“We Three”

2017

Pastel

12 x 16 in.

Available through the artist

Whatever she paints, Wagner’s primary focus is always “the light” and how it affects the landscape or waterscape scene she’s trying to capture. Working in pastel and oil, she approaches her paintings as a sculptor would, carving out nuances of light and shadow. Jill is a devoted plein air artist, painting yearly in Italy and at plein air festivals around the United States. The amazing lessons learned painting in the field about atmosphere, color and light, are brought back to the studio to inform her larger works.

Jill has recently been named a Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America and her work has been published in Pastel Journal, Fine Art Connoisseur magazine and Practique des Arts. In 2016, her pastel painting appeared on the cover of PleinAir magazine. She was honored to be on the faculty of the Plein Air Convention in 2016 and 2017. She is a member of the Pastel Society of America, Great Lakes Pastel Society, Degas Pastel Society and Oil Painters of America.

A lifelong Michigander with a BFA from The University of Michigan School of Art, Wagner owned an award-winning design firm before “seeing the light” and becoming a full-time artist.

View more of Jill’s work at www.jillwagnerart.com

Contact Jill at 734.604.2864  or [email protected]

“Between Chukkers”

Oil

35 in. x 30 in.

Hailing from Nashville, with firm Southern roots, Carrie is a Wisconsin-based artist rediscovering her art after the “in-between” years – those years between garnering an MFA, setting out to start the world on fire – and raising/supporting a family along with a menagerie of dogs, cats and horses in tow.  After 30+ years as a creative director in advertising, creating and producing commercials, Carrie has returned to what she knows:  Art. Art of the horse. Art of the dog. Finding a balance between contemporary compositions, and traditional painting. Balancing draftsmanship, with character.  Capturing that moment in time when the subject defines his personality. Capturing the light to tell the story. Taking the time to form the nuanced beauty that is the individual in a timeless painting. It’s a privilege to be able to do, what she loves to do.

Memberships:

Signature Member, Society of Animal Artists

Associate Member, Oil Painters of America

Associate Member, Institute of Equine Artists

Member, AAEA (American Academy of Equine Art)

Recent Events:

2016 – Chronicle of the Horse – Art Gallery Feature – Vol 79_no7_March 21 & 28_Horse Show Issue

2016 – Southwest Art Magazine – Juror’s Choice

2016 – Signature Member, Society of Animal Artists

2016 – Top Finalist 2016 Equus Film Festival Art Competition with “Just the Wind”

2016 – AAEA 2016 Fall Juried Competition with “Looking Ahead” (AAEA Sporting Art Award) and “Waiting to Go”

2016 – Art Renewal Center International Salon Competition Double Finalist – Animal Category with “Study in Black on Greys” and “Gyps in Her Red Collar”

2015 –  Art Renewal Center International Salon Competition 2nd Place – Animal Category – “It’s Just the Wind” and Finalist – Animal Category – “Paris, on the Rise”

2015 – Artist’s Magazine 32nd Annual Art Competition Finalist – Animal/Wildlife Category with “Study in Black on Greys”

2015 – AAEA (American Academy of Equine Art) Fall 2015 Juried Competition with “Study in Black on Greys” (AAEA Sporting Art Award and Popular Choice Award) and “It’s Just the Wind”

2015 – “Carrie Nygren:  Return to Naturalism” – Article, Nashville Arts Magazine, July Issue

2015 – Associate Member – Oil Painters of America

2015 – Associate Member – Institute of Equine Artists

View more of Carrie’s work at www.cnygrenart.com

Contact Carrie at [email protected]

“Baskets and Lids”

oil on linen

20 in. x 20 in.

In recent years Kirk McBride has traveled the East Coast from Florida to Maine exploring the docks and fishing shacks, the old wooden boats and the people who make a living from the sea. His paintings are a way of chronicling this vanishing piece of American life.

Kirk developed an interest in American painting as a young man when he first saw the work of Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer. The images they painted depicted life in our country during their times and led him to make paintings of people, places and moments that he experiences today. Exposure to the work of masterful painters, Emile Gruppe, Edgar Payne, N.C. Wyeth and Frederick Mulhaupt inspired Kirk to develop a style of reduced realism in his oil paintings that emphasizes the masses, light and mood more than the details. He has studied with modern day American masters Ken Auster, Kim English and Randall Sexton.

After college at the University of Maryland, Kirk won “Best in Show” at the first local art show he entered, encouraging him to make painting a lifelong pursuit. He has been at it since the 1970s, part-time while teaching and raising a family, and full time since the early 90s. A switch from watercolors to oils 18 years ago led to plein air painting and regular travels, which continue to provide him opportunities to meet and share experiences and knowledge with painters from all over. He has been elected a “Signature Member” of the Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association and has participated in many painting events. Kirk has been invited to and painted in the Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational four times, Plein Air Easton four times, and Paint Annapolis six times, winning awards, including Artist’s Choice in Annapolis. Kirk’s love of water and boats has led him to being selected as a “Signature Member” of the American Society of Marine Artists.

Kirk is known for the interaction of light and shadow in the images he portrays. The fleeting light of early morning or late evening creates a mood that unifies paintings of a variety of subjects. Travels beyond the East Coast to the deserts and mountains have inspired his much collected paintings of aspen trees, rock formations and rusty trucks. He often uses plein air studies along with sketches and reference photos to create larger paintings when back home in his studio.

Kirk is represented by seven fine galleries along the East Coast. He has shown his work in dozens of solo and two-artist shows (alongside his wife, Lynne Lockhart). His home and studio are located close to the water on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

View more of Kirk’s work at https://kirkmcbride.com/

“Les Femmes De Limoges”
Oil on linen
28 in. x 22 in.

Leah Lopez, a woman of talents and a heart of passion, has turned many corners in her 38 years. In every instance the artist within comes charging through. In 2007, she moved to New York City to see what lay in store for a young abstract realist, developing a body of still life in the chiaroscuro manner.  It’s nine years later, and her passion for chiaroscuro still life is stronger than ever. What’s more is it’s been spilling over into works figurative art that carry the same drama, mystique and narrative.

Among other interests is Leah’s dedication to a growing number of individuals wanting to learn how to incorporate beautiful artwork and creativity into their own lifestyle. Leah feels strongly about community and shows this by supporting art organizations that offer valuable opportunities for artists today and work diligently to keep the torch lit for generations to come. These are organizations such as, the Salmagundi Club of New York and American Women Artists, where she was recently recognized with the title, Master Signature Artist, an honor reserved for an elite class of professional artists.

Next month, from May 12–June 24, all will have a chance to see the Featured Artwork, “Les Femmes De Limoges”, in person when it is on display at the Oil Painters of America 26th National Juried Exhibition. This year, the show is being held in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Eisele Gallery of Fine Art. The show’s reception is on May 12th from 6:00-9:00 PM.

Keep an eye on what’s in store for Artist, Leah Lopez, in year ten!

Leah Lopez Fine Art

New York, New York

[email protected]

www.leahlopez.com

646.461.4508

“A Change of Direction”

Bronze

36 in. h x 35 in. w x 18.5 in. d

Darrell Davis, American. Born 1962

Composition is what drives the work of Darrell Davis. His journey in sculpture began after a visit to Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells inlet SC, as a teenager. After receiving a BFA from The University of Texas at Arlington, he enrolled in the Graduate School of Architecture’s landscape architecture program. His work has been included in the National Sculpture Society’s Annual Exhibition, the Society of Animal Artists “Art and the a\Animal” tour, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s “Birds in Art” tour, and in an ongoing exhibition at the National Geographical Society in Washington DC. Darrell’s work has been exhibited in museums across the country. Recently installed commissions include the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago; City of Keller, Texas; City of Cerritos, California; City of Lafayette, Indiana; and a monument to Charles Fraser for the city of Hilton Head, South Carolina.

In 2013, Darrell was awarded the Gold Medal and Maurice B Hexter prize at the National Sculpture Society 80th Annual Exhibition held at the Tampa Museum of Art and Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina.

Darrell is a signature member of the National Sculpture Society, American Society of Marine Artists, Society of Animal Artists, and California Art Club.

View more of Darrell’s work at www.davisbronze.com

“She Wore Two Braids”

Acrylic

5 in. x 5 in.

Available through the artists online gallery:

www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/chantel-barber/she-wore-two-braids/570137

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.

“Dinner with Friends”

oil on birch

18 in. x 14 in.

About “Dinner with Friends”:

“After an art opening, my artist friends and I visited a nearby Italian restaurant. I observed how the items on the table represented the people at the table and their differences. Everyone plays a unique part in the dinner and discussion.”

Heather Arenas’ grandmothers were both artists and her parents provided her with various art supplies growing up, teaching her to appreciate many forms of art. Today, Heather works in oils and prefers figurative work but she enjoys painting many different subjects. Her education includes a rigorous course of independent study reading many books on drawing and painting and taking workshops from respected artists such as Vadim Zanginian, Kim English and Clayton Beck III. While earning a degree in biology with emphasis on anatomy in the early 1990s, she also studied art history and ceramics.

Heather is a Master Signature artist with Women Artists of the West, a Signature member of the Plein Air Artists of Colorado, an Associate of Distinction with American Women Artists, as well an associate with several other art organizations. She has received numerous awards for her work which helps others see the beauty in everyday objects, places and people.

Recent awards:

WAOW National Juried Exhibition 2016 for “Home on the Range”, Art of the West Editor’s Choice    AWA National Juried Exhibition 2016 for “Orange Taffeta”, Finalist

WAOW Hot Summer Nights 2016 for “After the Dance”, Best Overall

WAOW Hot Summer Nights 2016 for “31st and Lexington”, Honorable Mention

OPA Online Showcase Spring 2016 “Belizean Chef”, Honorable Mention

AWA Spring Online Show 2016 for “Margaritas in Tubac”, Finalist

View more of Heather’s work at www.heatherarenas.com