Glory Day by Jill Stefani Wagner, PSA-MP IAPS/MC
Pastel on UArt Board
16 x 20 in.
$1400

“Glory Day was inspired by the everyday type of scene that makes my heart sing, but is often overlooked by passersby. It’s just a simple hill with trees and a fence at the top. And then there’s the light…the special sauce which creates all the magic!

Whether painting landscapes, interiors or figures, my primary focus is always the light and how it affects the subject I’m trying to capture. Working in pastel and oil I approach my paintings as a sculptor would, carving out nuances of highlight and shadow.

An avid plein air artist, I’m inspired by the American landscape and that of my beloved Italy. I find my greatest joy painting on location, taking in the atmosphere, temperature, sounds and smells, as well as the view. I participate in national plein air festivals, traveling throughout the country to capture the uniqueness of each venue. During the cold Michigan winters I work in my studio creating larger pieces…but always, always chasing the light.”

Jill Stefani Wagner’s artwork has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the country and is included in many corporate and private collections. Her paintings have been juried into prestigious national and international oil and pastel exhibits, and have been honored with multiple awards.

One of Jill’s paintings graced the cover of PleinAir Magazine and and her work is often featured in their pages. Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine has frequently highlighted her paintings as has Pastel Journal and the best-selling French magazine, Practique des Arts. Wagner has been invited Pastel Faculty at PleinAir Magazine’s Plein Air Convention & Expo for four years and also enjoys teaching workshops and mentoring other artists.

Wagner has been designated a Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America and Master Circle in the International Association of Pastel Societies, and also belongs to American Impressionist Society, Oil Painters of America, the Great Lakes Pastel Society and the Degas Pastel Society. Her work is represented by five fine art galleries in the Midwest.

Jill Stefani Wagner majored in painting and received a B.F.A. from The University of Michigan School of Art. She owned an award-winning advertising firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan, before “seeing the light” and becoming a full-time artist.

You can view more of Jill”s work at her website JillWagnerart.com or on Facebook and Instagram.

Feel free to contact Jill by email.

My Father in the Garden by Victoria Castillo
Oil

Victoria Castillo is a classically trained artist who paints people in light-infused settings, often gardens and intimate interiors.

“I love the way light and shadow play across the human form. I use it to create mood and to tell a story. My Father in the Garden is an ode to summer evenings. The imagery is from my childhood. After work, my father would roam the garden, cigar in hand, ruminating on the day’s events. I loved the earthy-sweet smell of his tobacco and the way the late afternoon sunlight danced across his crisp, bright shirts. He used these quiet moments in nature to transition from the cares of work to the pleasures of home – a feeling to which many people can relate.”

My Father in the Garden is receiving international recognition, including an award and feature in International Artists Magazine, the Eleanor Coble Best Figurative award from Women Artists of the West, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine’s Award of Excellence, and inclusion in the prestigious Oil Painters of America’s National Exhibition.

To purchase this painting call (240) 461-7799.

To view more of Victoria’s paintings, visit her website.

Be the first to see new work by signing up for her quarterly e-newsletter.

Connect with Victoria on Instagram.

Long Tall Shadows by Jeanne Reavis
12 x 16
Oil on linen panel
$1400
Available through the artist

View Jeanne’s work at JeanneReavis.com.

Sunrise at Boynton
16 x 20 in.
Oil on canvas
$1600
Available at the Neighborhood Gallery in Boynton Beach, FL

One of my favorite place to paint is the Inlet at Boynton Beach, Florida. For me it’s got everything! Plenty of natural beauty and excitement to capture: Fishermen and spectators on the pier while fast-moving fishing and pleasure boats zoom through this man made channel which is Florida’s most turbulent ocean inlet. It’s the closest point to the Atlantic Gulf Stream, just 2 to 3 nautical miles from shore. Over the years I’ve painted over twenty works in this location. All were different, with this scene painted at dawn back on April 8, 2007, as part of the Palm Beach Plein Air “Wet Paint Competition”.

Capturing scenes like this is a challenge in getting set up in the dark before sunrise on a surf-drenched pier. Back then, before LED lights, my canvas and palette were illuminated by two light bulbs connected to a car battery at the base of my easel. The peak colors at sunrise are gone in minutes and must be remembered and applied for the duration of the painting. Had to work quickly using a minimum color palette and ignoring the changed colors. That morning, brilliant red, yellow and orange variations drenched everything including the backlit dark blue sea. Whenever I re-look at the finished painting, as in most all of my plein air works, I can readily play-back that painting experience as if the canvas had somehow recorded and retained the highlights of that day.

Artist’s Statement
“As an artist, I find the process of creating a fine artwork highly energizing and even more fulfilling than the finished end product.

As an art instructor, I believe a fine visual artist must first be able to see accurately and be capable to accurately reproduce images with minimum effort. Equipped with those skills, artists then have a far better chance of success if they are true to who they are in creating something unique, important or beautiful”.

About the Artist
Born in 1939 and raised in New York City’s East Harlem I’ve been fascinated with drawing and painting since early childhood. Been Primarily self-taught with a natural talent and passion for art. later in my twenties, I studied art and architecture in New York at Queens College City University and painted evenings in the mid 1960s at the Art Students League.

My works range from studio paintings using real and imagined themes, to figurative, portraits and plein air painting. Many of my studio works are of larger than life faces in pensive moods with feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Beginning in the early 1980’s, I had began painted on-location in the Hudson Valley and Long Island Hamptons and later in Southeast Florida. The subjects of my paintings are often from nature, life experiences and personal reflections of family and friends. Most recent works are plein air landscapes and studio paintings of imaginative compositions that visually link with artists I very much admire.

Papa has been described as “an art activist, passionate about art and regularly teaching drawing and painting and plein air workshops throughout Palm Beach County. He is Co-Founder of Plein Air Palm Beach and is a Signature Member and Past President of the Artists Guild of the Boca Raton Museum of Art. Papa also has painted in France and Italy and has been instrumental in Boynton Beach becoming a “Sister City” with Farindola in the Abruzzo Region of Italy.

Papa’s artworks are in public and private collections in the US, Canada and Europe and can be viewed at Papagallery Artists Association in Boca Raton, The Neighborhood Gallery in Boynton Beach and on his website.

Majestic Land by Jose Luiz Nunez
24 x 36 in.
Oil

The 12th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art kicked off in early September with measures in place to ensure social distancing and the safety of both the artists and visitors. During Plein Air at Grand Canyon from September 12th through September 19th, visitors could watch the artists at work, painting along the South Rim of Grand Canyon. Now through January 18th, 2021, their work will be available for viewing and for sale at Grand Canyon Conservancy’s online gallery.

Each year 4 to 5 new artists are invited to participate in the event. One of this year’s new artists is Jose Luis Nunez. Nunez was born in Mexico City, and after studying painting and philosophy in Spain, Italy, and Mexico, he now lives in San Diego, California. Plein air painting is very important for him because it allows him to deeply get to know the spirit of the land he is painting: its colors, shapes and values. While this was his first time involved in Celebration of Art, he is no stranger to Grand Canyon, having faced the challenges of plein air painting there numerous times.

In addition to the plein air work the artists do during the event, they also submit a Grand Canyon related studio painting. Nunez’s studio painting Majestic Land beautifully captures the depth and vastness as well as the magical ever-changing light of the canyon. Of this painting Nunez says:

“I want to convey the awesome feeling that one feels when one is at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Two big rock cliffs escort the view and send our eyes flying, first to a red mesa in the middle and then far into the wide Canyon. Our eyes fly all around the beauty of the canyon, like the condor now also flies all over it.”

For more information visit grandcanyon.org/coa and shop.grandcanyon.org
or contact Kathy Duley at [email protected] or 480-277-0458.

Intrigue by Kathryn Ashcroft
16 x 20 in.
Oil on Belgian linen
Available from Horizon Fine Art, Jackson, Wyoming

A beautiful red fox hunting on a winter evening. It’s winter coat keeping it warm the fox travels many miles during the course of a day in search of food. It is a life and death trek.

This particular fox has seen something high in the branches of a tree, what is it? That is an intriguing question and it is up to the viewer of the painting to decide.

KATHRYN ASHCROFT – THE ART OF NATURE

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 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 early and was encouraged and taught by her Mother and by Nature.

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.

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.

Her work can be 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.

Kathryn is regularly invited to participate in the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, South Carolina and she has had her work accepted into the prestigious Birds In Art international competition in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Gallery Representation
Horizon Fine Art Gallery, Jackson, Wyoming
Summit Gallery, Park City, Utah
Sorrel Sky Gallery, Sante Fe, New Mexico

For more of Kathryn’s work you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook as Kathy Ashcroft.

She can be reached through email and by phone 435-890-0912.

View more of Kathryn’s work at KathyAshcroft.com.

Next to Kevin’s by Steven Walker
Oil

The oil painting titled Next to Kevin’s is just one of many nocturnal paintings that I have been experimenting with over the course of the past three years. This one in particular was selected to be a part of the Oil Painters of America National show. The show will be in Fredericksburg, Texas, at the RS Hanna Gallery.

Born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Steven discovered his love for art at a very early age. After earning his bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Virginia Commonwealth University and a masters in fine arts from Marywood University, Steven turned his focus towards nature by way of painting landscapes.

Since delving into the gallery world, his work has been well received by collectors.  Steven’s paintings are part of several private collections such as Airstream Inc., Hilton Hotels, the Boy Scouts of America, Dominion Resources, Virginia State Department, the National Parks Service, the Columbus Convention Center and the United States Air Force.

Steven has been included in several local and national juried competitions including the Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional show (Award of Excellence), Richeson 75 Landscape Competition, Plein Air Salon, the International Salon Competition, the Oil Painters of America Salon (Award of Excellence), Oil Painters of America National (Honorable Mention) and the Art Renewal Center. Steven also had the privilege of being a part of a statewide traveling exhibition with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

He has participated in several artist in residency programs in Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and Colorado. In 2014, he was selected to create the Ohio Governor’s Art Awards by the Ohio Arts Council and in 2015 he received honorable mention in the Southwest Art Magazine’s Artistic Excellence Competition.

Steven now lives in Hahira, Georgia, where he continues to work hard on the advancement of his career, with the assistance of his lovely wife Evelyn and studio assistant/daughter Poppy. Currently, his work is represented in Kentucky, Washington State, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma and Washington, D.C.

“I should have quit years ago but that would have proven so many people right.” – SW