Huguette Clark | Painting

Huguette Marcelle Clark (1906-2011) was an heiress and philanthropist, who became well known again late in life as a recluse, living in a hospital for more than 20 years while her mansions remained empty. She was the youngest daughter of United States Senator and industrialist William A. Clark. Upon her death at 104 in 2011, Clark left behind a fortune of more than $300 million, most of which was donated to charity after a court fight with her distant relatives. A feature film of her life is planned, based on the bestselling book Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune.

Heinz Rabbow, 1940 | Portrait painter

Heinz Rabbow, born in Berlin, is a painter to watch, as his star is rising swiftly on the international arts scene. Rabbow had his first Canadian exhibition at Galerie Dominion in October of 2005, after having completed sold out shows in Munich, Germany and at the world’s leading international art fair in Basel, Switzerland.

He recreates the ancient method of “grisaille” by painting solely in monochrome shades of neutral color using tempera paint. All at once, his wraithlike subjects seem ordinary yet perplexingly celestial. He believes that hair detracts from the smoothly pristine facial features, thus caps and hats are used to keep the viewer’s eye focused upon the subject.

Alex Fishgoyt | Visionary /Surrealist painter

Alex Fishgoyt was born in a small town of Evpatoria, in Crimea, while his parents were on vacation there and almost immediately after his birth he was brought to Moscow, where he spent his childhood. He began drawing at the tender age of three, following his father's example.

At the age of twelve, with his family, Alex immigrated to the United States. And his first exposure to the professional creative world happened on his father's movie sets, where at the age of 15, Alex's unordinary creative thinking and his talent captured an eye of the movie director and he was offered a job of an assistant production designer on a feature film Just Married. And during next four years he rose from assistant to full production designer helping set style and tone for six more independent films with sets spanning from 1930's Russia to 1950's America: Adverse Possession, Underground, My Family Treasure, The Game, Bloodscape, Interview.

Drazenka Kimpel | Fantasy Art in a Pre-Raphaelite style

Born in Zagreb, Croatia, Drazenka Kimpel is a awarded, licensed, digital illustrator who has worked on projects for a variety of gaming, comic and publishing companies around the world, as well as corporate and private clients.

Her work has been featured in international publications such as Expose, Exotique, D’artiste, Digital Art Masters, ImagineFX Magazine, Layers Magazine, Digital Art Magazine and many websites and online forums.

Mike Barr, 1955 | Impressionist painter

Mike is an Adelaide-based impressionist painter with a penchant for rain in the city and beaches.

He started his artistic life as a potter and participated in an exhibition with Adelaide’s best when only 19 years of age. It is just over 10 years ago since he started painting in acrylics and oils and has gained over 50 awards during this time.

The beautiful beaches of Adelaide and the state of South Australia have inspired Mike to convey their sense of wonder through his work. He believes that the sky holds the key to most paintings, particularly at the beach where the sky is uninterrupted by buildings – "it’s here that we experience a real sense of space".

Debra Houston | Abstract Palette Knife painter

Debra J. Houston - Inspired by the simplicity of every day scenes, I work to bring those items to their extreme through an expression of dramatic color and exaggerated light. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I’m surrounded by natural beauty but the depiction of landscapes and street scenes comes from an interpreted existence rather that precise physical locations.

When beginning a painting, I allow the paint and colors to move me. I don’t typically have a carefully mapped out plan for each piece, but rather just an idea or focal point that develops throughout the creation. An emotional interest is the true goal in my work. Creating a mood, reflection, wonder…. something which allows you to escape each and every time you take it in.

Pablo Picasso: "Datemi un museo e ve lo riempirò"!

• "Datemi un museo e ve lo riempirò".

• "Perché in casa mia non ci sono appesi miei dipinti? È perché non posso permettermeli".

• "Il peggior nemico della creatività è il buon gusto".

• "A quattro anni dipingevo come Raffaello, poi ho impiegato una vita per imparare a dipingere come un bambino".

Johann Berthelsen | Impressionist Cityscape painter

Johann Henrik Carl Berthelsen (July 25, 1883 - April 3, 1972) was a prominent and prolific American Impressionist painter, as well as having a career as a professional singer and voice teacher. Essentially self-taught as an artist, he is best known for his poetic paintings of New York City, often in snow.

Johann Henrik Carl Berthelsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the seventh of seven sons born to Conrad and Dorothea Karen Berthelsen. His father was a tenor with the Royal Opera and his mother was a nurse. Following the divorce of the parents, in 1890 his mother brought the children to America, joining her sister in Manistee, Michigan. Soon they settled in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.