Birth of Venus
74 x 46 x 10 in.
Molded fabric mounted on stretched canvas, acrylic paint
Available through the artist

Seeing Gina Klawitter’s Birth of Venus in person sparked an artist friend to recite Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise. While Gina’s art can easily be interpreted as a powerful illustration of the poem, it was intended to be a modern-day twist on the Birth of Venus, painted in the 1480’s by artist Sandro Botticelli.

Venus was the Roman goddess of love, sex, beauty, fertility and also the goddess of victory. Botticelli’s Venus was the first non-religious nude painted since classical antiquities. It was a pagan representation for its time. Botticelli had never traveled outside of Italy. In contrast, Gina was inspired to portray how feminine love, beauty and strength could be universally thought of today – and in a non-commercial way. She also wanted to embody a sense of fertility with Mother Earth imagery.

Gina created the structure of Venus by forming and hardening fabric over a live posed model. She mounted the molded structure onto a canvas, then painted the entire work with acrylics. Touches of metallic and iridescent paint bring the art to life when seen at different angles and with changes in ambient light.

A long-time commissioned artist and former art and creative director, Gina Klawitter is emerging into galleries and exhibits with her innovative Sculptural Paintings. You can see her ongoing, rotating exhibit by appointment at Colorado Ballet’s Armstrong Center for Dance.

Learn about Gina’s upcoming shows and see more work by visiting Gina’s website, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Thirsty Clipper
36 x 18 in.
Oil on canvas
$1725
Available from the artist

Thirsty Clipper depicts a scene Heather Gibson came across in Berlin, New Jersey, by happenstance. A setting easily found anywhere across the United States and perhaps barely given a second glance, but Heather’s eye and artistic mastery pull a viewer back to see the complexity of the scene and invite curiosity, to wonder how it came to be.

“Passing Johnny Boys Farm, an abandoned, old farm, I noticed the main building is now storage to lots of junk and piles of stuff. Illegally parking my car on the property, I started tramping around, to see if I could find something that would make a great painting. And then I spotted this old Clipper car hiding among all of the clutter. Its turquoise paint was faded and its chrome had seen better days,” says Heather.

Along with Heather’s inquisitive nature, her humor is also evident in Thirsty Clipper.

“The car along with the whole scene looked perfectly preserved in a time capsule, except for one glaring detail—a McDonald’s drink with straw perched on the hood. I thought that it was hysterical. Combined with the turquoise colors on the door on the second floor and the car, against the complimentary colors of the oranges of the tractor wheel and the other equipment, I just knew the scene had enormous potential to be a great painting.”

Heather is a representational oil painter with a slight impressionistic edge. Accurate drawing is foremost in the underlying structure of her work.

“This allows me the freedom to apply my paint with expression. By choosing unique subject matter, unexpected point-of-view, or bold placement of elements on my canvas, I add an inventive twist to each of my paintings.”

Heather’s art has a freshness. The bright, complementary colors of the underpainting pop throughout the final artwork, which visually competes and vibrates with the colors of the top layer of paint. Her brushwork is purposeful. It is mostly opaque but occasionally skips along the surface to highlight the texture of the canvas.

“I especially enjoy the freedom of ragged strokes near the boundaries of my art because it shows the potential viewers how the series of thought-out strokes made the whole,” adds Heather.

“My personal goal is to continue to grow in my craft and find the beauty not only in subject matter that is naturally lovely but also in those that some may consider mundane—in my opinion, that is true artistry.”

Heather graduated valedictorian from Hussian School Of Art in Philadelphia, with a split major in illustration and design. Her art career started with Walt Disney’s Animation Studio Florida, where she learned from some of the top artists in the field. Returning to her home state of New Jersey, Heather started her studio. As her art progressed, she gained more satisfied customers with her graphic design and illustration, such as Universal Studios, Disney Design Group, and TD Bank. Today, Heather is devoted to her fine art and utilizes her years of design expertise into each of her paintings.

To see and learn more of Heather’s work, visit her website. Heather can also be found on Facebook and Instagram. For regular updates on her newest work and events, sign up for her e-newsletter.

Illumination
36 x 48 in.
Oil

Bill Cramer is one of the 25 featured artists who participated in the 10th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art September 8-15, 2018, painting plein air on the South Rim of the Canyon. An exhibit and sale of their work opened at Kolb Studio on September 16. The exhibit and sale will be open daily through January 21, 2019.

Having participated in the past eight Celebrations of Art, Cramer has developed an intimate relationship with the Grand Canyon, both as an artist and an avid rock climber. His work elegantly conveys its vastness and depth, capturing its beauty and constantly shifting light.

Each of the participating artists creates a studio painting for the exhibit, which hang in the exhibit along with the plein air work they paint during the event. Of his studio painting Illumination, Cramer says:

“Few features connect the South Rim and the middle reaches of the Grand Canyon as dramatically as the meandering ridge line that drops below Hopi Point. Sunset lights the ridge on fire all the way down to Dana Butte with its unique shape resting on the Tonto Platform. Complex and precariously thin in places, this ridge would make for one epic descent! More distant ridge lines and familiar temples also dance in the fading light. Beneath it all lies the mysterious dark labyrinth of the Inner Gorge. A joy to see and paint. The Canyon never disappoints!”

For more information please visit:
https://www.grandcanyon.org/events/
or contact Kathy Duley [email protected] and 480.277.0458.

Valley of Fire
11 x 11 in.
Pastel

Jane Christie is a Colorado pastel and acrylic artist. Valley Of Fire was painted on a camping trip to the Valley of Fire campground, Nevada. She had the whole day to paint while her husband took off on his bike for a ride. Her paintings not only reflect her love of nature, but her love of color, light and the impressionist style. She is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, Pastel Society of Colorado and Plein Air Artists Colorado, and an Associate member of Women Artists Of The West. She is an international award recipient and was awarded First Place Associate at the Plein Air Artists Colorado 21st Annual National Exhibit, Best of Show for the Pastel Society of Colorado 2017-2018 Calendar Competition, and she was selected to jury the 2018-2019 Pastel Society Of Colorado Calendar.

She is represented by Saks Galleries in Denver, Colorado.

View more of Jane’s work at JaneChristieArt.com.

Got Chicken?
36 x 36 in.
Oil on canvas
$3,625
Available from the artist

On Thursdays, Todd is usually in Charlotte, North Carolina, painting portraits with friends. Just up the street is a local landmark, Price’s Chicken Coop. It’s a hole in the wall, there’s no seating and it’s take-out-only, but the food is good. You’ll see construction workers, bus drivers, business executives, and attorneys; all standing in line to place their order. Good things tend to bring people together. With all the new construction going on, Todd thought it best to capture a bit of Charlotte history before it’s gone forever.

“Everywhere there is something special that needs to be discovered, captured and shared,” says Todd, who believes creating good art is all about learning to see, developing observation skills, simplifying, editing and directing the viewer’s focus within the canvas. “And yes, technical skills are also a big part of it.”

Todd’s keen sense of design and composition was honed over 40 years as a graphic designer, after graduating from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In June of 2010, with the responsibilities of raising a family in the rearview mirror, he decided to adjust course to focus on his passion for fine art. He continues his education by attending workshops, studying the works of other artists and painting; lots and lots of painting.

Todd has had numerous shows and awards in the Carolinas. He also teaches drawing and painting workshops, as well as weekly classes. In May of 2019, Todd will be hosting a small group painting trip to Italy.

Gallery representation welcome and may be sent to Todd online or through email.

More on about the 2019 painting trip to Italy is also available online.
Also view additional works by Todd on his website and sign up for his e-newsletter.
He can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.

Holding On
7 x 5 in.
Available through Richland Fine Art, Nashville, TN

Chantel’s passion for art began flourishing at age 12 when she was mentored under local San Diego artists. She continued to study art, largely self-taught, while living in Newport, Rhode Island, and Keflavik, Iceland. While enrolled in a college art course, a fellow student introduced her to acrylic paints, and she soon found it to be a medium dominated by abstract art. But her first love was portraiture for which she found little advice. As she dreamed of perfecting her skills as an acrylic portrait artist, Chantel continued to learn from professional oil painters and translated their teachings into acrylic techniques. All the while, she remained active in local art communities, including serving as President of Artists’ Link in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 2006, Chantel opened her own art business called Chantel’s Originals near Memphis, Tennessee. Chantel soon benefited from workshops and demonstrations with outstanding artists including Dawn Whitelaw, Michael Shane Neil, Suzie Baker, and Marc Hanson. Chantel is currently the National Coordinator of the State Ambassador program for the Portrait Society of America, and is also a member of The Chestnut Group and the National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society.

Chantel has been featured in solo art shows and juried exhibitions. Her award winning paintings are in private and public collections throughout the United States and overseas. Her work is published in Acrylic Artist magazine, American Art Collector, Southwest Art, The Artist’s Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, International Artist and several books. She regularly blogs at chantellynnbarber.com. Chantel resides in Bartlett, Tennessee, where she teaches online and in workshops throughout the United States and Canada.