Henry Asencio, 1971 | Flamenco dancers

Henry Asencio's paintings often explore themes of emotion, spirituality, and identity through expressive forms, rich colors, and dynamic interplay of light and shadow.

Asencio's painting style is loosely defined in a contemporary format, combining elements of expressionism and realism with abstract painting techniques. Asencio's art has been described as "abstract expressionism" and "abstract realism".

He says of his own style:

The Amsterdamse Joffers / Le Signore dell'Post-impressionismo Olandese

The Amsterdamse Joffers were a group of women artists who met weekly in Amsterdam at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.

They supported each other in their professional careers.

Most of them were students of the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten and belonged to the movement of the Amsterdam Impressionists.

Each one became a successful artist.

Thérèse Schwartze (1851-1918)

Rachel Clearfield, 1946 | Magical realism painter

Born in England, Rachel Clearfield was a self-taught child prodigy.

As a young girl, she composed poetry and illustrated her poems with beautiful paintings.

After completing high school she decided on a career in art and was educated at the Newcastle College of Art and also the Manchester College of Art.

Henri Houben | Genre painter

Henri Houben (Antwerp, 1858-1931) was a Belgian genre painter.

He originally studied to be a violinist, but his interest in painting took the upper hand, so he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp), where he studied under Charles Verlat.

He later assisted Verlat with his panoramic paintings ("March of the Russian Army" and "The Battle of Waterloo") and executed decorative paintings from designs by Albrecht De Vriendt in the Antwerp City Hall.

Mark Grantham, 1966 | Abstract painter

Mark Grantham was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he continues to reside.

He has been painting full-time since 1996.

He grew up on Leeds Street in the city's north end, and completed his first oil on canvas at age 11.

After receiving Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees from Dalhousie University, Grantham went on to study architecture at the Technical University of Nova Scotia, from where he holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies degree as well as a Masters degree in Architecture.