemporary realist art – forward.
Join co-hosts Peter Trippi (Editor-in-Chief, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine) & Katie G. Whipple (Artist, New York City) for a series of Facebook Live interviews.
Charles and Mary Peterson at the 2019 Figurative Art Convention, with their new Nikolai Blokhin portrait painting
Last fall at the Figurative Art Convention & Expo (FACE), Russian artist Nikolai Blokhin led a portrait painting demonstration on the main stage of a convention that was teeming with artists. When Blokhin’s portrait painting (above) was available for auction, attendees Charles and Mary Peterson bought the masterwork.
“Charles and I started creating portraits very late in life,” Mary told us. “Charles started drawing graphite and charcoal portraits four years ago when he was 74 and I started oil painting at age 60 (nine years ago) and later began specifically painting portraits at age 66. We loved the idea of attending a conference together with separate workshops and tracks for each of us. This was our first FACE conference.”
The couple purchased VIP tickets, which gave them the opportunity to sit in the front row during the convention, including for Blokhin’s demonstration, which Mary said was “fascinating.”
“I was totally mesmerized by the brushwork,” she said. “He used a large fan brush and a single stroke to create the hair down the sides of the model’s face. Much of the facial skin tones were also created with very large brushes. Each stroke of the brush created something that still exists as originally placed on the canvas. He moved back and forth across the stage to better understand the model and the painting. He then placed each stroke with precision and with seeming emotional attachment. There was a single blot of white, for example, that eventually became an earring. There is movement everywhere in the painting. The colors are vibrant in the light of day and more beautiful under light. For me it was performance art and I really wanted to own the painting. We were lucky to be able to purchase it that day.”
Blokhin painted the portrait on the main stage at FACE as a crowd watched it come together.
On Collecting Art
When asked if she had any advice to share with those interested in starting an art collection, Mary shared the following:
“My first word of advice is to always buy original works of art. There is so much more emotional attachment to the artist in the original. The second would be to learn as much as you can about the art and artist that you are considering buying. Meeting and talking to the artist make it so much more personal to own. Corresponding by email, watching classes, and listening to podcasts and interviews create a connection to the artist and therefore the art. The most important advice is to buy what speaks directly to your heart. If you love it and hang it in your home, it will bring you joy and happiness every time you look at it. What you love, others will love as well.”
At FACE, Blokhin also painted a portrait of Fine Art Connoisseur Publisher B. Eric Rhoads
Friends in Art
In addition to connecting with Blokhin, the Petersons made a new friend after the sale when they realized they had a wet painting in their hands, and needed to travel by plane from FACE (in Williamsburg, Virginia) back home to Houston, Texas the next day.
The painting “was very wet and very valuable to us,” Mary said. “We were blessed that Eric Rhoads rounded up Teresa Oaxaca to take the painting to her Washington, DC studio. She let it dry out for three months and built a crate to ship it to us in Texas. What a lovely person she is to help total strangers caught in a bind. “As a result of this encounter we became attracted to Teresa’s work and we bought a self-portrait from her which now hangs in my study. It reminds me daily of her kindness to strangers.”
Coming Soon
Earlier this year, the Streamline Art Video team, including Eric Rhoads, traveled all the way to Russia to film Blokhin for an upcoming how-to workshop video. The video will be available later this summer; sign up hereto be one of the first to know when it’s released.
Terry Rowlett, “Flight Into Egypt,” 1999, oil on canvas, 60 x 70 in. (c) Terry Rowlett 2017
To understand Terry Rowlett’s oil paintings is to take a glimpse into his captivating life journey from evangelical roots in Arkansas to hipster-bohemian Athens, Georgia.
Some art historians have argued that all art production is simply an attempt to visualize and understand that which we cannot: the Divine. Certainly, our earliest creative impulses, found today on the walls of Paleolithic caves in France and Spain, suggest a drive to know the world and the mysteries and creatures contained within it. Artist Terry Rowlett works in this vein, driven by a desire to grasp his own spirituality. Although Rowlett’s former Christian faith has been absent for some time, he has found fulfillment in nature, and his paintings explore our connections — or lack thereof — with nature while drawing on Renaissance and Baroque traditions.
Terry Rowlett’s Maine studio with “Hermit” series of oil paintings in-progress. (c) Terry Rowlett 2017
“My inspirations often arrive as little epiphanies,” writes Rowlett, “epiphanies that usually occur in the landscape.” For Rowlett, a painting often begins when something in nature catches his eye, be that an unusual copse of trees or a rock formation. “Within these moments my mind’s eye sees a phantom character that could inhabit such a place. Sometimes the character comes very clearly, and I know exactly what he or she looks like and what they are doing in this spot. Other times I have to mull over the phantom until I know more certain what this person is trying to say.”
Terry Rowlett, “Stillness of Winter,” 2014, oil on canvas, 47 x 36 in. (c) Terry Rowlett 2017
Rowlett’s early work, such as the vibrant “Flight Out of Egypt” (shown at top), from 1999, is decidedly Christian in theme, but viewed through a modern lens. A middle-class suburban family is seen moving down a sidewalk. Mary, in this case, rides a bicycle, with Christ resting in a seat behind. Joseph, wearing classic “Chucks” and button-up shirt, strolls with a bag of groceries. There is a beautiful graphic quality and strangeness to Rowlett’s oil paintings — interesting compositions, vibrant colors, and narrative — that calls the viewer’s attention.
“The Dark Forest” is a more recent work and again displays strong landscape devices with interesting human characters, though the Christian narrative has given way to a different story. Among a grove of dark, looming trees, an elderly woman, dressed in a blue housecoat with a brilliant red scarf, points her rifle toward another, much younger, woman. The young woman is dressed in fashionable, contemporary clothing and holds a more imposing automatic assault rifle. Rowlett writes, “The dark woods were meant to suggest danger, mystery, and the dark night of the soul.” The differences between modern and contemporary, young and old, traditional and avant-garde are seen in the juxtaposition of the two characters.
Terry Rowlett, “The Dark Forest,” 2010, oil on canvas, 44 x 63 in. (c) Terry Rowlett 2017Terry Rowlett, “The Huntsman’s Epiphany,” 2010, oil on canvas, 48 x 38 in. (c) Terry Rowlett 2017
“As a young man, I traveled to Italy to study art, and it was there where I found my techniques and format for painting,” the artist writes. “The churches and museums were full of these great paintings that spoke and preached to me these strange and seemingly important messages relating to God, mankind, and nature. I feel as though I’m continuing in this style of communication, minus the Christianity, but still concerning myself with man, nature, God, and their relationship.”
"Alley Kitty" by John Whytock, First Place Overall, PleinAir Salon April 2020
Congratulations to John Whytock (johnwhytockart.com), whose work has been recognized in the PleinAir Salon, a bi-monthly art competition with many categories in which to enter your art. Whytock’s painting “Alley Kitty” (above) won First Place Overall in the April 2020 PleinAir Salon.
On the Oil Painting “Alley Kitty”
BY JOHN WHYTOCK
Every now and then, a scene will grab my attention, stop me in my tracks, and fill my mind and heart with wonder and admiration. For me, it’s usually a sunset, a mountain, a stormy sky or a beautiful face that draws me inexorably into it. But lately, I’ve been noticing alleys. There’s something honest and simple about alleys. Nothing is being sold, nothing is perfectly landscaped and everything meets – or has met in the past – a basic human need. An alley is the face behind the façade. It’s the backstage door where the mystique of the performer dissolves in the sodium vapor. Alleys are places where dark things are hidden in plain sight.
The alley in the painting “Alley Kitty” is right across the street from the Fresh Gallery in downtown Springfield, Missouri, in which I was a member for a while. It grabbed my attention and held it on many a First Friday Art Walk evening. Ultimately, it was the light that caused me to want to paint it. I couldn’t resist the challenge of attempting to render the amber of the street lamps reflecting off the red brick and the mysterious color of the night sky.
I sketched the buildings en plein air, painted samples of the sky color, and finally took photos before I started the actual oil on linen painting. I finished it in about 10 days. But when done, it was missing something. It was too cold and uninviting. I added the kitty walking out of the alley. That didn’t work, either. I turned my little friend around and headed him back into the alley, adding just the right attitude to confidently traverse a scary place at night and invite the viewer to tag along.
The most difficult part of the painting was maintaining the perspective on the bricks in the opposing walls. The diffusion of the light was also very challenging. Thank goodness I was working in oils. That kind of gradation would have been impossible with acrylics (short of using an airbrush). I faked the kitty – lots of fun. I’m grateful I had gotten the color of the night sky, as it was so unusual.
The PleinAir Salon competition really gives us something to shoot for. The caliber of art that has been submitted is some of the best in the world. It is quite an achievement to be a finalist, as the judges the publishers employ are world class. I encourage any artist who believes their art is of similar quality to enter. You may be as surprised as I was when you walk away with a first place.
Additional Oil Paintings by John Whytock:
John Whytock, “Little Girl And Big Boy 4014,” Oil on Belgian linen, 20 x 16 in.John Whytock, “I See Hawks in J.T.,” Oil on Belgian linen, 20 x 16 in.John Whytock, “In for the Night,” Oil on Belgian linen, 16 x 20 in.John Whytock, “Missouri Summer,” Oil on Belgian linen, 16 x 20 in.John Whytock, “Wapiti Wolf Pack at Old Faithful,” Oil on Belgian linen, 40 x 30 in.John Whytock, “The Writer,” Oil on Belgian linen, 18 x 24 in.John Whytock, “Calm Morning in Chioggia,” Oil on Belgian linen, 20 x 16 in.
Why should a contemporary realist enter the PleinAir Salon?
Because this art contest is created by PleinAir 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 $27,000 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!
If you’ve never entered, it only takes a couple of minutes to create your own account. Once you do that, just upload the images of your best work and select the categories you wish to enter – very manageable to do!
All of our awards are CASH, with the grand prize winner getting called up on stage at the Convention & Expo to claim their check for $15,000. That grand prize winner will also have their winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir magazine (can it get any better?).
There are smaller cash awards, too, and you can find out all about them here. Remember, even if a previous judge did not select your painting, our current judge just might find it to be a winner!
Hannah Rose Thomas, "Botticelli's Three Graces," 2018, tempera on panel, 56 x 42 cm, £2060
Art&Co., an initiative connecting the worlds of art, finance, and support groups has launched an online auction bringing relief to COVID-19 victims.
Art&Co. addresses a stark statistic that only 3% of natural disasters are covered by insurance. Funds raised from the online auction, which includes more than 200 pieces, will support frontline charities and NGOs providing healthcare, food, medicines and guidance to those affected by the contagion.
All donations will be equally distributed to ICU steps, The Care Workers Charity, Khalsa Aid International, Painting Our World In Silver, Solace Women’s Aid, and Za Teb. UK charities are forecasted to lose £4 billion over April to June, due to the lockdown.
Lydia Blakeley, “The Breed Standard,” 2018, oil on calico, 19 x 23 cm, £5100Lenka Rayn H., “Rayn on Green 2,” Lambda Digital C Type Print Mounted in Wooden Box Frame, 100 x 66 cm, £2600
“We don’t heal in isolation but within a community,” said Bundeep Singh Rangar, PremFina’s CEO and Art&Co. founder. “Art&Co. enables finance and insurance companies to support organisations assisting those suffering from the immediate effects of the coronavirus as well as consequential mental health or domestic violence difficulties.”
The auction encourages both individuals and corporations to participate and bid on one-of-a-kind art representing themes such as health, nature, and spirituality. The funds raised will mostly go to frontline organisations, with the remainder going toward more than 30 freelance artists who are contributing their work and otherwise unable to sell art due to the lockdown. The artwork purchased will become a tangible display of their efforts to support those challenged in the years to come, and can be used as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility goals.
Lenka Rayn H., “Calm Red,” Vanishers Series, Lambda Digital C Type Print in Wooden Frame, 12 x 10 cm, £400
“It’s heartbreaking to think that lockdown measures have forced some women to endure making the choice between domestic abuse and the virus, daily,” said Fiona Dwyer, CEO of Solace Women’s Aid. “Art&Co. helps ensure that no woman is forced to make such a choice.”
Andy Warhol, 1983 vintage postcard, framed, offset lithography, Andy Warhol Foundation stamp on back
The auction supports Art&Co.’s mandate to support those affected by humanitarian disasters, public health, and safety crises, focusing on events for which insurance is scarce or unavailable.
Nathan Eastwood, “Passing By,” 2014, enamel on board, 37.4 x 50 cm, £5100
Listen: BBC interview Art&Co. Founder Bundeep Singh Rangar >
Storm Brewing: Cottonwood Canyon
16 x 20 in.
Oil on canvas
Storm Brewing: Cottonwood Canyon depicts a dramatic moment in Utah when a storm was rapidly approaching from the west. It was nature in its most impressive mood!
A native of Washington, DC, Susan graduated from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service. Throughout her career Susan always made time to paint before turning to it and writing full-time. From a home and property, in what she describes as “wild and wonderful West Virginia,” Susan finds endless inspiration in the landscape and wildlife surrounding her.
A “Fellow” Member of American Artists Professional League at Salmagundi Club in NYC, Susan has had work exhibited in juried shows from Rhode Island to Maryland, from Pennsylvania to California, from Idaho to Arizona. She is also a juried member of Oil Painters of America and a member of many art associations and clubs. The John Collins Memorial Award for Oil Painting and Best Oil Painting is one of many accomplishments for Best in Show and Best Work on Canvas awards and honorable mentions. Susan is also delighted three of her grandchildren have displayed artistic talent and mentors each as they follow their own paths to excellence.
Susan’s writing provides a glimpse into her engaging, lively personality. The book, The Granny Chronicles, is a humorous account of a feisty woman who lives in Rock Bottom, the town with no place to go but up. Her adventures and shenanigans are recorded by friends and family members whose lives are forever altered by their association with Emma Frick. Susan suggests one curl up with a cup of yarbal tea and have some laughs with Granny and the denizens of Cornrow County. The book is available through Amazon and Kindle.
Susan is represented by Xanadu Gallery.
Her professional membership affiliations include OPA, MFA, WAOW, SWA, AAPL Fellow.
See more of her landscape, wild life and still life paintings on her website.
To learn of newer work and exhibits, sign up for Susan’s e-newsletter.
Safe Harbor
30 x 40 in.
Oil on linen
2020
Available Meyer Vogl Gallery, Charleston, SC
Lori Putnam (b. 1962) began painting professionally in her mid-30s. The feel of the paint immediately ignited her love affair with the medium and she knew there was no turning back. No stranger to hard work and dedication, she quickly gained recognition as one of the top, living American Impressionists. When viewed in a photograph, her work may appear tightly rendered. But upon seeing it in person, viewers are instantly engaged by thick, expressive paint. About her own work she says, “What interests me is rarely any specific subject. Like a magnet, I am immediately attracted to nature’s harmonies, rhythms, and patterns. My work invites viewers to explore and follow clues as if to a mystery. They become artists themselves for a brief moment, but will continue to see the world differently from that moment on. This is my passion, my drive, and my reward for the work.”
Putnam has been featured in numerous issues of Western Art Collector, American Art Collector Magazine, PleinAir Magazine, Southwest Art, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, and Art of the West. She is a member of many respected organizations including the Salmagundi Club in New York City, the Oil Painters of America, the Portrait Society of America, the American Impressionist Society, and the California Art Club. In 2019 she accepted an appointment as Vice President of Art Ambassador for a Colorful World, and travels to work with children in less privileged areas of the world.
Museums, including The Tucson Museum of Art, The Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, The Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell, Montana, The High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, the Irvine Museum in California, and The Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland have sought out Putnam’s works for awards, exhibitions, and permanent collection.
I love Summer: the smell of Summer, the sounds of Summer and the sights of Summer. One of my favorite Summertime joys are the flowers and the Daisy is at the top of the list! They are simply beautiful and beautifully simple. They have a way of brightening even the darkest corner and bringing a smile to the face of all who see them. Daisy Days of Summer is my tribute to the beautiful Daisy, long may they grow.
Kathryn Ashcroft was born in a small, Northern Utah farming town in 1961. She was raised on the family dairy farm where animals were fed before people were and a strong work ethic was instilled in her at a very young age. Many hours were spent on the back of a horse and riding was her favorite pass time. Her Mother, also an artist, created beautiful paintings in oil and this was a great source of inspiration. Kathryn began drawing animals very early and was encouraged and taught by her Mother and by Nature.
Kathryn began working in oils in 2004. Striving to convey the essence of the animal, as opposed to a detailed depiction, she uses a loose, painterly style. The result is a beautiful rendition of what the viewer would see if they were viewing the animal in the wild. Abstract backgrounds bring the focus of the painting to the animal itself.
As a child, Kathryn had ample opportunities to view wildlife in its natural environment. She continues observing and studying animals every day and her paintings are based on personal experiences that she has had. She will not paint an animal unless she has seen it and studied it in the wild. Countless hours are spent outdoors and in nature capturing reference material for her artwork. While the main focus of her work is Wildlife Kathryn also paints Western and Native themes.
The use of light, color, shape and value are important to Kathryn and she is constantly striving to bring all dimensions of her paintings to a higher level.
Kathryn’s work is found in collections across the country and internationally. It is her desire that all who view her work will have a greater appreciation for the natural world.
My French Table
24 x 24 in.
Oil on linen
$3950
Available from the artist
Capturing Life in Oils
The artist says, “I paint to capture life’s magic … to transport you inside my oil paintings – to feel that breeze, hear the sounds, watch what happens, smell the beer.”
My French Table captures Jill’s favorite room in the house – a romantic nook in her kitchen that was inspired by the airbnb that husband Randy and she stayed in last summer in St. Paul-de-Vence. Jill picked that home because she knew that kitchen would turn into a painting. At the time, she wasn’t aware that her home would start to evolve into that very special spot. Read more about how My French Table came to be here.
Staying home these months has made her look around. If she can’t be outside exploring to capture the world in paint, en plein air, what was inside those walls would be her muse. See her website, www.JillBanks.com, to sign up for her monthly newsletter to catch the latest paintings, news, and tales. After a successful series of Spring online classes, she’ll be offering one or two this summer.
You can also follow Jill on Facebook and Instagram. Plus, make sure you are the first to see fresh work by signing up for New Art Alerts here.
Jill will be participating in a Virtual Rittenhouse Square Art Show on June 5-7 with a live Zoom tour and event on Saturday, June 6 at noon Eastern Time. Registration is required, find out more here. She will also be putting out a schedule of some online interactive art parties, shows, talks and demos. Get in on the action by subscribing and following, please. Help her spread some joy in your direction.
Evening Surf
30 x 30 in.
Oil on panel
$3600 available through the artist
Crashing surf hitting the rocky Maine coast or pounding the sandy beaches of the Outer Banks of North Carolina is the subject of a group of Jean Schwartz’s coastal paintings. While she also paints landscapes and cityscapes the ocean continues to be her favorite subject. Jean’s coastal paintings are inspired by places she knows well and has spent years observing.
In Evening Surf, as in most of her marine paintings, Jean’s subject is the ocean itself. Rarely are people or boats present and most have the viewer experiencing the surf up close from the rocks or standing right in the water. It is the ocean’s movement, light and color in all its variations that appeal to her.
“As a subject I think the ocean provides an artist a great opportunity to express a mood. The viewer can find a sense of danger, excitement, chaos or peace depending on the how the ocean is portrayed.”
Observation is what Jean feels is key in painting the movement of the ocean. Spending over 20 years on the Outer Banks painting in all seasons either from the beach or from the decks and windows of her house allows her to often create her studio paintings from memory. Rather than use a still photo for inspiration she will sometimes use videos of the surf she filmed on her iPhone. She finds it easier to paint moving water by watching it then looking away and painting what is in her minds eye. “Copying surf from a still photo can cause the painting to become tight and stilted. It is better to get into a rhythm and keep it loose to create the movement of the water”.
Jean’s paintings can be found in private and corporate collections both in the U.S. and Europe and some have been loaned to U.S. embassies through the State Department.
Jean is an artist member of The Washington Society of Landscape Painters, OPA, The Salmagundi Club, ASMA and is an elected fellow of The American Artists Professional League.
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