‘Autumn Palette’

Oil on canvas

40 in. x 60 in.

Available through the artist

Biography

Olaf Schneider (b.1964) is a husband, father of two, and grandfather of six. He studied at the Ontario College of Art as well as Sheridan College. In 1986, while painting large scale outdoor advertising billboards for Mediacom, he acquired a strong practical foundation that would become integral to his work today.

He is greatly inspired by mentor Ron Grieg and Norman Rockwell.

For Olaf each piece represents an intense exploration and refinement of his personal pictorial sensitivities, especially as they relate to beauty, form, light, and shade. Composition, color, and craftsmanship are all elements that become the building blocks of his work. Olaf is a prolific painter who is inspired by the power and diversity of the northern landscape, and anything that needs a “second look”. An explorer by nature, he travels across North America and Europe to gain inspiration.

 “Each dab I make is stimulated by the details that I observe. I hope to see what others miss and then make it compelling. I push and alter the colors to suit my ravenous needs and I love to improvise on the spot.”

Olaf has a passion for a variety of subjects. Through his art, he expresses his love for life and his affinity with vibrant colour.

“I like to use expressive and thick impasto brushstrokes or soft blended strokes to render a sense of movement and texture giving the painting a life of its own. My interpretation of colour also sets the dynamic mood. The tones often range from the darkest to the lightest in an effort to achieve maximum drama. This creative combination is spontaneous and intuitive.”

To keep his mind clear and focused he limits his exposure to all the media ‘noise’ we generally are pummelled with daily. He does not watch TV and restricts his time on the computer. He starts his day with God in prayer and meditation. Painting six to ten hours a day is common practice. Equally important to Olaf is continued growth and learning.

  
“I want to always have an open mind so that new ideas may come in. In the mind of an expert, there are few possibilities, but in the mind of an amateur they become endless. This is a God given gift and I value it greatly. If I am able to bring emotion, understanding, comfort, or joy into another’s life then I am using it wisely in His glory.”

Philosophy

Art is a celebration of life, and the making of art is an expression of the sacred spiritual discipline. If a painting could, for a moment, capture the attention and awareness of the viewer through visual harmony, carry on a dialogue, bring the viewer further than the call of the senses, beyond a momentary concern for the past or future, to a timeless state free from thought and self consciousness. Then the work has approached the realm of art, the realm of life. Art and money don’t mix.

View more of Olaf’s work at http://www.olaf.ca.

Solo Exhibitions

2016 – Tilting at Windmills Gallery, Vermont

2016 – Broadway Galleries, Virginia

2015 – Westmount Gallery, Ontario

2015 – Woodbine Raceway

2015 – International Artist Magazine June issue

2014 – Cannes France

2005–2013 – Westmount Gallery, Toronto

2011 – Royal Gallery, Rhode Island

2009 – Mercedes Benz, Ontario

2009 – Homer Watson Gallery

2008 – Gallery DeLisle

2005 – Hummingbird Centre

2004 – McMichael Gallery, Kleinburg

2003–2006 – International Artists Magazine

1998–2004 – Formula 1, Montreal & Indianapolis

Group Exhibitions

2014 – Chapel St. Bernardin, France

2014 – Le Cannet, France

2008–2013 – Westmount Gallery, Toronto

2013 – The Louvre, SNBA Salon, France

2009–2013 – Edgewood Orchard Gallery, Wisconsin

2013 – Galerie Demante, California

2012 – The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists

2012 – Portrait Society of America

2011 – Thornwood Art Gallery, Texas

2011 – Canadian Heritage Art Gallery

2010–2013 – Toronto International Art Fair

2010 – Canadian Heritage Art Gallery, Toronto

2010 – Thornwood Art Gallery , Texas

2009 – Boston International Art Fair

2007–2011 – Miller Gallery, Ohio

2007 – Scottsdale Art Gallery, Arizona

2006 – Kipling Gallery Woodbridge, Ontario

2006 – Manitou Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2006 – Latino America International

2004–2006 – Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum

2002–2005 – Hummingbird Centre, Toronto

2000 – Living Arts Centre, Mississauga

1998–2002 – Molson Indy, Toronto & Vancouver

Publications

American Art Collector Magazine

Arabella Magazine

Houston Lifestyles and Homes

Ducks Unlimited 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011

Etobicoke Guardian

Scarborough Mirror

Vaughan Weekly

George Chuvalo Fight Against Drugs

International Artist

Art Fix

WPBS Television

Algonquin Park news

The Huntsville Forrester

24 Hours

Toronto Life

2004–2006 Magazin’art Biennial Guide

Creative Source 1989, 2004

Corporate and Private Collections

Ripley’s Aquarium Canada, Toronto

PCO – Construction Ltd.

The Haven on the Queensway, Toronto

The Good Shepard, Toronto

Mackenzie Financial, Toronto

Toronto Dominion Bank, Toronto

Ducks Unlimited 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

Make a Wish Foundation

George Chuvalo Fight Against Drugs Foundation, Canada

Paul Smith’s College, New York

Make a Wish Foundation, Toronto

Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto & Montreal

Jessie Centre for Teenagers, Toronto

Ontario Provincial Police, Canada

Labatt Breweries Ltd. Ontario, Canada

Evian Canada

Gilles Villeneuve Museum, Quebec

Chapters Indigo Canada

Mercedes-Benz, Toronto

Ford Ontario

Ferrari North America

Apple Canada

Governor General of Madrid, Spain

L.L.C.B.O.

Art Gallery of Ontario

Centennial College

Van Moorehem Barristers, Ontario

Block Parents Foundation,  Canada

Current Gallery Representation

Chloe Gallery, San Francisco CA  415.531.5748

Eclipse Gallery, Huntsville ON  705.783.2579

Emma Butler, St. John’s NFLD  709.739.7111

Lovetts Gallery, Tulsa OK  918.664.4732

MountainMist Gallery, Cashiers NC  407.620.2685

Palm Avenue Fine Art, Sarasota FL  941.388.7526

Rendezvous Gallery, Vancouver BC  604.687.7466

Spa Fine Art Gallery, Saratoga NY  203.226.6934

Tilting Windmills Gallery, Manchester VT  802.362.3022

Westmount Gallery, Toronto ONT  416.239.5427

Westport Gallery, Westport CT  203.226.6934

“Simpler Days”

Oil on wood panel

20” x 16”

$1,200.00

Available through Castle Gallery

The painting will be on display in NOAPS’ Best of America national juried show. It is available for purchase through Castle Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the show will be exhibited. The opening reception is October 20th from 5-9pm and the show runs through November 11th. The gallery is open 11am to 6pm Tuesday through Saturday, and can be contacted by phone: (260) 426-6568, or email: [email protected]

About the Painting:

I think I might have an old soul, and I’m perfectly OK with it. Don’t get me wrong, I like technology and love science, but the pace and priorities of society these days is a little alarming to me. While I don’t want to turn back the clock to the supposedly “good old days” I do often feel I was born in the wrong time period. My painting “Simpler Days” is a manifestation of some of those feelings. Although all of the objects depicted are easily from within my lifetime, some of them might well be alien to some of today’s children. Change is inevitable, but not always good for it’s own sake.

The roller skates are actually my wife’s from her childhood and one of my favorite things I have painted. It’s funny how sometimes the objects I think will be challenging to paint turn out to be fairly easy, like the teddy bear, yet other objects like the slinky, turn out to be the real “bear” to paint.

Upcoming Solo Show:

The Center for Fine and Performing Arts Gallery at Seminole State College in Sanford Florida will host a one-person show of my latest paintings. The opening reception for “Literature, Libations, and little white lies” is Thursday, October 5th, from 5 to 7pm, I will be giving a brief talk about my art at the reception. You can find all the details on my website, in my Events page.

I am a representational painter specializing in meticulously constructed and painted still lifes. Most of them tell a story or express my view on a philosophical idea or concept. I also enjoy painting the figure from time to time and the show includes a few examples. I draw much of my inspiration and sometimes pay tribute to the wide range of authors I enjoy, Hemingway, Poe, Adams, Asimov and many others. Many of the paintings have won recognition including several Best of Show awards, there are also many paintings that will be exhibited publicly for the first time.

I am a member of Oil Painters of America and National Oil and Acrylics Painters Society.

You can see more of my work on my website, www.pardostudio.us.

You can follow my artistic process (and occasionally, the escapades of my cats) on FaceBook and Instagram under PardoStudio.

“Begin Again”

Watercolor pencil on paper

40 x 30 in.

Opening Bid: $5600

About JenMarie Zeleznak:

JenMarie Zeleznak was born in 1984 in Cleveland, Ohio. She received her MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and her BFA from Cleveland Institute of Art. JenMarie Zeleznak currently teaches at Lakeland Community College, Youngstown State University, and the University of Akron in Ohio.

Artist Statement:

My work is introspective, concerned with emotional and spiritual experience. The animals I depict are a medium for the expression of the self, yet they retain their own autonomy, embodying gestures that convey emotional form and are signposts of a kind, indicating shared aspects of being. The pictorial space here isn’t the natural world, but an in-between place – the innermost space between thinking and being. There is serenity in surrendering to an external force, suspended somewhere between despair and reconciliation.

I need to establish physical and emotional intimacy with my process and subjects. Anxious mark making fills in my animal forms, as layers of gradients and nuances of color blend together. I meditate in these moments. I work with watercolor pencils in a manner both sensitive and crude, using my saliva and sweat, hands and fingers to manipulate the material onto paper. This personal and direct connection, much like caressing or grooming an animal, gives me the intimacy I need in the work as I bring the animal into being, inducing an empathetic response.

The angular line drawings that accompany the animals I refer to as star maps. They are connections of stars from NASA imagery. Usually when I begin a drawing, I have a general sense of the placement of the star map. I am very inspired by science, and the energy of the stars and the moon on a clear night. Much of my sense of spirituality revolves around the notion of energy distributed and transferred in the Universe. I experienced a spiritual awakening in 2013 that changed my perception of the world around me. I began to feel energy and almost see it manifested within the interactions of everything around me. I felt so deeply connected to everything. The Universe became my source of love, protection, and guidance. The star maps serve as a visual for the invisible energy that is felt, but not seen, by the animal subject. As a viewer, we are onlookers of someone else experiencing something deeply or going through an emotional moment. We can see how the energy affects them. The star maps serve different functions depending on the animal’s gesture. Sometimes it’s protecting them or shielding them, but it also might seem as though it’s cradling them or supporting them. Sometimes the star maps are fragmented, indicating perhaps a loss or lack of something, while other times the star map might seem fluid and graceful, suggesting a moment of clarity and feeling whole. The star maps tend to complement or echo the thoughts and feelings of the subjects.

Western Visions® is the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s largest and longest running fundraiser, with a variety of exciting events. The show features a wide selection of art for sale. Western Visions® painters and sculptors participate in the art portion of the show and sale and as many as 2,000 people attend the events.

Read more about JenMarie at https://www.wildlifeart.org/artists/jenmarie-zeleznak/

Read more about Western Visions® at https://www.wildlifeart.org/western-visions/about-western-visions

“Sweet Summer Roses”
Oil on panel
20 x 16 in.
Contact Tree’s Place

Leah Lopez is represented by the Gallery at Tree’s Place Gallery, in Portland, Maine. “Sweet Summer Roses” is among the available artwork on display, from August 26 to September 8, 2017.  For more information contact:

Tree’s Place

RTE 6A at 28, Orleans, Massachusetts 02653

(508) 255-1330

treesplace.com

Leah Lopez is a New York City artist originally from Northern New Mexico.  She is known for her breathtaking paintings that capture elegance and romance.

Leah Lopez Fine Art

New York, New York

www.leahlopez.com

“Chuckwalla’s Dominion: Clear Creek Trail”

Oil

48 x 24 in.

The 9th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art will feature 25 artists painting plein air at the Grand Canyon September 9-16, 2017, with an exhibit and sale of their work opening at Kolb Studio on the South Rim on September 17. The exhibit and sale will be open daily through January 15, 2018.

This year the event is celebrating the women artists—both historic and contemporary—who have taken on the unique challenges of capturing the splendor and vastness of the Grand Canyon on canvas. Nine of this year’s artists are women.

This is the eighth year Elizabeth Black of Boulder, Colorado, has participated in the Celebration of Art. She first painted in the Canyon in 1975, while working as a river guide. Although the boat flipped and soaked all her watercolor sketches, Black says about half of them were immensely improved! That incident gave her a tiny glimpse of the exciting potential ahead. She has continued to explore the West, by boat and on foot, frequently painting on-site.

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 her studio painting this year “Chuckwalla’s Dominion: Clear Creek Trail,” Black notes:

“During the Great Depression, thousands of poor unemployed young men joined the Civilian Conservation Corps to support their families. They worked on conservation projects in our parks, and built many Grand Canyon trails and buildings—including the Clear Creek Trail and this lovely stone bench.”

For more information and a schedule of events please visit:

https://www.grandcanyon.org/arts-and-culture/9th-annual-grand-canyon-celebration-art or contact Kathy Duley [email protected] 480.277.0458

“Honey Dript Morning”

20.5 x 28.5 in.

Pastel on archival surface

Available unframed

S-Scape West Studio, Clarkdale, Arizona

Growing up in the Hudson Valley with easy access to New York museums and galleries, and painting lessons at an early age had a big influence on Christine Debrosky’s becoming a full time artist.

In early adulthood, she took an eye-opening workshop in pastel, and has not looked back, garnering numerous awards, collectors, and exhibition opportunities across the US and Europe.

“I work both en plein air and in the studio. For painting light effects, there is no substitute for first hand observation. I like to think that one can feel the same wind, hear nature’s rustles and enjoy the warmth of the sun when viewing my field work. Once back in the studio, I produce more contemplative pieces, carefully orchestrating design elements, inviting the observer into the piece and to linger for a while.”

Christine is a signature member of the American Impressionist Society, the Pastel Society of America, and Master Circle with the International Assn. Pastel Societies. Today, she lives in the desert Southwest, in a renovated home, with a custom designed dream studio.

“Honey Dript Morning” is evocative of the languid opening of a steamy, late summer day. The white barn has stood sentinel to many such mornings on the same corner for over a hundred years.

View more of Christine’s work at www.christinedebrosky.com

Contact Christine at 928.679.0357 and [email protected]

“I Thought I Had Lost You”

Acrylic on panel

6 x 12 in.

Available through the artist’s website https://chantellynnbarber.com/works/2445290/i-thought-i-had-lost-you

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.

View more of Chantel’s work at www.chantellynnbarber.com.