Henry Asencio, 1972 | Abstract Realism painter

American painter Henry Asencio has emerged as one of the most intriguing young artists working today.

His work blends the classical ideals of figurative painting with a unique style.

Merging introspection and visual spectacle, Asencio's personal investigations of the figure, spirituality and abstraction possess the power to transform todays ideals of elegance and sensuality.

Winslow Homer | Summer Night / Notte d'estate, 1890

Winslow Homer started his career as a graphic reporter during the American Civil War, before going on to paint scenes of army life and the rural world with the Naturalist precision which then prevailed in American painting.

After a stay in Paris, Homer used an Impressionist palette for a while then developed a personal style midway between Realism and Symbolism.

Summer Night perfectly expresses this synthesis and may be considered one of the first masterpieces of American art still in search of its identity.

Winslow Homer | Summer Night / Notte d'estate, 1890 | Musée d'Orsay

Andy Warhol | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1982

Andy Warhol saw the famous portrait of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe by J. H. Wilhelm Tischbein during a visit to the Städel.

As the quintessence of German culture, it inspired him to create this work and other prints, some of which are likewise in the Städel collection.

In 1962 Warhol - a key figure of American Pop Art - began reproducing press photos of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley with the silkscreen technique.

Andy Warhol | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1982 | Städel Museum, Frankfurt

Jeffrey T. Larson, 1962 | Classical Realist painter

Jeffrey T. Larson was born in Two Harbors, Minnesota and grew up in the Twin Cities.

At the age of seventeen he began his classical studies with traditional atelier training under Richard Lack at the Atelier Lack in Minneapolis, MN.

Following his four- year training at Atelier Lack (1980-1984), Larson studied the work of the masters in the United States and abroad.

Eric Wallis, 1968 | Ballet dancers

"I love the movement and anatomical definition that dancers have characteristically.

There is power in their bodies that they use to convey beautiful grace and emotional verbiage.

It is difficult to capture that in a 2 dimensional work and therefore it embodies a challenge that I enjoy" - Eric Wallis.

Christopher Clark | Storyteller painter

Christopher Clark’s goal is to tell your story. His paintings resonate, showing you a world you’ve longed to live in, or recalling a memory from years past.

He specializes in painting light itself, which lends to this sense of belonging and captivation people experience in his paintings. Christopher is a licensed painter for Lucasfilm, Marvel, 20th Century Fox and Disney International, and is collected by George Lucas.

Edward Moran | Marine painter

Edward Moran (1829-1901) was an British-born American artist who specialized in marine art.

He is arguably most famous for his series of 13 historical paintings of United States marine history.

Michelle Torrez, 1956 | Abstract painter

Known for her color work, Michelle Torrez does expressionistic oil paintings of figures that are intended to communicate the beauty of unlikely emotion, movement and life.

Torrez believes that the greatest influences on her work were the circumstances of her childhood and teenage years:

"My life has influenced me to look deeper to find the beauty and humanity in people and places. Even at an early age, I knew I was an artist".

Sara Teasdale | Cadrà dolce la pioggia / There will come soft rains

Cadrà dolce la pioggia e si diffonderà il profumo della terra,

le rondini voleranno in cerchio stridendo;

canteranno le rane negli stagni a notte alta,

e i pruni selvatici biancheggeranno tremuli;

Jean Béraud

Bev Jozwiak, 1953 | Ballet dancers in Watercolor

Bev Jozwiak is an International Award winning Artist.

She has earned her signature status in the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society, Watercolor West, and others, too numerous to mention.

Bryce Cameron Liston, 1965 | Drawings

"As an artist my career is dedicated to the integrity and quality of representational fine art", says a professional artist Bryce Cameron Liston.

"My goal is to regain the traditions of the past along with the standards of craftsmanship and training.

By studying the great artists of the past, we artists of today can once again regain a full command of proficiency to create great works of art…art about life".

Sara Teasdale | Paris in spring

The city's all a-shining

Beneath a fickle sun,

A gay young wind's a-blowing,

The little shower is done.

But the rain-drops still are clinging

And falling one by one -

Oh it’s Paris, it's Paris,

And spring-time has begun.

Robert Zeller | Surrealist painter

Robert Zeller is a visual artist, writer and curator who received a BFA from a joint program of the Boston Museum School and Tufts University and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art.

He maintains studio practices in both Brooklyn and Long Island, where he creates Surrealist-inspired work.

His writing and curatorial projects feed of of his creative studio practice and vice-versa.

His art has been exhibited in New York City at 511, Booth, Forbes, Palo and Robilant+Voena galleries.

Kim Starr, 1956 | Romantic Realism painter

Kim Starr, American painter, is the preeminent painter of Romantic Realism.

Her meticulous attention to detail, combined with the artistic sensitivity of earlier masters, results in contemporary works of unparalleled beauty.

For much of her life as a painter, Kim Starr created her art in serene and beautiful villages on the islands of Kauai and Maui.

Craig Mooney, 1969 | Abstract painter

Craig Mooney makes paintings of dramatic moments and heightened emotionality that are known for being expansive and expressive.

Though a representational painter, the artist incorporates a myriad of abstract qualities throughout his paintings.

In his figurative work, Mooney romanticizes his subjects and presents them in an atmospheric lens that is best described as dreamlike.

Douglas Girard, 1969 | Imaginative realism painter

"...It is as if the artist has created his own mythology.

It is a very romantic, evocative painting, technically well balanced and very strong, formally" - Lucinda Barnes, curator of the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art commenting on the painting "Journey".

Douglas Girard: The results are in for the Art Renewal Center’s 2014/2015 Salon! 2500 paintings were submitted from around the world by 1050 artists. 31% were chosen as finalists.

John Haag, 1980 | Realist / Impressionist painter

John Haag is a professional artist whose work has been described as a fusion of impressionism and realism.

Specializing in oil and charcoal, Haag began painting at the age of 18 and selling his work at age 21.

He had his first solo show at age 24 in Park City, UT.

Working primarily as a portrait artist in his early career, Haag’s work can be found in private collections throughout the US and has been commissioned by many prominent Americans, including the late world renowned author/speaker Steven R. Covey.

Remembering Steve Hanks, the Master of Watercolor

Steve Hanks (1949-2015), the Master of Watercolor and Figures passed away in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 22 after a battle with cancer.

"Art comes from a deep inner sense of direction.It starts with a re-evaluation of your own life, from a search for the source of the impulses and mystery of it all. I think of myself as an emotional realist. Emotion is what I want to portray. Realism is just my way of doing it"- Steve Hanks

James R. Eads, 1989 | Love Forgetting Time

Los Angeles-based illustrator James R. Eads primarily works in acrylic and on a Wacom tablet to create high quality screen-prints and giclee prints that imitate traditional painting and printmaking.

James R. Eads was born in Los Angeles, CA.

He spent his childhood making art and eventually went to a liberal arts school in New York where he studied printmaking, painting and graphic design.

Optical illusion art by Eric Montoya, 1968

Eric Montoya is an American painter who has had several gallery and museum exhibitions.

Continued education through Seattle Art Museum lectures and UW Experimental courses, Technology Project Manager for The Ackerley Group 1996-2001, Journeyman Pictorial Painter, The Ackerley Group 1987 through 1996. Art Institute of Seattle, 1987.

"In my work I tend to blend the boundaries between man and nature".