Since its introduction during the 2nd century BCE in China, paper has provided astronomers, philosophers, mathematicians, and artists an affordable surface on which to record their ideas. An upcoming exhibition is bringing together a collection of works that embody the versatile nature of paper.
 
Featuring artists such as Casey Baugh, Rick Berry, Candice Bohannon, Kim Cogan, Gregory Mortenson, and many more, Arcadia Contemporary is offering a fresh exhibition showcasing the versatility of paper across a wide spectrum. The exquisite drawings of Amaya Gurpide display soft, atmospheric spaces with masterfully rendered figures. “Maryum” — a graphite, black Conte, gouache, and white chalk drawing — is stunning in the range and depth of the figure. Gurpide’s chiaroscuro is done so well that the sitter nearly breathes on the page.
 
Julio Reyes’ “Lost” highlights paper’s ability to accept wet mediums as well — in this case acrylic and encaustic. A central three-quarter figure is presented as she gazes out of the picture. Her face has a distinct texture that contrasts against the flattened, sharp planes of color that compose her hair, scarf, and shirt.
 

Julio Reyes, “Lost,” 2015, acrylic and encaustic on paper, 9.5 x 10.5 in. Arcadia Contemporary

 
Additionally, Arcadia Contemporary reports, “Also included are seventeen works presented in collaboration with Moleskine — SoHo. Moleskine, the legendary notebook favored by the likes of Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso, equips a new generation of artists, presented here at Arcadia Contemporary. Each custom-made notebook contains a unique work of art, detachably mounted within. These works have become autonomous in their own right, and the notebooks that encase them are mementos of this first-ever collaboration between Moleskine — SoHo and Arcadia Contemporary.”
 
“Works on Paper” opens tomorrow, August 14, and will be on view through August 31.
 
To learn more, visit Arcadia Contemporary.
 
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.
 

Placed in the right hands, anything that makes a mark on paper can be used to create beautiful works of art. One Boston artist is taking the ballpoint pen to new heights as she explores nature, its transformations, and evolving definitions in intricate detail.
 
Featured in publications such as ARTnews, New American Paintings, The Boston Globe, and, now, Fine Art Today, Joo Lee Kang is proving that with enough talent, all an artist needs is a ballpoint pen. The Gallery at Penn College is excited to feature Kang’s recent drawings, beginning on August 18. “By drawing mutated animals and plants, I question nature’s place in the modern context,” writes Kang. “What is nature? What is natural? The subjects I portray in my drawings reflect the ambiguity of such definitions.”
 
Ambiguity describes well her “Bouquet of Nature #2,” which recalls the fantastical and imagined creatures from a Hieronymus Bosch (1450­­–1516) painting. At center one finds a chaotic arrangement of beautifully imagined animals and plants, many of them based on actual things. Toward the front we find a frog with what appear to be eyes on its legs. The trip continues with a lamb that has too many legs to count. Cats, two-headed snakes, and flowers round out the viewer’s journey. “I feel at a loss to describe what is natural in our present day,” Kang continues, “Cross-breeding, genetic engineering — the ways in which humans can control and reconfigure the natural process — become more abundant as technology advances.”
 

Joo Lee Kang, “Still Life with Shells #4,” ballpoint pen on paper, 19 x 25 in. The Gallery at Penn College

 
Another, perhaps more down-to-earth, example is “Still Life with Shells #4” — a drawing that truly displays Kang’s mastery of her medium. Employing an intricate arrangement of hatching and cross-hatching, Kang has created an image with astonishing clarity, depth, and naturalism. A frog hangs on a spiraled shell as a dragonfly darts to the left. Our two-headed snake makes an appearance in this work as well, slithering in the background.
 
“Nature, Fathomable” opens on August 18 and will run through September 20.
 
To learn more, visit The Gallery at Penn College.
 
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.
 

Making its Western debut is a fantastic Raphael original. See where you can catch a view.
 
As one of the most famous names in the history of art, Raphael gets people to museums, even if it’s a single painting. “Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn” is permanently housed at the Galleria Borghese, Rome, but will travel to the States for the first time this fall, premiering at the Cincinnati Art Museum on October 3. Painted around 1505, “Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn” is a quintessential example of Raphael’s excellence in female portraiture. The skin blushes as it radiates off the canvas, and the sitter’s beautiful vermillion dress is absolutely stunning. The background displays a typical Tuscan landscape, with rolling hills and trees fading in the atmospheric perspective.
 
The painting will be on view in Cincinnati through January 3 before traveling to the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, January 9.
 
To learn more, visit the Cincinnati Art Museum or 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.

Creating a successful painting often requires many layers of carefully applied paint. Michael Kessler takes that to its extreme.
 
“Are you right-brain or left-brain?” is a typical topic of conversation among friends and family, the answer signaling whether one is a creative individual or more analytical and objective. The two aren’t mutually exclusive in the art of Michael Kessler, whose paintings explore the continuum of gesture and geometry.
 
Working with extremely thin translucent acrylic paints, Kessler constructs his paintings using, in some cases, as many as 200 highly structured layers. The result is a tantalizing concord of organic energy and movement created by tendrils that branch and feather like fractals — and a highly intentional and structured process. Kessler likens the gestural freedom in his works to “a kind of painterly ‘tai chi’ — a visible expression of a line of energy — and imbues his structural motifs with a sense of play and buoyancy. Like the yin and yang, the organic and geometric elements in his paintings speak not of dichotomy, but of integration.”
 

Michael Kessler, “Forest (17),” acrylic on wood, 20 x 20 in. Ann Korologos Gallery

 
“Redhedge” is a representational example of Kessler’s ability to harmoniously blend the organic with the structured. The piece is divided equally into seven vertical sections, identified through tan and red coloring. Straight lines form a grid-like structure while flowing organic lines thrash around the entire work.
 
“Organic Evolution: Michael Kessler” opened on August 14 at Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt, Colorado, and will hang through September 4.
 
To learn more, visit Ann Korologos 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.
 

To understand Terry Rowlett’s paintings is to take a glimpse into his captivating life journey from evangelical roots in Arkansas to hipster-bohemian Athens, Georgia.
 
Some art historians have argued that all art production is simply an attempt to visualize and understand that which we cannot: the Divine. Certainly, our earliest creative impulses, found today on the walls of Paleolithic caves in France and Spain, suggest a drive to know the world and the mysteries and creatures contained within it. Artist Terry Rowlett works in this vein, driven by a desire to grasp his own spirituality. Although Rowlett’s Christian faith has been absent for some time, he has found fulfillment in nature, and his paintings explore our connections — or lack thereof — with nature while drawing on Renaissance and Baroque traditions.
 

Terry Rowlett, “Flight Into Egypt,” 1999, oil on canvas, 60 x 70 in. (c) Terry Rowlett 2015

 
“My inspirations often arrive as little epiphanies,” writes Rowlett, “epiphanies that usually occur in the landscape.” For Rowlett, a painting often begins when something in nature catches his eye, be that an unusual copse of trees or a rock formation. “Within these moments my mind’s eye sees a phantom character that could inhabit such a place. Sometimes the character comes very clearly, and I know exactly what he or she looks like and what they are doing in this spot. Other times I have to mull over the phantom until I know more certain what this person is trying to say.”
 

Terry Rowlett, “The Dark Forest,” 2010, oil on canvas, 44 x 63 in. (c) Terry Rowlett 2015

 
Rowlett’s early work, such as the vibrant “Flight Out of Egypt,” from 1999, is decidedly Christian in theme, but viewed through a modern lens. A middle-class suburban family is seen moving down a sidewalk. Mary, in this case, rides a bicycle, with Christ resting in a seat behind. Joseph, wearing classic “Chucks” and button-up shirt, strolls with a bag of groceries. There is a beautiful graphic quality and strangeness to Rowlett’s work — interesting compositions, vibrant colors, and narrative — that calls the viewer’s attention.
 

Terry Rowlett, “Stillness of Winter,” 2014, oil on canvas, 47 x 36 in. (c) Terry Rowlett 2015

 
“The Dark Forest” is a more recent work and again displays strong landscape devices with interesting human characters, though the Christian narrative has given way to a different story. Among a grove of dark, looming trees, an elderly woman dressed in her blue housecoat with a brilliant red scarf, points her rifle toward another, much younger, woman. The young woman is dressed in fashionable, contemporary clothing and holds a more imposing automatic assault rifle. Rowlett writes, “The dark woods were meant to suggest danger, mystery, and the dark night of the soul.” The differences between modern and contemporary, young and old, traditional and avant-garde are seen in the juxtaposition of the two characters.
 

Terry Rowlett’s Maine studio with “Hermit” series in-progress. (c) Terry Rowlett 2015

 
“As a young man, I traveled to Italy to study art, and it was there where I found my techniques and format for painting,” the artist writes. “The churches and museums were full of these great paintings that spoke and preached to me these strange and seemingly important messages relating to God, mankind, and nature. I feel as though I’m continuing in this style of communication, minus the Christianity, but still concerning myself with man, nature, God, and their relationship.”
 
Currently, Rowlett has been working on a new series of paintings concerning hermits in Maine all summer. He is also presently featuring at the Zeitgeist Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
To learn more, visit Terry Rowlett.
 
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.
 

“Morning Prayer”
Pastel on Ampersand Panel
48 x 32 inches
$25,000
 
The solitude of evening often gives time for reflection and communing with our Creator. This is the moment in time I sought to capture; a time of contemplation and prayer; a time of thanksgiving, of gratitude for the wonder of the blessings provided.
 
The light on the model’s face, Shasta Chez’, reflects the glory of God’s essence as He observes and listens to her prayer. The companion piece, “Evening Prayer” is also available.
 
Exhibitions/Awards for “Morning Prayer”:
         International 2014/2015 ARC Salon Finalist
 
 
About the Artist:
Influenced by Masters of their craft: Da Vinci, Moroni, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Rubens; D.K. Richardson endeavors to breathe a feeling of “Life” into her subjects regardless of the medium. She is known for her unique and detailed pastel work. Strong composition, color, and expression hold viewers fascinated with the painting’s life-like appearance.
 
Recent Achievements:
“Once a Queen – Twice Exiled”, verdaccio underpainting with color glazes, exhibited at the IN3 Members show at the Galerie Artes July 26 – August 4, 2015. “The Shaman”, a pastel painting, recently exhibited in Madrid, Spain. “The Babylonian Woman”, worked with a verdaccio oil underpainting and glazing technique, has exhibited in Texas, Sweden, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, Spain, and France.  Finalist in the 2013/2014, 2012/2013, and 2011/2012 ARC International Salons; Richardson has been honored with two Best of Show winners in the Austin Pastel Society competitions; Certificate of Excellence 2013 Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition.
 
Richardson is an active member of the Portrait Society of America, and IN3 International Artists Incentive. Native to Texas, she resides in Austin.
 

SEWE is pleased to announce an exclusive event at Sea Island August 14-16.
 
A sampling of SEWE artists and exhibitors will be on-hand to showcase their work and interact with Sea Island members and resort guests.
 
The beautiful natural backdrop of Sea Island provides a perfect setting for artists and exhibitors. SEWE will provide a preview of what attendees can expect on a larger scale in Charleston, February 14-16 2016.
 
To learn more, visit Sea Island.
 

The Ambleside Gallery in Greensboro, North Carolina, is hosting a solo exhibition for Chinese artist Guan Weixing.

The show took nearly two years to organize and Ambleside Gallery is the only gallery selling his work in the United States. “One Man Exhibition: Guan Weixing” opened on July 17 and will be on view through August 22.

To learn more, visit Ambleside Gallery or Guan Weixing.
 

Lori Putnam
“August Blue Lake”
oil on linen
20 x 24
$4,900

www.loriputnam.com

Illume Gallery of Fine Art
(801) 210-2853
www.illumegalleryoffineart.com
[email protected]

Lori Putnam’s paintings illustrate her personal response to her subjects. The artist travels worldwide to make sketches in oil which then serve as resource materials for larger paintings created in her Tennessee studio. Regarded as one of the top, living American Impressionists, her subject matter knows no boundaries. Instead she focuses on the rhythm and color harmonies of the natural landscape, the lightplay on her still life subjects, and the distinctive character of a figure’s stance.
 
Putnam’s list of professional associations and exhibition awards is extensive, including recent honors from The Oil Painters of America, The Salmagundi Club, The American Impressionist Society, The Portrait Society of America, and many prestigious plein air organizations. 
 
Contact Info
www.loriputnam.com
615-512-0929
[email protected]

 

Many of the nation’s top Western artists converge in Jackson, Wyoming, in an extraordinary group exhibition and sale.
 
Carrie Ballantyne, Teal Blake, John Coleman, and David Mann are only a few of the superstar artists featured in the current “Western Group Show & Sale” at The Legacy Gallery in Jackson, Wyoming. Complete with powerful landscape vistas, hypnotic portrait busts of Native Americans, and action scenes of rodeo cowboys, every facet of Western life and culture — both contemporary and historical — is covered with stunning naturalism, dramatic composition, and brilliant color.
 
Coleman’s “1832, Arikara Chief” is a masterful display of sculptural talent. The bronze sculpture displays the bust of an experienced, confident, and determined Arikara leader. The technique — modeling in plaster or clay before casting in bronze — has allowed Coleman to focus intently on the individual’s visage. The unrefined surface of the piece — a result of the process — makes the sitter more tangible and lifelike.
 

John Coleman, “1832, Arikara Chief,” bronze, 24 x 18 x 13 in. The Legacy Gallery.

 
David Mann’s “Comanche Sundown” is magnificent as well and almost photographic in its naturalism. A group of Comanche on horseback patrols a Western landscape as the waning sunlight — from off canvas to the right — blankets the scene in a golden-orange hue. As one considers their leader, who occupies the front of the convoy and lifts his hand to shield the light, we can nearly feel the warm glow of the sunset, taking us deeper into the narrative.
 
The “Western Group Show & Sale” opened on August 1 and will be on view through August 15.
 
To learn more, visit The Legacy 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.