Martin Johnson Heade

Martin Johnson Heade (August 11, 1819-September 4, 1904) was a prolific American painter known for his salt marsh landscapes, seascapes, portraits of tropical birds, and still lifes. His painting style and subject matter, while derived from the romanticism of the time, is regarded by art historians as a significant departure from that of his peers.


Art historians have come to disagree with the common view that Heade is a Hudson River School painter, a view given wide currency by Heade's inclusion in a landmark exhibition of Hudson River School landscapes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1987.

The leading Heade scholar and author of Heade's catalogue raisonné, Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., wrote some years after the 1987 exhibition, "Other scholars—myself included—have increasingly come to doubt that Heade is most usefully seen as standing within that school."

According to the Heade catalogue raisonné, only around 40 percent of his paintings were landscapes. The remaining majority were still lifes, paintings of birds, and portraits, subjects unrelated to the Hudson River School. Of Heade's landscapes, perhaps only 25 percent treated traditional Hudson River School subject matter.

Heade had less interest in topographically accurate views than the Hudson River painters, and instead focused on mood and the effects of light. Stebbins wrote, "If the paintings of the shore as well as the more conventional compositions...might lead one to think of Heade as a Hudson River School painter, the [marsh scenes] make it clear that he was not."

Heade was born in 1819 in Lumberville, Pennsylvania, a small hamlet along the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and spent his childhood there. Until the mid 1850s, his family ran what is now called the Lumberville Store and Post Office, the village's sole general store. The family spelling of the name was Heed.

Historians believe Heade received his first art training from the folk artist Edward Hicks, who lived in the area. By 1839 Heade had painted his first portraits and, after traveling abroad and living in Rome for two years, in 1841 he exhibited his first work at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philaldephia. Heade began exhibiting regularly in 1848, after another trip to Europe, and became an itinerant artist until he settled in New York in 1859


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Michael John Angel



Living Master



Born in England in 1946, Michael John Angel emigrated to Canada in 1961 and since then has divided his time between Canada and Italy. In the late 1960s he studied in Florence with the renowned Pietro Annigoni, who introduced him to the techniques of the old masters. Mr. Angel is now regarded as one of the foremost traditional painters in North America, and his paintings and portraits hang in both public and private collections on both sides of the Atlantic. While he has few peers in portrait painting, where his commissions read like a Who’s Who of corporate North America, Mr. Angel’s real passion is painting myths and allegories. Since the 1980s, he has been concentrating on these, painting murals and altarpieces in a number of churches and villas in Italy, and in private residences in the United States. Mr. Angel is the director of two major schools which are dedicated to the continuance of Classical and Realist painting. Both the Toronto school and the Florence school are listed on the Art Renewal Center’s Recommended Ateliers. He has taught workshops at the American Academy in Chicago, in addition to lecturing at the Florentine campuses of several American universities and various private schools in the Toronto area. From 1982 to 1989 he was the Director of the National Portrait Academy in Toronto, and from 1992 - 1995 the Assistant Director of the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. 1995 saw the establishment of his first school in Florence – the Angel Academy of Art – dedicated not only to passing on his love for classical and traditional art, but also to instilling the disciplines that lead to successful mastery of the necessary techniques. In 1997 he opened Michael John Angel Studios in Toronto, which has the distinction of being the only instructional studio of its kind in Canada. Mr. Angel has been interviewed on television and radio many times. He plays a prominent role in a 90-minute documentary by Artatak Films of Toronto and Rainbow Films of Florence entitled Annigoni: Portrait of an Artist. Another documentary, The Road to Castagno, profiles the work of Mr. Angel. It has been shown on national television and has also been viewed at several film festivals, including the Cannes Documentary and Montreal’s 12th Festival International du Film sur l’Art.

Berit Kruger Johnsen

“I use objects as metaphors; the paintings are like little narratives. I suppose they are a natural extension of illustration. Most of all they are about emotions and the scenes are theatrical, like sets in an opera or a play. The use of colour is so important to create a mood. I would like my paintings to have a timeless feel but I can see that they look nostalgic. I try to use light to create a bit of drama and a dynamic within the painting but I hope they have a bit of calm with a smile at the end of the day.”

Berit Kruger-Johnsen

The only artist in my family was my grandfather, who I never met. He went mad during the Depression era and was institutionalised. I think it would be fair to say that becoming or being an artist didn’t have the right connotations in my family.


I grew up in the Oslo region in Norway. We had ready access to the sea, forest and mountains and nature played a major part in my life. I did love drawing and after graduating with biology as my major, I got accepted into the only graphic design school at the time in Oslo. So, a suitable compromise had been made, drawing and design with a purpose and tangible outcome.


I was lucky enough to be attending the school during a time when they had two wonderful British illustrators lecturing. They had a Laurel & Hardy act going and my final portfolio was heavily weighted towards illustration despite it being a minimal part of the school’s programme.


I lasted a year in the advertising industry after graduating and have worked as a freelance illustrator since.


I have always had itchy feet and have never needed much of an excuse to go travelling. I fell head over heels with an Australian on one of my journeys and have lived in Australia, mostly in Melbourne, for the best part of 13 years now. With family still in Norway I try to head over as often as possible. I met a part of the Washington Green team on a side trip to Birmingham and I am slowly coming around to thinking of myself as an artist, sane or not!


I feel so blessed having grown up with the sea and the forest at my doorstep. I have had my most memorable moments out in nature, but I have had this pull towards the city since my student days in Oslo. Those long walks home in the middle of summer nights, through empty city streets, were just as special.


There is inspiration in so many things; objects for their sculptural shapes and what they represent, a line in a song or a quote, a fraction of a video clip. I use objects as metaphors; the paintings are like little narratives. I suppose they are a natural extension of illustration. I act as my own client. Most of all they are about emotions and the scenes are theatrical, like sets in an opera or a play.


I have always been interested in the power of visual symbols and how they can convey such strong messages across cultures. At some level we all seem to have the same visual library that is subconscious. And then there are all the symbols that have been manufactured through history and how they tell their own stories.


The use of colour is so important to create a mood. I would like my paintings to have a timeless feel but I can see that they look nostalgic. I try to use light to create a bit of drama and a dynamic within the painting but I hope they have a bit of calm with a smile at the end of the day.


I try to have a strict plan and work to my own deadlines but I find it hard until I have been through the process of sorting out ideas and sketches. Once I have an initial sketch on paper I hunt for reference material. When I have enough to support the idea I work the sketch thoroughly, it has to stand on its own merit before I start to paint.


I transfer the sketch to the canvas, just the general outlines, and paint the first rough layer in an acrylic gouache. I work quite fast to keep a flow in the picture and to beat the time since it dries fast. By now I have generally made all the decisions and I can relax into painting with oils, straight from the tubes in thicker strokes, blending and fusing. I like to move between two pictures, and find that I lose track of time. The final finishes are with thin washes to create a cohesive calm.


It is such a joy to work with oils, the way it glides on and how easy it is to manipulate. I have been precluded from using oils for so many years, working to strict timelines, so I’m having a wonderful time these days.


My studio is my haven and stepping up the stairs with my foot warmer Earnie the Schnauzer two strides ahead, signals the start of the day, usually around 9 am. I fire up my computer and connect with the world through my e-mail. After getting on top of messages and general office work I’ll attack what is most urgent for the day. A good day is a productive day with a tangible outcome so the sooner I get to sit down and paint the better. Every day is different, it all depends on where in the process I am, whether I’m working on ideas or get to sit down and paint. I do like to sort out a series of sketches and line up a couple of weeks of painting at a time with as few interruptions as possible. I can get quit obsessive once I’m at this stage and only surface when I really have to.


Born in Oslo, Norwegian Berit Kruger-Johnsen is now living and creating in Australia.

John Pitre

'' a modern master of fantasy art, surrealism, and sociopolitical commentary''.





Born in 1942 and educated in the fine arts at the prestigious Art Students League in New York City, John Pitre evolved to become a master of fantasy and surrealism. Pitre has been a significant influence in the art world for over thirty years, and carries the distinction of being one of the most widely published artists in modern history.

As a storyteller, Pitre uses his paintbrush to comment on the most profound questions concerning man, and to create a reflection of our times and the world in which we live.

He creates entire imaginary worlds completely from his mind, using artistic expression as a vehicle for powerful social commentary. Well before they became the significant social issues of our times, Pitre's surrealistic renditions of the threat of overpopulation, the ominous shadow of nuclear war, and the ecological deterioration of our planet became widely popular as poster images, selling in the millions. One image alone, "Restrictions", sold an estimated seven million copies. Through his art Pitre continues to bring to our attention important aspects of our human condition, and as a result of his visionary talents, his social commentary paintings are now considered twentieth-century classics.

A modern day DaVinci, Pitre holds numerous patents to his name. He is a pioneer in many fields; he explored the depths of the oceans with diving gear he designed himself, long before commercial dive equipment was available. His affinity for the high seas led to designs for generating electricity from ocean waves and currents. Pitre is also an accomplished pilot who has learned to fly every form of aircraft available to him, including a unique, one of a kind configuration that he personally conceived of, engineered, and built. Still an adventuring aviator; he now owns and flies his own helicopter.

Based on his meticulous study of human anatomy in the arts, Pitre has designed some of the world's most advanced fitness equipment, that can be seen today in many of the world's finest gyms. His credits in this field include the Questar line of fitness equipment and the ROM (Range of Motion) machine, which was awarded the "Best of What's New" designation in 1993 by Popular Science Magazine; and the Time Works device that led to one of TV's most successful infomercials. He also developed and patented a new proprietary formulation for artist's paint based on space age polymers, that is now sold worldwide. (Genesis Paint)

Look beyond the surface, and into the depths of paintings by John Pitre, and you will look into the mind and soul of one of mankind's great thinkers. Through his social commentary art and visionary paintings he shares his vision of our purpose in the universe, and reminds us of the responsibilities we have as moral beings and as stewards of our planet. He tells about life as a human citizen here on Earth, warning about its difficulties and pitfalls, but also portrays the beauty and magic that each one of us possesses within. He encourages us to follow our longings and aspirations to achieve our dreams, but to hold dear the relationships we have with all other men.

Pitre's work is transcendental in nature and many people derive their own profound yet private meaning from his paintings. When describing Pitre's work, most people speak not of its appearance, amazing as it is, but rather of their own personal moment of epiphany inspired by the paintings of this master.

Robbie - Alton Kelley Robbie

Robbie - Alton Kelley Robbie

Psychedelic Art

''The inspiration for much of my work has come from the experiences, influences and images of my life. This provides the fuel for imagination and fantasy which in turn creates the basic structure and energy of a project for me.

When I think back to the early influences of my life, I realize how important each decision I made or situation I have been faced with, has burnt itself into the fabric of who I am today. Of course, this is true for everyone, but there is another aspect to what makes us an individual, and this is our spirit. The realms of positive and negative energy and the subtle combination of these extremes mixed together with the defining moments of one's life brings us closer to the truth.

Born and raised in the North of England, I found myself at 30 years old, very disillusioned with my "environment", a crossroads, if you will, and a chance to re-discover myself and life outside the goldfishbowl I had been brought up in.

I left England with a backpack, tent and a one-way ticket to Bangkok. Within 3 days I had landed in Haadrin, a small settlement at the tip of an island called Koh Phangan, off Thailand's south coast. It was 1991 and I found a kind of paradise, a couple of hundred travellers from all over the world, celebrating life on those idyllic beaches. Dancing all night in the sand to a new kind of electronic music, that I had never heard before. This was my introduction to Goa-Trance music and blacklight art.

Preparation for these parties was extremely ritualistic, using (like the hippies from the Sixties) lots of fluorescent paint, full of tribal images and figures like Shiva, Ganesh and other deities from Hinduism as well as various other symbolic images held sacred by many indigenous peoples. With fluorescent paints it was as if the artists were painting with light itself, and the creative potential that using such colours had, blew me away.

During this time I got to hear many travellers' tales of the beautiful, strange and exotic mosaic that our world really is. For the first time in my life I felt free and truly inspired to meet such wonderful people from every corner of our planet. I realized that my life was changing, I felt full of purpose and energy as I began a voyage of discovery.

My travels took me around much of South Asia and South America before landing in San Francisco in the summer of 1995. Whilst there, I learned of the local art from the psychedelic 60's era and how it's influence resonates around the globe as much today as ever. Just to be in San Francisco was inspiring, and I painted frequently as the ideas flowed through me. It was 3 years later in 1998 that I met my soulmate Moni on a return trip to San Francisco after some time in India and Nepal.

For sure, Moni was the catalyst I needed to focus on painting, and we flew back to Germany together as she had to complete her degree at university. So at last, I had the opportunity, after all the years of absorbing, to dig deep into myself and begin to express the experiences and emotions that I had acquired in an artistic way.

I began to paint backdrops for decoration at festivals and clubs all over Europe. This allowed me time to be introspective and I soon found myself painting between 8 and 10 hours almost every day. For the past six years I have devoted myself to my art, making mistakes along the way, I have taught myself by trial and error, experimenting with a lot of ideas. I use acrylic paint, mixing fluorescent, metallic and regular colours to get the visual effect I am looking for. I apply the paint with paint gun, airbrush and paintbrush using handmade stencils and freehand techniques.

The process for me begins with the concept, a feeling, emotion or idea, usually just before sleeping or during REM sleep, this is the seed for a painting project. What I then try to do is somehow bring individual life into each piece, to give the painting it's own energy whether it be spititual, meditational, sexual, calming, or merely thought provoking in an attempt to stir emotion, conversation and ideas in other people. The objective therefore is to bring positive energy and optimism to my work and then share it with others.

In December 2002 with the help of my friend, Robert Schrem, www.psychedelic-art.com was built and put onto the web as a showcase for my work. I received so much enthusiastic feedback (currently in excess of 1 million visitors), a lot of love and positive energy has flowed back to me, this I find extremely inspirational and encouraging.

Modern art in Europe so often is filled with dark and bleak images, mechanized and tormented visions that leave me deflated and somehow tainted by its negativity. I conciously try to work at the other end of the spectrum.

After all, art is only a reflection of life as the artist sees it, and I want to celebrate life. It is the attitude we have to ourselves and our environment today, that creates and shapes the future. Energy and time are our two most valuable possesions.

Often maturity comes from conditioning by past experiences and my true goal is to go beyond conditioning, as we are not bundles of programmed reflexes and nerves, constantly being triggered by people and circumstances into predictable outcomes ......... we have choices. The more conciously we make choices in the direction of creating joy and fulfillment for ourselves and those around us, the more life is filled with positive energy.''


....

Peace

Robbie

video

Frédérique Krzis-Lorent

Frédérique Krzis-Lorent

here and here




From the colour to the line of the paint brush, passing by the cutting,all is cry, all is writing,all is language,all is signifiant, in the work of artist, Frederique Krzis-Lorent known as FrédériqueK.
In another life, the one that she has dedicated herself today entirely to her Art, FrederiqueK was an architect. Her training and her years on site, have set down traces of the « demanding structure » on her canvas requiring impeccable strictness even-of the Art of fine strokes dear to Vitruve.
Faithfull to the straight line, FrederiqueK often constructs her canvas starting from squares, a figure of rich symbolism that particularly suits her.
To be rigorous is not to be rigid. The free flow of her work is put forward by her well kept subject to underline the effects she doesn’t hesitate to work on a canvas which is not prepared.This work flow is the extension of her photographic gesture which is very fine and even in the subjects that she likes : women, fashion or the « agaves ».
Strong with technic and mouvement, painting would be just an empty shell if is was not animated by the thought which gives it its breath. FrederiqueK paint to prove that she exists. « I am obsessed by the mental state » she confesses. To paint is to go in search of oneself, to say something to someone. For painting is never free if it hasn’t got any sense. The world vast territory of non sensitive has become a world of confrontation and exclusion.
It simultanously makes it’s death destiny it’s own »finiteness » duplicating ours and a sense of helplessness of all it’s hindrance. While painting, despite everything FrederiqueK invites us to escape from this impotence, to react differently across our anguish. She is fascinated by fashion and it’s refinement, it’s fabrics, her ideal of thinness, it’s light, its brillance and it’s elegant women, it’s evanescence and it’s mystery.behind the appearance, FrederiqueK paints woman in her modernity. FrederiqueK states that she is always torn apart between the simple, the masculinity and the show of the feminity. I love to tear apart. Her precise eye of the architect looks, analyses, finds the fragment. FrederiqueK is the painter of the « synecdoche » of the details which suggest all. At the same time, her sketchy scene suggests the magnitude of her work. We are in baroque painting where the extrovert testifies our real suffering, it permits contact with the others. So the « agaves » of FrederiqueK are not dead nature but « anthropomorphous ». The synthesise of a humanitarian gesture, an arm in the wind. They are the superb exercices of colour. « Colour for me is like light, a way to explain myself, a word. This is my life, without colours I expire ».
She tells us that the word does’nt go from a fraction of the relationship between people.The ones that don’t know how to make us listen, will invent other arguments to make us understand. « I have difficulties, she tells us, to move into space. I often have the feelingthat the more I speak, the more I explain, the more I analyse my thoughts, the less people understand me. Painting permits me to communicate in an other way ». Line and colour sets up a bond with the spectator and will permit the artist to run away from her closet… and takes the spectator in her world. FrederiqueK who has retained decades with her canvas in her work-shop, destroys them if it is necessary to make room and shows silently that painting is to go in search of oneself, to find the other.

Alain COUDERT
Art critic


Born in 1956 , Rouen , France
- Painter for 35 years Oil and watercolor

- Advanced degree architecture D.P.L.G. 1982
- + Creation of textile designs and furnishings

- Professor of Applied Arts for 5 years
- For the CCI of Oise

- Diploma involved in art therapy in 2001

- Writing a book in lyric poetry

Dominique Madgin

Dominique Madgin

''My artistic purpose is to create a path between the introspective space and the tangible space. The interaction of these two elements results in either a feeling of uneasiness or one of identification.

These are two intertwined elements of the human nature: the body and the mind… My artistic development is nourished by the unfolding of my own existence, which makes my work instinctive and contrasted''

Joan Dumouchel

Joan Dumouchel




''When I create figures, I inhabit them for a moment and I see myself living my emotions and my fantasies through them. It fascinates me... and it appears to me that this is the magical in creation''

Joan Dumouchel

Joan Dumouchel paints intuitive dreamscapes where the only certainty is the direct and open emotional connection with the subject of the painting. Joan’s misty, ethereal canvases are peopled by the captivating visages of theatrical performers, mimes, acrobats and circus artists. What is portrayed is the contemplative inner realm of personas more typically seen in dramatic states of extroversion.

The atmospheric paintings highlight the individuality of each expression; a unique nuance is captured in each portrait and rendered as if in a dream. Joan’s color palette runs cool or warm, creating the tenor of the scene. Watery blues melt over silver leaf, veiling her subject in liquid color and generating a sense of serenity. Fiery earth tones on gold leaf impart a drama and allure, diffusing the effects of light as if through steam.

“I painted from a live model for many years. Consequently, these individuals became vital to me, they are my focus….As I often say, I live with my subjects.” Joan’s early life as a painter was far more structural, and she painted in a hyper-realistic style. Her tight draftsmanship eventually became too constricting, but Joan’s precise scrutiny of facial expression and gesture lives at the heart of her current work. Joan’s daughter, who trained in the theatre, went on to practice circus arts and is an integral part of the realm Joan paints today. We glimpse the backstage world of the circus, the prelude to fantasy, a mysterious place poised at the edge of revelation in spotlights.

Born in 1953 in Montreal, Canada, Joan Dumouchel chose to be an artist in her earliest years. For the past ten years Joan has been sharing her gifts by teaching young and old artists in institutions throughout Canada, Europe and the United States.