A Site for Emerging Artists
Posts tagged Painting
Featured Artist Bill Werle
Dec 27th
Artsy Shark presents the wildlife portfolio of painter Bill Werle, and the compelling story of his journey as an artist. Enjoy the rest of his portfolio and get additional information about Bill by visiting his website and his blog.
The very first painting I ever did, meaning the first time my hands put paint to canvas, won an award and garnered me a scholarship to the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Design. I’d been a prolific pencil artist up to that point. I had sketchbooks full of drawings but until my senior year in high school had never been exposed to painting. Needless to say I found my life’s calling and the paintings thereafter just flowed off my fingers. It’s my one regret in life not taking charge of my life and pursuing that scholarship.
I moved out west to Spokane, Washington a few years after high school and continued to pursue my love of painting nature. I was on my way to building up a career in painting. I was selling paintings here and there and started to get my name out when life happened. You know how life can sometimes become a train wreck and you dangle off the trestle for a bit. It happened and part of the fallout from that was I turned my back on painting as a career for the next 15 years. There is an interconnection between an artists feelings and the canvas and I tried my best to sever that tie. Oh I still painted but it was more as release valve than anything.
While I drifted from job to job searching for myself I went back to school and got a degree in computer networking. The past ten years I worked as a computer network engineer or admin. It was not my calling and despite my love of the Internet and tech related stuff I still heard the little voice whispering with every painting “you are an artist and you can’t hide from it.”
Fifteen years after destroying my inventory of paintings and throwing away anything that reminded me of who I was I could no longer ignore that nagging voice in my head. I turned 40 and realized after I completed a painting around that time that the clock was ticking. It was time to suck it up and do what I was born to do and that was create colorful wildlife art infused with a lot of heart and soul then share it with the world. You might say that instead of a new girlfriend and a corvette my mid-life crisis was to get a tattoo and follow my heart again. Just a side note here, the kids were ok with the corvette but my wife nixed the girlfriend idea. Go figure.
My work is better now in that I do have those extra years under my belt. I know what I want to say and I hope what I say through my paintings helps you. I tell a story in each painting in hopes that you reflect on your story and make it better moving forward. I use wildlife to tell the story because that’s my “happy place”. That’s where I feel the most creative and where I experience boundless joy. The colors, animals and forms in nature are a visual rock concert to me. I feel the energy when I’m hiking a trail up a mountain through a huckleberry patch in the heart of Grizzly country. I feel the vibrant waves of nature reeling in a 16 inch rainbow and nothing calms my soul more than that first push off of shore in my 18 yr old canoe. That gentle silence envelops my heart like a mothers heartbeat soothes a newborn.
I paint because I have to.
Print
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Featured Artist Anthony Karl Harris
Dec 12th
Artsy Shark presents the portfolio of featured artist Anthony Karl Harris. Like what you see? Visit his website to find out more about this intriguing artist.
In my mind there is a never ending line. It twists, turns, curves, and transforms constantly. I use the lines to create shapes that turn into representational and non-representational objects/images. The lines are the skin and the acrylic underneath is the guts. The shapes flow from organic to geometric. Constant change in the lines and the way they distort the forms/shapes/objects, is meant to leave some degree of vagueness so the viewer can come away with his or her own interpretation. I strive to create feedback loop between the viewer and the painting – from each according to his interpretation, to each according to what he sees.
What are your goals?
I want to refine my technique and style so I can translate the never ending stream of images coming out of my head as close to perfection as I can get. Another goal is to use illustration, painting, photoshop, graphic design, HTML and CSS with my blog as the canvas to create a new medium/genre of art – blog art. On the capitalist side of things, the goal is to build up my name as an artist and blogger so one day I can make at least half of my income from my art and blog. Oh – and not have my head explode while trying to do all of the above.
What inspires you?
Trees and roots are my subjects of choice and they inspire me the most. The way a tree turns and bends along with the tendril like roots makes my day. Feelings in general inspire me. I tend to create pieces based on one emotion the moment I feel it. Music is also a huge inspiration. I tend to gravitate towards music that has a rhythm/melody that matches the follow of the lines in my head. The Mars Volta would be the best example of this. Music is the lubricant for my creativity.
What are you working on now?
Right now I’m going down two different paths. The first is a series of paintings that each tell a vague story (so the viewer can fill in the blanks) with trees as the main characters and people/figures as the supporting cast. I will also explore one color scheme/palette to it’s fullest.
The second path is using my blog as a canvas (see the blog art description above) for various pieces ranging from cultural/political commentary to me ranting about traffic.
Technique
My technique comes from two completely different worlds. I use a combination of traditional painting techniques (inspired by Cezanne’s geometric style) and illustration (comic book/anime/graphic novels). My mediums of choice are acrylic paint on tile board (construction grade) along with oil based paint markers to draw the lines. I think that tile board is much better than wood panel since it is so compressed and less likely to suffer from water damage. The lines are either drawn freehand or on paper first, then projected over the paint. Lines are the skin and the paint underneath are the guts. So yes – I am looking forward to a future of carpal tunnel, but you gotta suffer for your art.
Featured Artist Heidi Alamanda
Dec 4th
Artsy Shark presents featured artist Heidi Alamanda. Her entire portfolio can be seen by visiting her website. Stop by and check our her blog as well!
Heidi Alamanda is a self taught artist who was born and raised in Indonesia. She moved to the U.S. in 2003 and settled, with her husband, in New Haven in the spring of 2008. Before pursuing her passion as an artist, she attended graduate school and earned her MBA degree from University of North Florida in 2007.
Artist’s Statement
Painting allows me to express my adolescent imagination and emotions. Each piece is both innocent and subdued, with messages or themes that can be interpreted subjectively. My technical style is influenced by various sources. Indonesian Batik, comics, Japanese manga, children illustration books, and fashion are just a few sources that influence my work. I work in oils to bring color vibrancy and depth to my mysterious subject matter.
Within my paintings, I blend different elements and bring them as a whole. I intuitively build the characters from the beginning to the end of each painting. Each subject looks inhuman yet she exudes serenity, melancholy, and intensity. They exist in their own mysterious realm, yet at the same time they give the notion of peacefulness to the viewer. I like to give additional touches to the painting that accentuate the emotion of the main character. You may see it as a whimsical environment with flowers, or abstract patterns that give depth to the figures. You may also find a little robot, a hair ornament with interesting characters such as a little doll, a fluffy little animal, sea creatures, or even a flirty dress. They blend in with the main character and give depth to the painting as a whole.
Featured Artist Monika Agic
Nov 26th
Artsy Shark presents featured artist Monika Agic. Originally from Bosnia, she now lives in Des Moines, Iowa. Visit her website for more information on this painter.
What are your goals?
I am passionate about creating interesting and pretty artwork that evokes emotions through color and texture. I create optimistic art that takes on different moods depending on the colors and character of the paintings. With each new painting I feel a certain emotion or place, and transfer those feelings into the visual expression by using highest quality acrylic paints and mediums.
Colors have infinite emotional power and shape the energy that surrounds us. It is important to live happily with the art objects that not only enhance the look of our interiors but make us feel good on an intimate level. My goals are primarily focused on creating art that provides that enhancing experience.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on a series of small art under 12 inches that are designed to be displayed in multiples. In addition, I am more heavily using the organic textures to include coarse sand and exotic grass sticks. I create these minimalist landscapes that employ the use of the different dry mix-in media.
What inspires you?
Good design, the power and beauty of quality, and simplicity of life. Well, at least it is my perspective that the life is simple but people more often make it complicated. This desire to emphasize the simplicity comes through my work. Even though some of my art is more energetic than other, I strive for simplicity. I like unusual things and spend a lot of time in my imagination.
Featured Artist Jean Calomeni
Nov 22nd
Artsy Shark presents the work of featured artist Jean Calomeni, an artist and illustrator living in Boise, Idaho. She works in watercolor and mixed media, as well as doing digital illustration. See more of her portfolio by visiting her website.
My goals are to become a better artist – to hone my drawing skills, to never stop learning, to become an excellent watercolorist and illustrator, and to develop a body of work that is appreciated by a special group of art lovers.
My themes are ones of relationships, longing, independence and the empowerment, self-sufficiency and strength of women. I’ll continue to work along those themes for my lifetime.
Each painting I do tells a personal story, yet one that will resonate with many.
I’m inspired by artists who can draw and who understand that the basis of excellent figurative work is sound drawing skill.
Featured Artist Julia Hacker
