Heather Arenas (b. 1969), "The Affair," 2023, oil on aluminum, 48 x 48 in., available through the exhibition
Art Exhibition: “Standing out in the Crowd”
Bradenton, Florida artcentermanatee.org
January 3–26, 2024
The ArtCenter Manatee is presenting a show of oil paintings by Heather Arenas, which she has titled “Standing out in the Crowd.”
It includes works from her Museum Series, such as the one illustrated here. The figure in the yellow polka-dot dress is “Dot,” a recurring motif that honors Arenas’s beloved grandmothers, who kindled her passion for art. Her frequent use of yellow reflects the artist’s belief in the inherent goodness of people.
Varvàra Fern, "Travelers," 2022, resin, acrylic, and steel, 23 x 18 x 22 1/2 in., available through the artist
There is a lot of superb contemporary realism being made these days; this article by Allison Malafronte shines light on a gifted individual.
Varvàra Fern (b. 1999) is a sculptor who grew up in Moscow. She studied classical figuration at the Moscow Academic Art Institute and then bravely embarked on a new life in America when she relocated to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). Today she continues to live and work in Philadelphia, where she maintains a studio and is completing her M.F.A. at PAFA.
Fern has been a world traveler since the age of 13, and those voyages have greatly shaped her life and art. Her work today is inspired by the idea of movement and travel, in particular roadways and railways, as a means of shifting one’s life and perspective in a new direction. “Traveling is not only a process of going from one place to another, but also an emotional journey,” the artist says. “A person can always find something new in a journey, maybe even happiness. In my work I show people beginning their travel from trauma and unhappiness to finding themselves and reaching harmony.”
The artist’s most recent series, “Travel,” fully expresses these sentiments. In “Travelers,” shown here, three figures make their way uphill along a winding railroad track, with luggage and hopes for a new horizon in tow. “This work was inspired by my own travel experience and my love of road landscapes,” Fern says. “It’s also a reference to train-hopping, which I feel is one of the most beautiful, albeit dangerous, ways to travel. It requires absolute trust and spiritual freedom, as train-hoppers never know exactly where a train is going to bring them. Sometimes a person has to be at a certain level of risk or even despair to make this kind of journey. At the same time, travel always helps one find something new, and maybe this will be harmony and happiness.”
Aesthetically, the artist also finds railroads fascinating because of their mesmerizing, sculptural shapes. To create her interpretations of these structures, Fern opts for working in oil-based clay, a medium that she has used since childhood and therefore is second nature to her. “This material is like a language that I can speak fluently,” Fern explains, “so it allows me to give full form to all of my ideas and imagination.”
In “Bonnard’s Worlds,” the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, will present its first exhibition dedicated to the works of French painter Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947), inspired by its 2018 acquisition of the artist’s “Landscape at Le Cannet” (1928). The exhibition explores the sensory realms of experience that fueled the painter’s creative practice—from the most public spaces to the most private.
Comprising a careful selection of approximately seventy of Bonnard’s finest works created over the course of his career, “Bonnard’s Worlds” reunites some of the artist’s most celebrated paintings from museums in Europe and the United States, as well as many unfamiliar to the public from worldwide private collections.
Governed neither by chronology nor geography, but by measures of intimacy, the exhibition will transport visitors from the larger realms in which Bonnard lived—the landscapes of Paris, Normandy, or the South of France—to the most private interior spaces of his dwellings and of his thoughts.
“Bonnard’s Worlds” is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum and The Phillips Collection. It is supported in part by Frost, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Tony Hochstetler (b. 1964), "Rough Skinned Newt," 2023, bronze (edition of 15), 8 x 10 1/2 x 9 1/2 in.
“Wild West: Wildlife Art, Past and Present” is the title of the Steamboat Art Museum’s latest exhibition, which traces how the essence and beauty of the American West’s animals have captivated talented artists for more than a century.
Guest-curated by collector Tim Newton, the exhibition features more than 90 works borrowed from private collections and museums, along with works created by 35 living artists, many for sale. The media involved encompass oil, scratchboard, charcoal, watercolor, and bronze.
The historical masters represented on the exhibition checklist include Herbert Dunton, Bob Kuhn, Lanford Monroe, and Carl Rungius. Among the living artists are Douglas Allen, Bill Alther, Greg Beecham, Jim Bortz, Ray Brown, Tim Cherry, Mark Eberhard, Sandy Graves, Tony Hochstetler, Nancy Howe, T.D. Kelsey, Mark Kelso, Steve Kestrel, Rich Loffler, Bonnie Marris, Walter Matia, Sally Maxwell, Jim Morgan, Peregrine O’Gormley, Tom Quinn, Paul Rhymer, Amy Ringholz, Lindsay Scott, Sandy Scott, Tim Shinabarger, Kyle Simms, Dan Smith, Tucker Smith, Jill Soukup, Pati Stajcar, Josh Tobey, Ezra Tucker, Dustin Van Wechel, and Curtis Zabel.
At a Glance: Steamboat Art Museum
“Wild West: Wildlife Art, Past and Present”
Steamboat Springs, Colorado steamboatartmuseum.org
Through April 13, 2023
As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this week’s “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the artwork below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
Lilacs, C.M. Cooper, oil on panel, 16 x 12 in; C.M. Cooper
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Wu Tang Tee, 2023, Tim Okamura, oil on wood panel, 48 × 36 in; 33 Contemporary
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The Old Man with the Little Hat, Xinjing, Jove Wang, oil on panel, 11 x 14 in; American Legacy Fine Arts
Want to see your gallery featured in an upcoming Virtual Gallery Walk? Contact us at [email protected] to advertise today. Don’t delay, as spaces are first come, first served, and availability is limited.Virtual Gallery Walk for October 20th, 2023
Pat Fiorello, “Poinsettia,” oil, 10 x 10 in., available at https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/pat-fiorello-2105
On the Easel: For art collectors, a behind-the-scenes look at how one contemporary artist creates a painting helps us appreciate even more the vision and skill it takes to do this, and makes us even more informed about why we buy art to enjoy at home.
One aspect of painting flowers that I enjoy is finding the different types available only for a season. This time of year, at least in North America, poinsettias are a holiday favorite available in abundance. Each year I try to paint some while I have access to the live plants.
I spied the beautiful light on this plant on an indoor porch but was not interested in painting it as the scene was, so I simplified the background in a neutral tone in Photoshop and thought it might be fun to try a square format.
Left: Reference photo; Right: Photoshopped version
I started the painting very loosely with an underpainting using only transparent oil paints. For the reds, I used mainly alizarin permanent plus touches of magenta, ultramarine blue, and even transparent oxide brown here and there just to vary it up.
Knowing I wanted a neutral background, I put in a warm underpainting for the background with the intent of coming in with a cooler grey tone on top of it later. At this point, with the underpainting blocked in, the edges of the underpainting are very soft and it’s easy to feel a bit lost, so I found key shapes, especially in the lights, by scraping out with a Kemper wipe-out tool. Adding in the background also helped to negatively paint around the petal shapes.
Finally, I reinforced the dark petals in shadow with more of the alizarin dark mixture initially laid down. For the petal shapes in light, I used cadmium red light. One tip I often give my students is to avoid adding white to red unless you want pink. White will make the reds cooler, less vibrant, and even chalky. I’d prefer to lighten the red with another color, like orange or yellow if needed.
In many cases, the value and temperature relationship between cad red light and the alizarin (with some of the other dark transparent colors mentioned above) will be enough to read light and shadow without having to add any white at all. I added a few small details in the center of the main poinsettia and some leaves in light and shadow and called it a day.
Final painting: Pat Fiorello, “Poinsettia,” oil, 10 x 10 in., available here.
Happy Holidays!
Related > Pat’s “Vibrant Flowers” painting video is available at painttubetv.com.
“Song of Cranes,” Patricia Schappler, 48 x 36 in., oil on board, 2023. There in the garden, the contrast of exuberance and stillness is a dance
How do you find inspiration? Patricia Schappler: Inspiration is present everywhere, in the day to day of family and friends and relationships. I am inspired by color, pattern, and proximity, moved by the human gaze, and connected to shared narratives of home, whether through fairy tale, biblical story, or myth. A figure sitting in front of me offers intimacy… a presence of light and dark, an open-ended story. Most recently I’ve been working on images of the Madonna, they’re portraits of women but they’re also portraits of what Mary symbolizes: a container for peace through great energy, a yes! It’s in the deep beauty of form, light, and gesture,that a narrative is shared, an echoing ofjoy and sorrow.
What is the best thing about being an artist? Patricia Schappler: I started out with many interests…sociology, psychology, human development, literature, all before shifting my focus to painting and drawing. Making portraits and figure narratives brings my loves together! There’s this leap of faith that what you see and feel inside can be made into physical form. You can climb a ladder or sit on the floor, or stand at an easel, and your arms and hands are all over this thing you’re making, your mind and heart building this idea you find significant into being…never mind some of the frustrations along the way, it’s a metaphor for living and it’s a bit miraculous!
“Sarah in the Summertime,” Patricia Schappler, 36 x 24 in., oil on cradled board, 2023. Sarah’s gaze suggests a moment between pause and propulsion, giving me space to imagine“Adam at the Window,” Patricia Schappler, 30 x 24 in., oil on board, 2023. Meditative, I feel his youth in painted gesture as a shared memory
“Canceled” by Tanja Gant (Hawkins, TX), Charcoal, 16×13 in.
We’d like to congratulate Tanja Gant for winning Overall First Place in the October 2023 PleinAir Salon, judged by John Manzari, with her charcoal drawing, “Canceled” (shown above).
“‘Canceled’ is a result of another impromptu photo shoot with a dear friend who was kind enough to pose for me and follow my prompts, which I’m sure she found a bit strange at times,” Tanja says.
“I don’t take a lot of photos but I usually end up with one that catches my attention and reveals a story, an opinion, or a feeling I didn’t even know I wanted to share. Such was the case with ‘Canceled’. To me, this ‘in your face’ image, which I’m sure many are familiar with, represents the omnipresent cancel culture. It’s a black-and-white world where you have to ask yourself, are you the one being canceled or are you doing the canceling, and who will do it first? Do we even have the patience to listen anymore?
“Because the image itself is powerful enough I opted for a simple monochrome composition where I omitted the color and all the unnecessary detail. I used basic Photoshop Elements functions to get a printable photograph which I then transferred onto paper using the grid system. I usually improvise the background to draw attention to the main subject, and along the way, I intentionally break a few rules.
“Submitting ‘Canceled’ to a PleinAir Salon competition was a long shot but I was hoping for a reaction to a statement that makes me question my own actions daily. I’m honored that the October PleinAir Salon judge, John Manzari, ‘heard’ my statement.”
Additional Works by Tanja Gant
Tanja Gant, “1992,” 24 x 15 in., colored pencil on Strathmore Bristol smooth 300 series paperTanja Gant, “Moon Shine,” 30 x 19 in., colored pencil on Lenox 100 Draw paperTanja Gant, “Queen in Training II,” 14 x 21 in., Caran d’Ache Grafwood graphite pencils on Kohinoor Bristol vellum paperTanja Gant, “Shep,” 17 x 19 in., Cretacolor Nero charcoal pencils on Canson XL Bristol vellum paperTanja Gant, “Wallflower,” 9 x 21 in., colored pencil on Canson XL Bristol recycled paper
About the PleinAir Salon
In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual online art competition, with 11 monthly cycles, leading to the annual Salon Grand Prize winners, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition. The competition rewards artists with $50,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work, with the winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir® Magazine.
Winners in each monthly competition may receive recognition and exposure through PleinAir Magazine’s print magazine, e-newsletters, websites, and social media. Winners of each competition will also be entered into the annual competition. The Annual Awards will be presented live at the next Plein Air Convention & Expo.
The next round of the PleinAir Salon has begun so hurry, as this competition ends on the last day of the month. Enter your best art in the PleinAir Salon here.
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PleinAir® Magazine is a registered trademark of Streamline Publishing, Inc.
The celebrity culture we love or loathe today first became an international industry in the late 19th century, and the English artist-author Max Beerbohm (1872–1956) was at the center of it. From the 1890s through the 1920s, to be a celebrity meant the hope — and fear — of appearing in a drawing or parody by “Max,” as he was known in both Britain and the U.S.
Max Beerbohm (1872–1956), “Rossetti’s Courtship,” 1916–17, pencil and watercolor on paper, 12 3/4 x 8 1/3 in., Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, University of Delaware Library, Museums & Press
Beerbohm’s brilliant skewering of famous people in his visual caricatures, and of their writing styles in his satirical works, made him a celebrity himself. This was an identity he enjoyed, but later he shrank from it. In essays and fiction, Beerbohm explored the price in human terms of achieving and maintaining celebrity status in ways that still resonate now.
On view this season at the New York Public Library (NYPL) is the exhibition “Max Beerbohm: The Price of Celebrity,” which follows him from the Decadent circles of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley to his mature years as a BBC radio performer during World War II. Along the way, he knew, drew, and wrote about such celebrities as Henry James, Virginia Woolf, George Bernard Shaw, and members of the royal family.
Drawn from the NYPL’s extensive holdings, along with loans from private and institutional collections, this season’s show includes drawings, manuscripts, photographs, books from Beerbohm’s library, and personal items, most on public display for the first time. It has been curated by Prof. Margaret D. Stetz and Mark Samuels Lasner (both from the University of Delaware) in collaboration with NYPL’s Julie Carlsen.
New York Public Library
“Max Beerbohm: The Price of Celebrity” nypl.org
Through January 28, 2024
As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this week’s “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the artwork below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
Once Upon A Dream, Leslie Lambert, poured watercolor on panel, 36 x 36 x 2 in; Leslie Lambert
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Mudra– First leaping weightless ballet dancer of 800 lbs, Place des Arts (Performing Arts Center) Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1985, Elizabeth MacQueen, Bronze, Stainless Steel, Wrapped Sheet Bronze, Marble, 9’ H x 9’ L x 4’ D; Elizabeth MacQueen
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Narcissus, 2023, J. Adam McGalliard, oil on canvas mounted on Wood Panel, 36 × 36 × 1.5 in; 33 Contemporary
Hydrangeas, Chris Rapa, oil on linen panel, 8 x 10 in; Chris Rapa
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Reverence, Debra Joy Groesser, oil on linen panel, 18 x 24 in; Debra Joy Groesser
Want to see your gallery featured in an upcoming Virtual Gallery Walk? Contact us at [email protected] to advertise today. Don’t delay, as spaces are first come, first served, and availability is limited.
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