On view now at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor museum, “Painting Arcadia” is the first major international presentation of this artist’s work in more than 50 years. Who’s the artist?
 
Featuring more than 70 outstanding paintings that span Pierre Bonnard’s (1867-1947) career, “Painting Arcadia” is a rare opportunity on the West Coast. In addition to Bonnard’s outstanding paintings, the exhibition includes the artist’s experimental photography. Working along the boundary between the Impressionist and abstraction movements at the turn of the century, several of Bonnard’s artistic themes will come to light during the show. Among them, the artist’s decorative commissions, where “the natural world merges with the bright colors and light of the South of France, where windows link interior and exterior spaces, and where intimate scenes disclose unexpected phantasmagorical effects,” as the museum writes.
 
Among the highlights of the show is “The Large Garden” of 1895. The viewer has landed in a rural garden on a magnificent afternoon. Two children pick wildflowers while another dances out of the frame to the right. A dog, several chickens, and the mother of the children complete the group. The brushwork observed in the piece is vivid and lively, recalling the expressionistic works of Vincent van Gogh.
 
“Pierre Bonnard: Painting Arcadia” opened on February 6 and will remain on view through May 15. To learn more, visit The Legion of Honor.
 
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.
 

Highlighting how the American West has intimately inspired them to create gorgeous art, John Farnsworth and Michael Tatom have come together for a group exhibition. Where?
 
Opening tomorrow, March 4, “Essential Visions” is an enthralling joint exhibition of sculptor Michael Tatom and painter John Farnsworth at the lovely Sorrel Sky Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The show will feature a range of both artists’ works and call attention to their love of the West. The American West has inspired both Tatom and Farnsworth for decades, each forming a special relationship with the land and animals in ways that continue to manifest beautifully through their art.
 

Michael Tatom, “Cougar,” bronze, 9 x 21 1/2 x 7 in. (c) Sorrel Sky Gallery 2016

 
As the gallery writes, “Each artist will present small works ranging in themes from wild days to wild cats: Farnsworth’s gestural oil paintings offer portrayals of life in the West and Tatom’s bronze sculptures present elegant, stylized animal forms. Each artist imbues his work with the essential information for the viewer to ‘see’ the world through the artist’s eyes.”
 
“Essential Visions” opens with a reception from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on March 4 and will be on view through March 31. To learn more, visit Sorrel Sky Gallery.
 
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.
 

Opening this weekend at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery is a major exhibition that explores the country’s fascination with Italy during the 18th century.
 
Don’t we all have a fascination with Italy —its people, food, and art? Times haven’t changed much in this regard, and a monumental exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery seeks to explore the nation’s fascination with Italy during the 18th century. “Scots in Italy: Artists and Adventurers” will showcase an outstanding selection of works from across the National Galleries of Scotland and highlight the experiences of numerous wealthy individuals lucky enough to have travelled to the Mediterranean peninsula.
 
In addition to magnificent paintings, the exhibition includes sculptures, drawings, and prints that document the impact Italy had on well-to-do Scots and their celebration of Classicism. “In addition,” the gallery states, “it reveals the close social, personal and professional networks that emerged around key figures. Bonded by common loyalties, experiences and family connections, the Scots who travelled to Italy in this period formed a remarkably tight-knit and supportive group.”
 
“Scots in Italy: Artists and Adventurers” opens on March 5 and will be on view through March 3, 2019. To learn more, visit the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
 
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.
 

Coming soon to Denver’s esteemed Gallery 1261 is a fresh survey of city and landscape works from an eclectic range of artists. Want to learn more?
 
Denver’s Gallery 1261 is poised to open its latest group exhibition on March 25, featuring 21 of the country’s most accomplished artists. Titled “Spaces,” the show is a fresh survey of city and landscape works, each displaying the artists’ unique style and aesthetic approach.
 

David Grossmann, “Moon and Distant City Lights,” oil on canvas, 24 x 14 in. (c) Gallery 1261 2016

 
The gallery writes, “The ways in which we perceive our environments are based on numerous factors. Our personal backgrounds shape us and in turn help create those idiosyncrasies that make us individuals. They finely tune how we interpret the world around us. These notions are exemplified through the myriad of different styles of paintings that are on display in this exhibition. Each one distinct from the next, the aspects of one city or outdoor scene that catches the eye of one artist may be completely different from that of another. What ’Spaces’ presents is not only a wide range of subject matter but more importantly, a wide range of points of view. Each of these artists has created a work that exposes the viewer to a snapshot of their perspective. The title of the exhibition serves to add to this notion as well. While the term Spaces may on the surface seem generalized, on a deeper level it speaks to those specific places that captivate and engage both the artist and viewer, resulting in an exhibition that is sure to delight and inspire.”
 
“Spaces” will open on March 25 and be on view through April 23. To learn more, visit Gallery 1261. 
 
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.
 

Beginning tomorrow, March 4, and running through April 23, the SouthWind Art Gallery in Topeka, Kansas, is hosting a brilliant exhibition of works from the American Plains Artists (APA).
 
Harnessing the majesty and beauty of the American Plains is a venture many artists have embarked on, and none more outstanding than the group of artists whose name is just that: the American Plains Artists (APA). Beginning March 4, the APA will present its 2016 “Signature Show” at SouthWind Art Gallery in Topeka, Kansas.
 
Founded in 1982, the APA began as a small group of artists who bonded through their shared love of art and desire to capture the vast region known as the American Plains. Via their webpage, the APA writes, “From these humble beginnings, the APA today has expanded into a nonprofit organization with a growing membership of both signature and associate members. The goals have remained the same, to educate the public through traditional and representational art works about the American Plains region including landscape, wildlife, peoples and way of life in historical or modern times.”
 
The 2016 “Signature Show” will feature the best of the APA, including — among many others — Jammey Huggins, Pam Bunch, J.I. McElroy, and Cecy Turner. The exhibition will have an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on March 4 where awards will be announced and sales of the works will begin.
 
To learn more, visit SouthWind Art Gallery.
 
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.

Integrating human passions and emotions with allegorical storytelling, the wonderfully beautiful and eclectic works by Teresa Oaxaca are on view soon during a solo exhibition. Where and when?
 
Although accomplished painter Teresa Oaxaca uses traditional media and techniques such as paint on canvas and charcoal on paper, her pictures cannot be described as anything but thought-provoking, moving, and completely original. Opening on April 7 at The Art League Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, “Misfits” is Oaxaca’s latest display of beauty, color, allegory, and costume. As she describes it, the exhibition “will push the boundaries of the room by hanging very tall and thin works to challenge viewers’ impressions of scale and traditional composition. Negative wall space will also be considered in hanging the show, and will play a role in how the painted artworks are viewed. In addition to this, the works will be exhibited inside unique, artist built and painted frames.”
 

Teresa Oaxaca, “Pursuit,” oil on canvas w/artist-made frame, 34 x 34 in. (c) Teresa Oaxaca 2016

 
Continuing, Oaxaca suggests, “My recent work has explored the themes of clowns and dolls, human effigies and painted faces. Portraiture and still life are blended in unusual and almost abstract layouts that use obscure perspectives while obeying gravity, form, and light as an old master would.”
 
“Misfits” will hang through May 1. To learn more, visit The Art League Gallery.
 
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.

It’s difficult to accurately describe the connection that mothers, daughters, and sisters share in words, so artist Ardith Starostka uses brush and paint.
 
So much more than beautiful female figures within interior and exterior spaces, the magnificent paintings by nationally known artist Ardith Starostka have a deep personal significance that injects the pieces with character, vitality, and emotion. For Starostka, the creative process begins when “visions manifest themselves based upon the music I listen to, past dreams I’ve had, poems, and personal relationships,” she says. With that idea in mind, Starostka uses photography to experiment with various poses, props, lighting, models, and more until she’s satisfied with the piece’s direction. She adds, “It’s rare that I only use one photograph to paint from because there are subtle differences in several photos that I may find that would make the piece better. I often digitally piece together a composite photo for a painting before creating a quick color study if time allows.”
 

Ardith Starostka, “Little Bird,” oil, 30 x 20 in. (c) Ardith Starostka 2016

 
Surveying Starostka’s oeuvre, one immediately notices the predominance of female subjects and sitters, which is a telling feature that alludes to the deep connection the artist shares with specific individuals. Starostka writes, “Most of my creative visions involve the female figure because of relationships with my two sisters and two daughters. I also love painting the figure because it’s so expressive and can relay emotions and dreams that I have experienced myself as a woman.”
 

Ardith Starostka, “Picked Pears,” oil, 30 x 20 in. (c) Ardith Starostka 2016

 
Starostka’s exceptional painting “Wallflower” seems to touch on every concept or idea the artist seeks to communicate. “It’s probably my favorite painting that I have created thus far,” she says. “The idea for this painting is based on conversations that I had with my youngest daughter, Haley, throughout her teen years. She had the typical teen angst and feelings of wanting to be accepted by her peers. She felt like she was invisible at times and felt insecure about her appearance. The statement of her feeling invisible conjured up an image of her blending into her environment —almost going unnoticed. Haley was maturing into a beautiful young woman and I wanted to represent that also in the painting. I wanted to give a more contemporary feel with a touch of surrealism to the piece — the surrealistic depiction of the flowers coming to life from the static floral wallpaper pattern behind the figure and the dress being lost in the young girl’s surroundings.”
 

Ardith Starostka, “Remembering Ophelia,” oil, 32 x 32 in. (c) Ardith Starostka 2016

 
Starostka’s journey to notoriety has naturally had its ups and downs, but particularly difficult for the artist was not having the support of her parents to pursue an artistic career. Ever persistent and passionate, Starostka prevailed and now ranks among the top representational painters in the United States. Perhaps this has informed part of her primary goals in art. Starostka writes, “My goals have been about producing paintings that please my audience. However, I find that my goals have been changing. I want to produce art that I find pleasing and not worry as much about what everyone else thinks. I’m interested in further developing my own voice.
 

Ardith Starostka, “Three Wishes,” oil, 27 x 20 in. (c) Ardith Starostka 2016

 
“I want to convert my many visions into reality and let go of the idea of always having a painting be perfect. There is no such thing as ‘perfect’ and I am only causing myself grief by trying to chase perfection. I want to get more creative with my art and experiment with different mediums and ideas. By experimenting more, I believe that I will overcome some self-created barriers and grow as an artist. I don’t know where myself and my art will be in the years to come, but as long as I am painting I will be happy. I paint, therefore, I am.”
 
To learn more, visit Ardith Starostka.
 
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.

In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week: Claude Joseph Vernet, “View of Tivoli, Temple of Sibyl.”
 
Toward the end of the 18th century, French painter Claude Joseph Vernet (1714-1789) was among the leading landscape artists in Europe. Born in Avignon, Vernet was immersed in art from day one, as his father, Antoine, was also an accomplished painter. From 1734 through 1752, Vernet was in Rome, where he frequently studied the ancient ruins and formed an appreciation for classical landscapes in the tradition of Claude and Gaspard Dughet and Salvator Rosa. While abroad, Vernet met contemporary topographical painter Giovanni Paolo Panini, whose work also influenced Vernet’s aesthetic.
 
As was customary during “The Grand Tour,” many wealthy English travelers to Rome were eager to capture the beauty of the ancient past through magnificent paintings. Among Vernet’s many English clients and admirers was Richard Wilson, who became a landscape painter himself. Indeed, scholars often credit Vernet with having encouraged Wilson’s artistic endeavors.
 
Upon his return to France in 1753, Vernet was admitted into the Academy and later received several major commissions for royalty. A series of monumental canvases was completed over a 12-year period and captured the many stunning views of the ports of France.
 
Characteristic of Vernet’s painting is the artist’s acute sense of atmospheric effects that are balanced with a sense of harmony in luminance. Some have even noted the parallels between Vernet’s tone and the style of Claude Lorrain. The Getty reports that “By 1740, Vernet’s landscape and seascape clients included artists Placido Costanzi and Sebastiano Conca and important Frenchmen, Italians, and especially the English. From 1746 until his death, he regularly sent pictures to the Salon, where they were enthusiastically received.”
 
Heading to the auction block on March 19 via Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, “View of Tivoli, Temple of Sibyl” is an outstanding piece of Grand Tour history, and a lovely Vernet original. Albeit relatively small at 14 x 18 inches, the picture is a lovely view of Rome’s living history — both in the 18th century and today. Perched atop a rocky ledge, the viewer gazes upon an ancient rotunda Temple of Sibyl. Just inside the ornate Corinthian columns, one can faintly decipher a free-standing sculpture. Surrounding the temple are contemporary homes — a wonderful juxtaposition between the past and what was present for Vernet.
 
Auction estimates are between $80,000 and $120,000. To view the full catalogue, visit Brunk Auctions.
 
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.

“I’m Not Ashamed of the Cross”
oil on Board
24 x 36 in.
$10,000
 
Upcoming Show:
LivvnArt Biblical and The Religious Academy proudly present “The Bible Art Tour.” at Colorado Christian University’s Fowler Library.  Show will be opening Friday March 3^rd from 5:30-8:30 with a special spiritual program, Biblical Art demonstrations, and new Art Unveiling by Patricia Johnson from 7:30-8:00.  Art will be on display March 4^rd – May 4^th during regular Library Hours.  Preview the show at www.livvnart.org soon!
 
LivvnArt Biblical is a travelling Gallery focused on creating stunning new Classical Biblical Art and this show is a must see.  Artists John Stadler, Paul Grass, Patricia Johnson, Vera Anderson, Kirsten Hamrick and many more are exhibiting work in a Beautiful Location, the Clifton T. Fowler Library on the Campus of Colorado Christian University in Lakewood.  (180 South Garrison Street, Lakewood CO 80226).
 
LivvnArt showcases Faculty, Students and guests for The Religious Academy, www.thereligiousacademy.com, an Inter-Denominational Biblical Art School located in Denver Colorado.  Each Quarter, we exhibit new pieces of work and help the community by giving back to good causes.  This month we have Artwork for sale from the Brandy Cattoor Children’s Trust and the Gideon Grass Trust.
 
Donating Artists include Paul Grass, Shari Cannon, Nikki Covington, J. Kirk Richards, Quang Ho, Mike Malm, Robert Barrett, Robert Kirby, Patricia Johnson, John Stadler, Corey Strange, Diane Burchett, Joseph Brickey and many more.  One hundred percent of the sales from this Artwork will go towards the Trusts.