David Leffel, 1931 | Baroque Era style painter

David A. Leffel is a twentieth-century artist who paints in the classic Flemish /Dutch old master style, much in the manner of Rembrandt* or Chardin. His subject matter is Still Lifes, Landscapes, Portraits and figures, but the real subject of his work is the light as it gently drifts from one object to another. It pauses here, then moves on.

"Light is the concept of the painting"
- David A. Leffel.

Hans Thoma | Symbolist painter

Hans Thoma (1839-1924) was a German painter. He was born in Bernau in the Black Forest, Germany.

Having started life as a painter of clock-faces, he entered in 1859 the Karlsruhe academy, where he studied under Schirmer and Des Coudres.

He subsequently studied and worked, with but indifferent success, in Düsseldorf, Paris, Italy, Munich and Frankfurt, until his reputation became firmly established as the result of an exhibition of some thirty of his paintings in Munich.

He died in Karlsruhe in 1924 at the age of 85.

Daniel Graves, 1949 | Florence Academy of Art

American painter Daniel Graves was born in Rochester, New York. Graves graduated from the Maryland Art Institute in 1972 where he studied with Joseph Shepard and Frank Russell.

He continued his studies at the Villa Schifanoia Graduate School of Fine Art in Florence, Italy, with Richard Serrin.

Following a course of training with Richard Lack in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he taught at the Atelier Lack Studio of Fine Art.

In the late 1970s, Graves returned to Florence and undertook individual study with Nerina Simi, who maintained a classical nineteenth-century studio. Ms. Simi was the daughter of the Florentine painter Filadelfo Simi, who had studied with Jean-Leon Gerome, the head of the French Academy in Paris in the 1870s.

Stephen Bauman, 1980 | Figurative painter

Stephen Bauman was raised in Miami, FL and now live and work in Florence, Italy. Hi teach painting and drawing at the Florence Academy of Art, under the direction of Daniel Graves.

Stephen Bauman began his studies at The Florence Academy of Art in 2004. To Stephen, skill in drawing is fundamental, and among the most important assets a painter can possess. In his four years as a student he worked to understand the relationship of drawing to painting in the same way his teachers at the Academy understood it.

Robert Henri | Ashcan School painter [Part 2]

Robert Henri ~ Ashcan School painter [Part 1] ||| Robert Henri ~ Ashcan School painter [Part 3]

Robert Henri🎨 (1865-1929) was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School of American realism and an organizer of the group known as "The Eight", a loose association of artists who protested the restrictive exhibition practices of the powerful, conservative National Academy of Design.

For biographical notes on Robert Henri see Part 1🎨.

For earlier works by Robert Henri see Part 3🎨.

Fredric Michael Wood, 1944 | Impressionist painter

Fredric Michael Wood is a "Signature" Member of Oil Painters of America, and Associate Member of the American Impressionist Society.

In short, I've been a professional artist for the past 30 years. In that time I have paticipated in numerous national and regional exhibitions, and have been fortunate to have garnered some recognition along the way. My painting "Offshore Breeze" was selected for the 2002 30th Anniversary Issue Cover of Southwest Art.

Michael is the recipient of numerous Regional and National awards, and been featured in several publications including the Cover Art for the 2002 Southwest Art Magazine Anniversary issue. His work is collected internationally.

Jeffrey T. Larson, 1962 | Figurative 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.

Peter Graham Roi, 1959 | Fiery palette painter

Scottish painter Peter Graham Roi🎨 was born in Glasgow. He attended the Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1980. In 2000 Peter was elected to Full Membership of The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, R.O.I.

Peter has earned a reputacion as one of Britain's most gifted and distinctive Modern Colourists.

His work is often related to the Modern Scottish School but Peter has a flamboyant style which is unique, detailed brush work combined with loose fluid strokes creating vibrant contrasts of pure colour, line and tone. For earlier works by Peter Graham Roi see: Part 2 also.

Pat Erickson ~ Figurative / Wildlife painter [Part 2]

Pat Erickson ~ Figurative / Wildlife painter (Part 1) || Pat Erickson ~ Figurative / Wildlife painter (Part 2)

American artist Pat EricksonShe is well known for her highly detailed portrayal of both horses and other wildlife in watercolor and prismacolor pencil.
For biographical notes on Erickson and earlier works, see Part 1.

Enric Torres-Prat, 1940

Spanish painter and illustrator Enric Torres Prat living near the historical port city near the Mediterranean gave Prat immense artistic influence.

He attended La Universidad de Belles Arts St. Jordi where he studied classical painting.

Prat was quite gifted in drawing and color theory.

The works of Enric can be found at numerous museums and private collections across the globe.

He is often considered to be one of Europe’s “new old masters”.

Édouard Manet al Metropolitan Museum

Una presentazione delle principali opere di Édouard Manet nelle collezioni del Metropolitan Museum of Art di New York (NY)

Edgar Degas al Metropolitan Museum

Una presentazione delle principali opere di Edgar Degas nelle collezioni del Metropolitan Museum of Art di New York (NY).

Judy Drew, 1951 | Still life

Renowned Australian artist Judy Drew was born in 1951, graduating from Melbourne's Prahran College of Art in 1970.

From the time she purchased her first set of Schminke pastels there was an immediate connection with the medium.

"When I started to use pastels, I began to study the pastel artists of the Post Impressionist period - in particular Degas. Degas' portraiture with its delicate line work, tendency towards understatement and often spare use of colour appealed to me".

Andrey Aranyshev / Андрей Аранышев, 1956

Андрей Аранышев is a unique painter known not only in Russia, but also in many countries of the world.

It is possible to say, that to some extent his artistic gift passed to him from ancestors. His great-grandfather - Dmitry Mitrofanovich Kucherenko - was a well-known violinist and opened the first musical school in Yaroslavl.

The brother of the great-grandmother - Grigory Vasilevich Sarenko - was the architect who has designed many famous buildings of Yaroslavl, including a building of former hotel "Bristol" and fire depot on the Red Square.

The artist’s works are remarkable for interesting forms, harmony of color scale and a variety of images, especially the portraits.

In each image individuality and mood are distinctly read through, whether it is a fabulous mythological hero - Dionisis, Silen, the goddesses, disposing a string of destiny, - or characters from real life or the artist’s imagination.

Andrea Kemp, 1981 | Figurative painter

Andrea Kemp was born in Glenwood Spring, Colorado.

Education

2001-2002 Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Utah.

1999-2001 Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT.

"I began painting seriously around the age of 15, but before then I had always loved to create. Art was one of the few things that could hold my attention for a long period of time. Sketching was my frequent pastime. It is hard to remember exactly when painting became such a huge driving force in my life. It crept up on me in such a gradual way which makes it hard to remember the exact beginning. What I do know is that after meeting a few local artists, who were professionals locally and nationally, my love for painting and drawing became more of a reality".

John Dickson Batten [1860-1932]

- The Garden of Adonis - Amoretta and Time, 1887

The subject of Batten's painting is taken from Book III of Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene", which is devoted to the legend of Chastity. The twins Amoretta and Belphoebe were the daughters of the nymph Chrysogone. The two babies were adopted, Belphoebe by the goddess of the hunt Diana, and Amoretta by Venus, goddess of love. Venus conveyed Amoretta to the Garden of Adonis, her `joyous Paradise', the flowers of which "dame Nature doth her beautify, and decks the girlonds of her Paramoures". However, even here the "faire flowre of beautie fades away, as doth the lilly fresh before the sunny ray", for:

Great enimy to it, and to all the rest
That in the Gardin of Adonis springs,
Is wicked Tyme; who with his scyth addrest
Does mow the flowring herbes and goodly things,
And all their glory to the ground downe flings,
Where they do wither, and are fowly mard:
He flyes about, and with his flaggy winges
Beates downe both leaves and buds withourt regard,
Ne ever pitty may relent his malice hard.

In this garden Amoretta was brought up by Psyche, and "trained up in trew feminitee" and "goodly womanhead",

In which when she to perfect ripenes grew,
Of grace and beautie noble Paragone,
She brought her forth into the worldes vew,
To be th'ensample of true love alone,
And Lodestarre of all chaste affection
To all fayre Ladies that doe live on grownd.
To Faery court she came; where many one
Admyred her goodly haveour, and fownd
His feeble hart wide launched with loves cruel wownd.

Daniel Sprick, 1953

Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scevola (1871-1950)

Head of a Lady in Medieval Costume, 1900

Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach | Symbolist / Art Nouveau painter

Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach (1851-1913) was a German painter and social reformer.

Diefenbach is a champion of reform of life , as the pioneer of naturism and the peace movement. His commune "Himmelhof" in Ober St. Veit (1897-1899) was one of the models for the students of his Gusto Graser reform founded settlements Monte Verita in Ascona.

As a painter he is an independent representative of Art Nouveau and Symbolism.

Diefenbach was a son of the painter and art teacher at the high school Hadamar Leonhard Diefenbach.

Brian O'Neill, 1969 | Figurative painter

American painter Brian O’Neill is a Signature Member of The Pastel Society of America and is proficient in a variety of mediums including oil, pastel, acrylic and charcoal.

His work has been showcased in galleries across The U.S, Canada, Japan and England.

O’Neill is most noted for his floral paintings and drawings and has been an avid gardener and nature enthusiast most of his life.

Brian is a graduate of The Ani Art Academy apprenticeship program where he studied under the guidance of acclaimed realism painter Anthony Waichulis.

In the spring of 2013 O’Neill joined The Memorial Art Gallery Creative Workshop in Rochester, NY where he teaches fundamental drawing and painting skills.

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is an art museum of international stature in the centre of Copenhagen, founded in 1888 by the brewer Carl Jacobsen (1842-1914) who created one of the largest private art collections of his time.

It was named after his brewery, Ny Carlsberg, with the addition of "Glyptotek", meaning collection of sculpture.

The Glyptotek houses over 10.000 works of art divided up into two principal collections.

The museum contains two main departments of ancient and modern art, offering a unique combination of art in impressive architectural surroundings.

Vickie Wade ~ Figurative painter

Vickie Wade is a wife, mother, and passionate artist. She grew up in Puyallup, Washington and from 11 years of age painted at her grandmother’s easel. Vickie married her college sweetheart Jeff and her love and joy for him and painting grew strong. When their boys started school they moved to Nampa, Idaho to raise them in a rural setting. Teaching art classes was a delight and put Louie and Charlie through Christian education. Louie is a dentist and loving daddy to Samuel and Sydney. Charlie is a college graduate and an orthopedic rep working in Portland, Oregon. Inspired by loving family and friends, Vickie shares with you a bit of the fresh wonder in our world. Many of her realistic images focus on special nostalgic moments. Her desire is to bring you heartfelt joy and beauty through the paintings she creates.

Walter Girotto, 1953 | Figurative painter

Walter Girotto is an Italian painter ⎆, known for work in the Figurative style.

Girotto was born in a small northern Italian town called Rovigo and it was May 4th when his family moved to Turin -Italy, to seek their fortune.
For biographical notes -in english and italian- and other works by Girotto see:

• Walter Girotto ⎆

Stephan Sinding | Adorazione

Stephan Abel Sinding (1846-1922) è stato uno scultore Norvegese-Dnese.

Si è trasferito a Copenaghen nel 1883 e ha avuto la sua svolta nello stesso anno.

Nel 1890 ottenne la cittadinanza danese.

Nel 1910 si stabilì a Parigi dove visse e lavorò fino alla sua morte nel 1922

Vita e formazione

Stephan Abel Sinding nacque a Trondhjem come figlio dell'ingegnere minerario Matthias Wilhelm Sinding (1811-1860) e Cecilie Marie Mejdell (1817-1886).

Sinding era il fratello del compositore Christian Sinding e del pittore Otto Ludvig Sinding e nipote di Nicolai Mejdell (1822-1899) e Thorvald Mejdell (1824-1908), ed attraverso il primo cugino di Glør Thorvald Mejdell, che sposò la sorella di Stephan, Thora Cathrine Sinding.

Stephan Sinding era anche cugino di primo grado di Alfred Sinding-Larsen e dei tre fratelli Ernst Anton Henrik Sinding, Elisabeth Sinding (1846-1930) e Gustav Adolf Sinding (1849-1925).

Mirjam Appelhof ~ Dreaming of another world

Dutch Artist Mirjam Appelhof living in the Netherlands. "I started with making images 4 years ago. I had a enormous urge to translate my inner feelings. Fortunate I found my way to translate it…the camera.My creations reflect movement because I believe that nothing is static ”there were the moment stops, movement continues in time“.
My favorite lens is the macro lens.I love to created worlds from little materials…
I give them a meaning. My work is mostly build up with different images. I put them together in Photoshop.Everything you see I created myself. Sometimes I ”paint” on my images or use different materials. The figures you see are mostly me… I use the self-timer.
The little black man with the wings on the image opposites is a dragonfly.
Around this little black man I created a serie about 30 images.. I love to build new worlds…."

Anatoly Korobkin, 1974 | Figurative painter

Анатолий Коробкин was born in Krasnodar, Russia. Committed to the Russian realistic school, graduate of the of Ilya Glazunov Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, he aspires for absolute fidelity in reproducing the reality. Tackled various genres, for the most part it is portrait, landscape and historical painting.

His works are in private and corporate collections of Russia, USA, France, Germany, Denmark, England and the museum Russian Academy of Painting.

As a member International Federation of Artists.

Olga Gouskova, 1974 | Figurative painter

Ольга Гуськова was born in Moscow, Russia. She grew up in Belarus.

1985-1992 - Byelorussian Art lyceum, Minsk, Belarus

1992-1996 - Byelorussian Academy of Arts, Design department, Minsk, Belarus

In 1996 she immigrated to Belgium.

Since 2002 she lives in Bruges and works as graphic designer.

Nico Vrielink, 1958 | Figurative painter

Nico Vrielink was born in Reusel in the south part of the Netherlands. He was educated at an Academie of Art in Belgium to become a teacher. But teaching wasn't his cup of tea and since 1984 he working as an artist.

A year later, in 1985 Nico met his wife Jeane in Singapore. It was love at first sight and since the day he started painting her he never stopped doing so. By this time Nico has made more than 4000 paintings of Jeane.

If there is just one artist whose work can be linked to a muse, Nico Vrielink is far the most outstanding candidate. All over the world, the thousands of portraits he has painted of his muse illuminate many hundreds of private homes, institutions, galleries and museums.

Lorraine Dell Woo ~ Flirty Hat

Lorraine Dell Wood began her career as an artist in the animation divisions of Columbia, Paramount and Warner Bros., leading her into production and behind the scenes of the Old Hollywood major studio system, marrying a production executive. As a member of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, Ms. Wood served on nine Blue Ribbon Emmy Awards panels. Extensive travel and being on location for films including “Some Like It Hot”, “West Side Story”, “The Magnificent Seven” and “The Apartment” has inspired the glamour and spice ever present her images.

Ford Smith ~ Abstract Expressionism painter

As the son of an Air Force serviceman stationed in a small Japanese village, Ford's artistic sensibilities began to take root under the nurturing eye of an elderly Japanese painter when he was just twelve. After graduating from the University of Mississippi with a BFA in painting, Ford moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he realized a natural talent for photography. During the late 70's and 80's Ford established his reputation as Atlanta's premier fashion and commercial photographer.

Assaf Frank, 1971 | Misty morning in Venice /Paris

As a young boy, Assaf Frank had an eye for photography. Later at university, his talents were noticed as his artistic gift became apparent. He has had a career in computers for many years, and now he combines his computer knowledge with his photography to produce high quality digital images/produced as art prints for others to buy and share in the enjoyment. Assaf is well travelled and his work touches on people and their lives across the world.

Thomas Dodd | Surrealist photographer

The artwork that Thomas Dodd creates is visionary in scope and dualistic in nature.

Light and darkness, life and death, and beauty and horror exist side by side in his creations.

Mythological and religious themes abound in his work; sometimes with a twisted tongue-in-cheek approach, and at others reverently paying homage to the Old Master traditions that influence his vision.

Surreal world by Amandine Van Ray

Amandine Van Ray is an Estonia-based artist (from Tallinn) who creates Surreal artworks with the use of both photography and digital art. In her works, her subjects portray very expressive emotions as they are surrounded by a Surreal world filled with floating creatures and such.

Her impressive skills and boundless imaginations makes her mix of digital art and the subject's expressions an amazing masterpiece.

Each individual of her figures floats unnaturally through the air in a journey where darkness and isolation seem to be the dominating forces that drive each visual story.

Many of her surrealistic artworks are decored with amazing fish, which is extremely inspiring.

Fedosenko Roman, 1970 ~ Figurative / Impressionist painter

Роман Федосенко was born in 1970.
Lives and works in Minsk, Belarus.
A lot of traveling and actively exhibit their work.
Participates in various art projects.

Françoise Nielly, 1960 | Palette Knife painter

Françoise Nielly is a French knife-painter who is famous for painting vibrant and colourful closeup portraits of people such as Barack Obama. She was born in Marseille, brought up near Cannes and Saint-Tropez and is now living in Paris.

Francoise Nielly lives in a world of images.

She has explored the different facets of "image" all her life, through painting, photography, roughs, illustrations and virtual, computer generated animated graphics. It is clear now that painting is her direction and her passion.