Casa Romantica Welcomes California Art Club

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March 13, 2026

California Art Club - “Color Pyramid, Casa Romantica,” 11x14, oil by Rick J. Delanty — “Color Pyramid, Casa Romantica,” 11x14, oil by Rick J. Delanty

Casa Romantica presents California Art Club’s Orange County Chapter Exhibition
March 19-May 24, 2026, in the Casa galleries
415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente, California

This spring, a unique exhibition for artists of the California Art Club (CAC) is about to open on the grounds of a historical villa in San Clemente, built in the mid-1920’s. Forty Artist, Signature, and Mentor members of the Orange County Chapter of the California Art Club have been invited to each unveil a masterwork as part of the new exhibition in the main gallery of the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clemente, California.

Works were juried into the show by Casa co-directors Kylie Travis and Jacqui Groseth, who initially suggested the idea for the exhibition to CAC Orange County co-chairs Wendy Wirth, Anthony Salvo, and Rick Delanty, who are assisting with the logistics of and catalog for the exhibit.

“Twilight Mist,” 12x24, acrylic, by Wendy Wirth — “Twilight Mist,” 12×24, acrylic, by Wendy Wirth

This is an un-themed exhibit, in which viewers are treated to a variety of subject matter painted by these professional artists, including landscape, still life, figural, and coastal. On display are a variety of techniques, mediums, and concepts for art connoisseurs, demonstrations and paint-outs on the Casa grounds, opportunities to personally meet the artists, and even a wine-pairing with selected paintings, presented by a representative of Margerum Wines in Santa Barbara.

Two lectures are part of the exhibit’s programming. Jean Stern, historian and director emeritus of the Irvine Museum, will present a slide program on the history of the California Art Club, and Carolyn Lord, nationally-acclaimed watercolor artist, will reveal what it was like to be mentored by the watercolor master, Millard Sheets. The exhibition promises to be one of the finest visual arts events presented in Casa galleries, and the first ever for the Orange County Chapter’s artists to exhibit as a body in a gallery or museum.

Opening reception for the public is March 19, from 6-8 pm. The public will have the opportunity to view the paintings and meet the artists.

California Art Club - “Baker Street Chevy,” 12x24, oil, by Anthony Salvo — “Baker Street Chevy,” 12×24, oil, by Anthony Salvo

The California Art Club is one of the oldest art societies in the United States, founded in 1909. It began its evolution as The Painters’ Club of Los Angeles. It was disbanded in 1909, to be replaced by members of the former association who regrouped to form the California Art Club. They believed there was a need for artists living in Southern California to meet and share their ideas, and to exhibit together. It is in that spirit that these artists will be gathering to show their work at the Casa Romantica.

The stated mission of the Club is “to promote the fine arts in the fields of painting, drawing, and sculpture (referred to as traditional and representational art,) with a special emphasis placed on the academic traditions and craftsmanship. Further, “to produce and promote art programs and exhibitions that foster understanding, interpretation, and display of the traditional art heritage…for the cultural enrichment of the community, and for the promotion of California history and heritage.”

The signature event of the CAC is the annual Gold Medal juried exhibition, a selection of artworks—both paintings and sculptures—that represent the best work of its member artists. Many of the artists whose work will be on view at the Casa for this exhibition have participated in past Gold Medal exhibitions. All of the artists in this show have their home studios in Orange County. All works will be available for sale.

For more details, please visit www.casaromantica.org.

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Story prepared for the web by Cherie Dawn Haas, Editor of Fine Art Today

From Film to Fine Art: Sculptor Maudie Brady

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Fine Art Today

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March 9, 2026

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There is a lot of superb contemporary realism being made these days; this article by Brandon Rosas shines light on a gifted individual.

MAUDIE BRADY (b. 1974), “The Philosopher,” 2023, HydroResin (artist’s proof), 12 1/2 x 6 3/4 x 8 3/4 in. (not including base), available in bronze (edition of 3) through the artist

The work of Australian-born sculptor MAUDIE BRADY (b. 1974) can be seen not only in Barcelona’s Museu Europeu d’Art Modern, but also in such celebrated film franchises as Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean, for which she sculpted set pieces and other assets.

Brady’s immersion in the arts began at 2 years old, when her mother left a career in architecture for life as an actor and director. “We traveled Europe performing at fairs, then moved back to Australia to live off the grid in the tropical paradise of the New South Wales coast,” she says. “It was a spectacular childhood full of creativity.”

Brady earned her B.F.A. in sculpture from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1998, then began working in the art and construction departments of film studios. “The experience opened my eyes to how important it is to observe nature, with all its infinite variety, in order to achieve beauty through technical craftsmanship,” she recalls.

After more than a decade in film, Brady realized that she had more to learn about sculpting figures, so she decided to pursue her education — and eventually, a fine art career — at the Florence Academy of Art (FAA). “I realized that if I didn’t continue studying, I’d be always working for other people, never finding out what I had to offer the world on my own terms,” she says.

After graduating in 2016, Brady went on to win Best Nude in the Art Renewal Center’s 12th International Salon Competition and was twice named joint winner of Australia’s prestigious Tom Bass Prize. She now serves as director of anatomy and écorché at the FAA, dividing her time between teaching there and sculpting in the studio she shares with her husband, Björn.

Today Brady’s focus is firmly on the human figure: “I enjoy exploring ways to express a person’s inner world and complexities, as well as finding ways to represent that in a pose that creates emotion through impression.” She lists Auguste Rodin, Lotta Blokker, and Grzegorz Gwiazda among her inspirations.

Brady’s penchant for visual drama can be seen in “The Philosopher,” a rapidly sculpted portrait that was cast in resin but would be equally suited to Carrara marble. “When I create figurative work, I’m seeking to represent and sometimes amplify a universal human condition that opens the door for viewers to relate in their own unique way,” she explains. “The point of artistic dialogue is not to be literal, but to allow subconscious connections to be made and personal meaning to be formed.”

Connect with the artist at maudiebrady.com.

View more contemporary realism artist and collector profiles here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.

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Wende Caporale-Greene: The Art of Feeding Community

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Fine Art Today

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March 8, 2026

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Wende Caporale-Greene, "Mushroom Farmers Spencer & Rebecca," 2025, oil on canvas, 46 x 46 inches, image courtesy of the artist and Mattatuck Museum

A nationally recognized painter and Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America, Wende Caporale-Greene is known for her luminous, lifelike portraits and still lifes. Her work has been exhibited at institutions including the Butler Institute of American Art and honored by the Portrait Society of America and the Salmagundi Club, among others.

March 15 through June 7, 2026, the Mattatuck Museum is presenting “Wende Caporale-Greene: The Art of Feeding Community,” a solo exhibition. Through richly detailed paintings in oil and pastel, Caporale-Greene honors the farmers, fishers, cheesemongers, and other food purveyers whose work sustains local communities.

Wende Caporale-Greene, "Kate - Cheesemonger," 2024, oil on canvas, 32 x 34 inches, image courtesy of the artist and Mattatuck Museum — Wende Caporale-Greene, “Kate – Cheesemonger,” 2024, oil on canvas, 32 x 34 inches, image courtesy of the artist and Mattatuck Museum

After relocating to Connecticut in 2021, Caporale-Greene began visiting local farms, markets, and small food businesses throughout the region. Inspired by the people who grow and prepare fresh food close to home, those experiences became the foundation for this deeply personal body of work, which she began in 2023. “Wende Caporale-Greene: The Art of Feeding Community” is the debut solo presentation of these recent paintings, which are joined by two family portraits.

Featured people and places include:

– Kate Truini-Redin of New Curds on the Block in Oakville, Connecticut
– Zachary Redin of To the Gills in Oakville, Connecticut
– Shawn Joseph and Richard Myer of Brass City Harvest, whose work expands access to fresh, affordable food in Waterbury neighborhoods
– Mark and Jackson of Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury and Woodbury, Connecticut
– Shawn Ruest and Skip, regional lobstermen
– Spencer Lord and Rebecca Kuczko of Oracle Mushroom Co. in South Kent, Connecticut
– Millbrook Vineyards & Winery in Millbrook, New York
– Averill Farm in Washington Depot, Connecticut
– Rraci’s Restaurant in Brewster, New York
– Jarrod Sprangler of Maine Meat (MEat) in Kittery, Maine

Wende Caporale-Greene, "Zack – Fishmonger" (detail), 2024, oil on canvas, 43 x 50 inches, image courtesy of the artist and Mattatuck Museum — Wende Caporale-Greene, “Zack – Fishmonger” (detail), 2024, oil on canvas, 43 x 50 inches, image courtesy of the artist and Mattatuck Museum

Painting of grapes on a vine at a vineyard — Wende Caporale-Greene, “Millbrook Vineyard & Winery” (detail), 2025, pastel on board, 30 x 40 inches, image courtesy of the artist and Mattatuck Museum

Painting of two boys holding chickens with pumpkins in the background — Wende Caporale-Greene, “Jackson & Mark – Ox Hollow Farm,” 2026, pastel on board, 30 x 40 inches, image courtesy of the artist and Mattatuck Museum

The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Caporale-Greene’s husband, noted realist painter Daniel E. Greene, NA, and to her father, Edward Caporale, a longtime produce manager who instilled in her a lifelong appreciation for fresh food.

For more information, please visit mattmuseum.org.

Jason Bard Yarmosky: Time Has Many Faces

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Fine Art Today

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March 7, 2026

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Guild Hall - Jason Bard Yarmosky, "Remembrance," 2013, Oil on canvas, 36 x 64 inches, Private Collection (New York, NY) — Jason Bard Yarmosky, "Remembrance," 2013, Oil on canvas, 36 x 64 inches, Private Collection (New York, NY)

Jason Bard Yarmosky’s work centers on themes of aging, time, and memory—subjects the artist has been fascinated with since childhood. Born in 1987 in New York, Yarmosky developed a connection to these ideas through his close relationship with his grandparents, who were six decades his senior. Growing up, he often visited museums where he noticed the historical aspect of idealized beauty, which often emphasized youth, yet he yearned for a varied perspective that reflected a broader personal experience.

Jason Bard Yarmosky. Photo: Cynthia Edorh

For over ten years, his grandparents were the subjects of his portraits, helping him explore the complex aspects of growing older including vulnerability, care, wisdom, and humor. These works became a celebration of aging, resisting cultural tendencies that diminish joy, individuality, and dignity in later life.

Through his practice, Yarmosky mixes traditional 17th- and 18th-century painting techniques with contemporary imagery, incorporating dreamlike elements, theatrical costume, and staged interiors that heighten a sense of intimacy. The use of costuming functions as a throughline in his work: it both conceals and reveals, able to disguise or bring out aspects of identity. The play of masks, uniforms, and imagined roles underscores how play is often discouraged as one grows older, yet reclaimed in the freedom of later life.

Jason Bard Yarmosky, "Trick or Treaters" 2017, Pencil on paper, 19 x 24 inches, Image courtesy of the artist — Jason Bard Yarmosky, “Trick or Treaters” 2017, Pencil on paper, 19 x 24 inches, Image courtesy of the artist

Yarmosky’s paintings move between tenderness and absurdity, between the heaviness of mortality and moments of celebration. His imagery suggests that humor and imagination persist even in the face of loss, and that through portraiture, costume, and the space of the interior, stories of aging are both preserved and transformed.

Guild Hall - Jason Bard Yarmosky, "Somewhere," 2017, Oil on canvas, 78 x 103 inches, Image courtesy of the artist — Jason Bard Yarmosky, “Somewhere,” 2017, Oil on canvas, 78 x 103 inches, Image courtesy of the artist

Yarmosky has visited the East End of Long Island since early childhood. Long known as an area of respite, he returned to his family’s home—architect Andrew Geller’s iconic Double Diamond House—in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, following the passing of his grandparents, as a restorative experience for his life and practice.

“Jason Bard Yarmosky: Time Has Many Faces” is on view at Guild Hall (East Hampton, NY) through April 19, 2026.

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Story prepared for the web by Cherie Dawn Haas, Editor of Fine Art Today

Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture

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Fine Art Today

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March 6, 2026

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Installation view of "Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture" at The Frick Collection; Photo: Joseph Coscia Jr.

The Frick Collection is presenting its first special exhibition dedicated to the English artist Thomas Gainsborough, and the first devoted to his portraiture ever held in New York. Displaying more than two dozen paintings, the show will explore the richly interwoven relationship between Gainsborough’s portraits and fashion in the eighteenth century. The works included represent some of the greatest achievements from every stage of this period-defining artist’s career, drawn from the Frick’s holdings and from collections across North America and the United Kingdom.

Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), "Ignatius Sancho," 1768, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 1/2 in., National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa — Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), “Ignatius Sancho,” 1768, oil on canvas, 29 x 24 1/2 in., National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

The trappings and trade of fashion filled Gainsborough’s world—in magazines and tailor shops, at the opera and on promenades—and his portraits were at the heart of it all. This exhibition invites visitors to consider not only the clothing the artist depicted in his paintings, but also the role of his canvases as both records of and players in the larger conception of fashion: encompassing everything from class, wealth, labor, and craft to formality, intimacy, and time. Recent technical investigations also shed light on Gainsborough’s artistic process, including connections to materials—textiles, dyes, cosmetics, jewelry—that fueled the fashion industry.

Thomas Gainsborough, "Grace Dalrymple Elliott," 1782, oil on canvas, 30 1/8 x 25 in., The Frick Collection, New York; Photo: Michael Bodycomb — Thomas Gainsborough, “Grace Dalrymple Elliott,” 1782, oil on canvas, 30 1/8 x 25 in., The Frick Collection, New York; Photo: Michael Bodycomb

“Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture” is organized by Aimee Ng, the museum’s Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator. Stated Ng, “The spectacular and at times, to modern eyes, absurd fashions in portraits by Thomas Gainsborough continue to fascinate viewers today. The appeal of these demonstrations of taste, status, and wealth persists in tension with increased recognition, over the last few decades, of the injustices that made such extravagance possible. This exhibition necessarily deals with clothing and personal attire, while exploring how fashion was understood in Gainsborough’s time, how it touched every level of society, and how portraiture itself was as much a construction and invention as a sitter’s style.”

In this full-length portrait, German composer Karl Friedrich Abel is probably writing the score of one of his compositions. The sitter is portrayed at a table next to his dog and with his instrument resting on his left thigh. — Thomas Gainsborough, “Carl Friedrich Abel,” ca. 1777, oil on canvas, 88 3/4 x 59 1/2 in., The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, (c) Huntington Art Museum

For more details, please visit frick.org.

Virtual Gallery Walk for March 6th, 2026

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Fine Art Today

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March 6, 2026

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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.

San Pedro in Bloom, Brit Hansen, carved acrylic paint, 48 x 48 in; Celebration of Fine Art

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California Vineyard, Sheryl Knight, oil on canvas, 21 x 30 in; Sheryl Knight Artist

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.

“Dairy Land” Lands Salon

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Fine Art Today

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March 2, 2026

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James Fleeson, “Dairy Land,” oil, 12 x 24 in.

Please help us congratulate James Fleeson for winning Overall First Place in the January 2026 PleinAir Salon, judged by George Billis of George Billis Galleries.

Billis chose Fleeson’s 12×24-inch nocturne oil painting, “Dairy Bar” (shown above).

About the Winning Artist

Written by Benjamin Cominsky

It’s hard to imagine a first-grader challenging his classmates to drawing contests to see who can draw the best motorcycle, but this scene sets the stage of James Fleeson’s youth while giving foresight as to how his future would unfold. Art has always been a part of Fleeson’s life, so it only seems fitting that in the years immediately following those innocent childhood contests, and ever since, he has entered his artwork in shows. This lifelong competitive spirit may be part of an underlying force that pushes him to continue developing his art at a high level, wherein he constantly pushes his own boundaries and in turn challenges his personal artistic evolution.

Although he now lives in Lexington, Ohio, James was born just north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Jackson, Michigan, where he attended the Jackson Area Career Center for Commercial Art while in high school. He was offered a full five-year scholarship to attend Lawrence Tech for a degree in Architecture but left after just one year to pursue a greater passion—a career in Computer Science, which eventually led him to the DC area.

Despite the shifts in his career paths, Fleeson has always created art and in many mediums including pencil, pastels, and watercolor, but he eventually decided he wanted to paint in oil to take advantage of the deep colors it provided. And after two years of researching the science of painting with oil, he did his first painting.

“Today oil is my main medium, and life is my subject,” James says. “I like to tell stories with my paintings, to shine a light on everyday scenes that people miss and show the beauty all around us. I once read, ‘An artist’s job is to document their life.’ I hope to live up to that statement by painting what isn’t seen.”

Connect with James Fleeson at cellarstudiosink.com.

About the PleinAir Salon:

In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual online art competition, with 11 monthly cycles, leading to the annual Salon Grand Prize winners, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition. The PleinAir® Salon rewards artists with $50,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work, with the winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir® Magazine.

Winners in each monthly competition may receive recognition and exposure through PleinAir Magazine’s print magazine, e-newsletters, websites, and social media. Winners of each competition will also be entered into the annual competition. The Annual Awards will be presented live at the next Plein Air Convention & Expo.

The next round of the PleinAir Salon has begun so hurry, as this competition ends on the last day of the month. Enter your best art in the PleinAir Salon here.

View more artist and collector profiles here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.

Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine March/April 2026

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Fine Art Today

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March 1, 2026

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Preview the March/April 2026 issue of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, including the cover artist, feature articles, and other highlights.

Get this issue of Fine Art Connoisseur here.

Sign up here for the weekly Fine Art Today newsletter, which brings you high-level content while providing you with current and upcoming art exhibitions and events, late-breaking stories, and more from the art collecting world.

Featured Artwork: Melinda Whitmore

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Great Art Ahead

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Peter Trippi

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March 1, 2026

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A view of the 2025 edition of TEFAF Maastricht; photo: Jitske Nap

From the Fine Art Connoisseur March/April 2026 Editor’s Note:

Great Art Ahead

My faith in connoisseurship’s survival is always restored by The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) at Maastricht, a small but charming city in southeastern Holland. My pilgrimage there this month — my first since 2019 — will surely prove no exception.

Widely considered the world’s best fair for art, antiques, and design, TEFAF’s 39th edition will host over 260 dealers and galleries hailing from 20 countries, offering works that span 7,000 years. This year’s eight sections are devoted to Paintings, Works on Paper, Antiques, Ancient Art, Jewelry, Modern & Contemporary, Design, and Arts of Africa & Oceania.

Before TEFAF opens, a huge team of experts vet every artwork for quality, authenticity, and condition. The stands tend to be visually spectacular, with superb design, lighting, and installation, and some exhibitors “hold back” their top treasures for as long as a year in order to unveil them there. This is a pop-up museum where everything happens to be for sale.

Close looking is one of TEFAF’s key pleasures. You can easily spot hundreds of directors, trustees, and patrons from museums around the world, exercising their connoisseurial eyes and combing the displays for possible acquisitions. I can’t wait to explore the halls, and then I will publish a large article about what I saw in the next issue of Fine Art Connoisseur. Get ready for some visual treats.

In 2012, the nonprofit European Fine Art Foundation, which runs TEFAF, established the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund, through which museums can obtain support for conservation projects. This year’s beneficiary is Dresden’s Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, which proposed The Boar Hunt, a monumental masterpiece painted by Peter Paul Rubens for himself c. 1616–18. Its repair is central to a four-year research initiative on Dresden’s holding of nearly 40 Rubens works, and the cleaned painting will hang in glory again from June 2027 onward in the special exhibition Rubens in Dresden. In Maastricht this month, I am looking forward to attending a lecture about the project.

If you can’t make it to Holland this month, fear not. TEFAF’s New York edition (May 15–19, 2026) will bring together 88 exhibitors hailing from 14 countries and offering superb modern and contemporary art, design, jewelry, and antiquities. This is the only art fair held at Manhattan’s Park Avenue Armory that activates its 16 historic period rooms with immersive displays mounted by the dealers. Many of those spaces were designed by the most prominent talents of the 19th century, including Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, and Herter Brothers.

Finally, please enjoy our 12th annual set of Collectors of Contemporary Realism profiles, which begin on page 94 of this issue. We send our deepest thanks to these inspiring individuals who have so generously shared their thoughts and artworks with us.

What are your thoughts? Share your letter to the Editor below in the comments.

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About the Winning Artist

About the PleinAir Salon:

Great Art Ahead

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