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.

Hamish Blakely, 1968 | Love letters to my wife

Like many great artists, British painter Hamish Blakely has a muse.

And it is none other than his wife Gail!

The artist explains: "We men folk have a lot to learn, and I have learned a great deal from her since we met.

My art celebrates that mystifying blend of feminine beauty and strength.

While loyal to that enduring genre of the celebrated figure and venerated goddess in art, I also explore the majesty of a woman's presence".

Pablo Picasso | La nascita del Cubismo

Dopo un'ulteriore vacanza a Horta de Ebro nell'estate 1909, Picasso una volta ritornato a Parigi decise di allontanarsi dal pur pittoresco squallore di Montmartre e di affittare - insieme con Fernarde e il loro gatto siamese - un appartamento al numero 11 di boulevard de Clichy, nei pressi di place Pigalle.

Qui si dedicò con assoluta e piena dedizione ai propri quadri cubisti, dando vita a opere quali La femme assise (1909) e Ragazza con mandolino (1910) ed i ritratti effigianti Georges Braque (1909), Ambroise Vollard (1909-10) e Daniel-Heinrich Kahnweiler (1910).

Con queste tele Picasso, meditando sulla lezione di Cézanne, intendeva studiare il rapporto tra forma e spazio mediante il trattamento schematico dei piani e la scomposizione dei volumi: da queste premesse prese forma una fase che i critici d'arte definiranno «cubismo analitico».

Igor Venski, 1962 | Impressionist painter

Igor Venski / Игорь Венский was born in Krasnodar, Russia, and he began drawing and painting very early in his youth.

He studied painting at Krasnodar School of Fine Arts.

Igor Venski is adhering to the aesthetic principles and the classical traditions.

Neil Simone, 1947 | Visionary Surrealist painter

Neil Simone is a visionary surrealist artist whose paintings have a concept and style as distinctive as they are unique.

Neil has exhibited both original oil paintings and prints in many leading galleries around the world and recently had an exhibition celebrating 40 years as a professional artist.

Andrius Kovelinas, 1958 | Surrealist painter

Andrejus Kovelinas is a Lithuanian painter who has been living in Poland for many years.

His work focuses on oil painting, with a central theme of women, portrayed in a burlesque and boudoir aesthetic.

The artist draws inspiration from theater, opera, and ballet, which is reflected in the theatrical expression of his works.

Kovelinas has extensive experience in applied arts, having designed award-winning posters for cultural institutions.

Stephen Pan 潘仲武, 1963 | Ballet dancers

Stephen Pan 潘仲武 is an extremely versatile artist n the classic European oil painting tradition.

His singular artistic expression is easily recognized in his sublimely elegant and serene paintings.

Since 1987 he has focused primarily on original figurative oil paintings on canvas.

In spite of his close relationship with formal Chinese traditions in art, Pan fell in love with the paintings of renaissance and French impressionist periods.

Johannes Vermeer | Baroque Era painter

The life and art of Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) are closely associated with the city of Delft.

He was born in Delft in 1632 and lived there until his death in 1675.

His father, Reynier Vermeer, was a silk weaver who produced caffa, a fine satin fabric, but in 1631 he also registered in the Saint Luke’s Guild in Delft as a master art dealer.

By 1641 he was sufficiently prosperous to purchase a large house, the “Mechelen”, which contained an inn on the market square in Delft and from which he probably also sold paintings.