David Gray, 1970 | Classical Realist painter

David's Gray signature style reveals a personal and contemporary expression of beauty and order which pays homage to the Classical Tradition in its craftsmanship.

Collectors of David's work often relate that his painting provoke a sense of peace, stillness, or a contemplative mood.

His award winning works have been covered by major art publications including Southwest Art, Art of the West, and American Art Collector.

Rosmery Mamani Ventura, 1985 | Pastel painter

Rosmery Mamani Ventura is an award winning hyperrealistic pastel artists from Bolivia.

She was born in Omasuyos, near Lake Titicaca where she lived until 1998.

At 14 she migrated from her rural Aymara indigenous community to the city of El Alto to work as a maid, a move that brought excitement, but also struggle.

Despite the hardships, that move was also the first step toward discovering her talent as an artist.

Jan Bogaerts (Dutch, 1878-1962)

Johannes Jacobus Maria (Jan) Bogaerts was an artist from Netherlands.

Born in the Dutch city of 's-Hertogenbosch, in the province of North Brabant, Bogaerts attended the Koninklijke School voor Nuttige en Beeldende Kunsten in his birth city between 1893 and 1899.

He spent four years working in the studio of the fin-de siècle artist Antoon van Welie (1866-1956) and also received tutelage from him at the Den Bosch academy from 1897 until 1899.

Under his influence, Bogaerts painted figures, portraits, landscapes, parks, gardens and castle grounds in a symbolistical manner.

Rob Hefferan, 1967 | Moonlight Lovers

Rob Hefferan is an exceptionally talented figurative artist.

His varied body of work celebrates the joyous and multifaceted forms that human beings express with limitless imagination and wit.

Rob captures the personality of each of his subjects with honesty, integrity and above all, a sacred appreciation for the unique spirit embodied within us all.

His heartfelt response to humanity is woven into the very fabric of each outstanding portrait, earning him the reputation of one of the finest contemporary realists of his generation.

Happy Birthday Édouard Manet!

It’s Édouard Manet’s birthday - born on this day - January 23, 1832. To this day, Manet is still considered to be the father of Modernism.

Édouard Manet -the eldest son of an official in the French Ministry of Justice- had early hopes of becoming a naval officer. After twice failing the training school's entrance exam, the teenager instead went to Paris to pursue a career in the arts. There he studied with Thomas Couture and diligently copied works at the Musée du Louvre.

The biennial (and later, annual) Parisian Salons were considered the most expedient way for an artist to make himself known to the public, and Manet submitted paintings to Salon juries throughout his career. In 1861, at the age of twenty-nine, he was awarded the Salon's honorable mention for The Spanish Singer.

Gianni Strino, 1953 | Figurative / Realist painter

Italian painter🎨 Gianni Strino studied fine art at the acclaimed Naples Art Institute winning the medal for the best graduate artist in 1970. He taught art and art history until the demand for his work allowed him to become a full time artist.

In his striking portraits Strino not only captures the beauty of his sitters but also the reality of the everyday. He does not restrict his models to beautiful young women as many portraitists do.

Daniela Astone, 1980 | Figurative Realist painter

Daniela Astone was born in Pisa, Italy and raised in Porto Santo Stefano, in Maremma (Italy), a costal town south of Florence. She discovered her passion for drawing and painting at a very young age, and began nourishing and cultivating her craft early on.

In 1998, after graduating from the High School for Visual Arts of Grosseto, she moved to Florence to study illustration at the International school of Comix.

Upon arriving, she first worked in illustration, then, in 2001, enrolled in The Florence Academy of Art🎨, where she is now an instructor. In 2003, Daniela participated, as a student, in the exhibition, "Realism Revisited" at Panorama Museum, Bad Frankenhausen, Germany.

Arkady Plastov (1893-1972) Socialist Realist painter

Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov / Аркадий Александрович Пластов was a Russian🎨 socialist realist painter. Plastov was born into a family of icon painters in the village Prislonikha in the Russian Governorate of Simbirsk.

He attended the sculpture department of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture beginning in 1914.