Opening November 9th, THE BRINTON 101 is the 2017 adaptation of The Brinton Museum’s former Small Works invitational show. The exhibition features nearly 300 works of art in varying media by 101 top artists from across the country. Our premise is that a great work of art can be accomplished in a small amount of space, hence the show features paintings, sculptures and mixed media pieces in a wide variety of themes and price ranges. All of the art is for sale and will be on display until December 17th.
Ben Steele was born in 1977 in Kennewick, Washington and graduated from University of Utah in 2002 with a BFA in painting and drawing, continuing his education at the Helper Art Workshops under the instruction of former University of Utah professors David Dornan and Paul Davis. The summer workshops led to a multi-year internship with Dornan and Steele relocated to Helper, Utah to begin his professional art career, exhibiting in galleries throughout the United States ever since. He continues to live and work in Helper, Utah.
Steele’s art is part of several notable collections, including the Raymond James Financial art collection, the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, Academy Award Winning Producer Michael Sugar, the Executive Offices of the San Francisco Giants, golfer Fred Couples, and in multiple Delta Airline Sky Club lounges throughout the US.
“Brisighella Evening, Italy” was painted on location. This quaint town is so lovely. The painting will be shown in the 2017 NOAPS Holiday Small Works Show.
Frances Pampeyan is a California-based artist whose gift was noticed at an early age by her mother. Her childhood memories include having a paintbrush in her hand. She studied drawing and painting at Pasadena Art Center College of Design and has continued to study and develop her skills through instruction by nationally and internationally known artists.
Frances is a member of the California Art Club, SoCalPapa, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, and also the Gardens Art Guild at the Huntington Library.
“Minervaville, Early Spring Greens” by Mary Bentz Gilkerson
“Minervaville, Early Spring Greens”
10 x 20 in.
oil on cradled panel
$1400
Using the ever-changing color and light of a impression, the artistry of Mary Bentz Gilkerson paintings connect people to the experience of place.
“Almost daily for the last five years I’ve made a small painting inspired by the landscapes I travel through, mainly near the roads and highways around Columbia, SC, especially Lower Richland,” says Gilkerson.
Mary is drawn to the ordinary spaces we move through, especially ones that are within view from the road.
“In a roadside view I find a strange intersection of nature and culture. We move so fast that we don’t take time to observe the world around us in the way that people did before modern transportation and technology came along. In my work, I seek to focus on the shifting patterns of light and color that tell us what time of day and season it is, to note the small and subtle, as well as the large and grand.”
Gilkerson holds an MFA in drawing and painting from the University of South Carolina. A native South Carolinian, she lives and works in her Columbia studio after retiring as a professor of art at Columbia College. She has received grants from the S.C. Arts Commission and the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties in addition to having been selected as a Southern Arts Federation Fellowship Finalist. Her work is in the permanent collections of McKissick Museum, Palmetto Health, Morris Communications Company, and Seibels Bruce Group, among others.
“Greeting the Sun at Moran Point” by Matt Sterbenz
“Greeting the Sun at Moran Point”
48 x 24 in.
oil on canvas
The 9th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Air featured 25 artists painting
plein air at the Grand Canyon September 9-16, 2017. The exhibit and sale of their work will be open daily through January 15, 2018, at Kolb Studio at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
This month’s featured artist is Matt Sterbenz from Chandler, Arizona. For his second year participating in the Celebration of Art, Sterbenz captured in his studio painting “Greeting the Sun at Moran Point” the glory of a canyon sunrise.
“A Grand Canyon sunrise is a thing of incredible beauty. It all starts with a warm glow. The sun slowly creeps above the horizon, and the quiet Canyon begins to stir. As the golden light intensifies, peaks and mesas rise from a sea of shadow. “Greeting The Sun At Moran Point” began with such a sunrise, and a quick plein air painting. Because the light changes so quickly, especially when the sun is very low, I could only paint a few notes of color before the sun’s display was over. Back home in the studio, I referenced some of my photographs and plein air sketches in hopes of capturing the magic I witnessed that day.”
Featured in NOAPS holiday Best Of Small Works exhibit hosted by Cathy Kline Gallery in Parkville, MO. This painting is available through the gallery https://cathyklineartgallery.com
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.
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 and Michael Shane Neil. 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. She is past President of Artists’ Link in Memphis, Tennessee.
Chantel has been featured in solo art shows and has participated in numerous group shows at premiere Memphis venues including the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Her award winning paintings are in private and public collections throughout the United States and overseas. Her work is published in Acrylic Artists magazine, American Art Collector, and Fine Art Connoisseur. Chantel resides in Bartlett, Tennessee, where she teaches online and in workshops throughout the United States.
Ricardo Fernandez Ortega, “Flying Lesson Number Two,” oil, 27 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches
Magical themes and realism are combined beautifully in the paintings of Ricardo Fernandez Ortega, who is showcasing his recent works at Santa Fe’s Meyer Gallery now through November 2. “Overflight” features about 13 of the artist’s large-scale paintings, which often depict female figures surrounded by birds in flight — or even sprouting wings themselves to drift through a calm night sky. “From the sky,” the artist says, “you can see many beautiful things that go unnoticed when looking from the ground.”
“In ‘Journey Partner,’ a lavishly dressed female figure crouches by a resting horse with her eyes cast downward,” the gallery describes. “Hovering just above her head is a white flag, billowing in the soft breeze against a dark sky. Is it dusk or dawn? A strip of clear blue light illuminates the mountain range behind her as clouds with a purple tinge begin to overtake the darkness. According to the artist, the white flag represents peace; if the girl and horse were to stand up, leaving the ground where their eyes are fixed, it would be within their reach. Upon first glance, the flag could also be interpreted as a bed sheet, symbolizing the dream world in which the subjects exist. Mysterious and enchanting, Fernandez Ortega’s magical realism is open to the viewer’s interpretations.
Ricardo Fernandez Ortega, “Goal in Sight,” oil, 23 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches
“Wings, animals, and bright or incandescent objects act as symbols in Fernandez Ortega’s work, representing internal qualities such as freedom, goodness, and intelligence. Often revolving around a dominant feminine subject, these symbols weave mystifying messages and evoke visceral, subconscious emotions from the viewer. ‘I would like my paintings to help people understand themselves and each other,’ says Ortega. ‘I’m looking for connections between the subconscious and the realistic events that build our life.’
Ricardo Fernandez Ortega, “Dawn Overflight,” oil, 59 x 69 inchesRicardo Fernandez Ortega, “From Another Time,” oil, 48 x 36 inchesRicardo Fernandez Ortega, “Casual Encounter,” oil, 47 x 55 inches
“Fernandez Ortega’s skillfully realistic painting style and intuitive chiaroscuro technique draw us into his surreal environments with mesmerizing curiosity. Great 17th-century Spanish masters including Diego Velazquez inspire Fernandez Ortega, who currently resides in Durango, Mexico. By combining classical techniques with magical realism, Fernandez Ortega creates a style that is uniquely his own.”
Ricardo Fernandez Ortega, “Journey Partner,” oil, 55 x 71 inches
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
Growing up in northern Utah, George W. Handrahan came to love and appreciate the diverse natural landscape surrounding him, taking every opportunity to spend time out of doors. His art is characterized by his lifetime affinity with nature and his grasp of artistic concerns.
“My work reflects the life cycle evident in the world we live in – relationships, interactions, contrasts and comparisons – both natural and man-made. It is seeing the dark or the light, the hard or the soft, the mass or the minuscule, the beautiful opposites that make a subject interesting, then communicating these in a unique and expressive way. It’s not about making pretty pictures, it’s about creating a work with real art value…a real work of art.”
George is one of 24 artists who will be participating in the Zion National Park Plein Air Invitational November 6-12. Artists will paint in the park, give free demonstrations, and sell their work at the end of the week to benefit youth and education programs in Zion National Park. For more information about John and this event, please visit zionpark.org.
The Salmagundi Club in New York City will soon be celebrating the 100th anniverary of its Fifth Avenue location with a gala reception that includes food, drinks, music, fine art, artist demonstrations, and a special presentation from Fine Art Connoisseur Editor-in-Chief Peter Trippi.
The part begins on Friday, November 3 at the Salmagundi Club on Fifth Avenue in New York City. From 6-9pm, the club will host an opening gala reception featuring great food, drinks, art, music, demonstrations, and much more. Tickets for the event start at $100 for SCNY members and $125 for the general public.
Artists celebrate in the main Salmagundi Club galleryArtists & Collectors in the Salmagundi Club parlorArtists at the Salmagundi dining room
The evening will also host a “Mystery Palette” sale at 8pm sharp. One-of-a-kind paintings on “Mystery” palettes created by nationally recognized artists will be hidden and then unveiled at 8 o’clock! The fun is that the identity of the artist is concealed until after the work is purchased. The “Mystery Palettes” will sell for $250, regardless of who painted them. Among the works will be palettes painted by Kathy Anderson, Del-Bourree Bach, Chris Blossom, Scott Christensen, Don Demers, Claudia Seymour, John Potter, John Traynor, and Guy A. Wiggins. In addition to the “Mystery Palettes,” a select few will be offered for Silent Auction, among them works by John Stobart, Joseph McGurl, and Carole Teller.
If a night full of fun isn’t enough, it all continues Saturday, November 4 at 11am with a lecture by artist Don Demers, who will speak about the significance of the Salmagundi Club’s building and how it became a haven for artists whose work influenced a generation of American art and artists. Saturday continues with a special arts panel discussion moderated by Peter Trippi. Including panelists Annette Blaugrund, Melissa Rachleff Burtt, Hal Bromm, and Anna Sui, the conversation will explore how the club’s survival in Greenwich Village fits into the fascinating ebb and flow of lower Manhattan’s creative communities.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
The first ever Figurative Art Convention & Expo is just about ready to kick off in Miami, Florida, at the Biltmore Hotel. Hosted by Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine Publisher Eric Rhoads and Editor-in-Chief Peter Trippi, this is surely going to be art history in the making.
There’s still time to plan your trip and register for the first annual Figurative Art Convention & Expo (FACE), hosted at the lavish Biltmore Hotel in Miami, Florida, November 8-11. Only 21 seats remain for the event, which will feature 20 of the industry’s top artists, scholars, and collectors.
Among the esteemed faculty who will be presenting a range of informative demonstrations are Jacob Collins, Juliette Aristides, Daniel Graves, Max Ginsburg, Steven Assael, Ryan S. Brown, Daniel Gerhartz, Graydon Parrish, Jordan Sokol, John Coleman, Michael Mentler, Patricia Watwood, Gregory Mortenson, David A. Leffel, and Sherrie A. McGraw.
The convention is also organized in conjunction with The Representational Art Conference (TRAC), which will feature keynote speakers and lectures from Donald Kuspit, Stephen Hicks, Elliot Bostwick Davis, Michael Pearce, and Joseph Bravo.
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
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