Tag: galleries

Artist Isaac Salazar recycles old books into surprising works of art by folding in the pages to make words and shapes visible on the edges of the book.

Jeffrey Scott Campbell (born April 12, 1973) is an American comic book artist. He was initially known professionally as Jeffrey Scott, but is best known as J. Scott Campbell. He rose to fame as an artist for Wildstorm Comics, though he has since done work for Marvel Comics (most notably as a cover artist on The Amazing Spider-Man), and the video game industry.

Leonid Afremov (born 12 July 1955 in Vitebsk, Belarus) is a Russian–Israeli modern impressionistic artist who works mainly with a palette knife and oils. He developed his own unique technique and style which is unmistakable and cannot be confused with other artists. He paints mainly landscape, city scenes, seascapes, flowers and portraits. Most of his work is considered very colorful and politically neutral.

In 1973 Leonid Afremov graduated with honor from high school in Vitebsk and was admitted to the Vitebsk Education Institute where he studied in the arts and graphics department. During his years in college, Afremov was introduced to the work of March Chagall, Picasso, Dali, Modigliani and the 19th century French Impressionism. His early artistic work was very influenced by Chagall and Modigliani.

In May 1990, a few weeks after moving to Israel, Leonid Afremov found a job in an advertisement agency making signs and posters. After working in an advertisement agency, he worked in a gallery shop where he learned to make frames, being introduced to the palette knife for the first time. During the early 1990s, Leonid Afremov was mainly working with watercolors and acrylic. He was experimenting very little with usage of the palette knife. He was painting what people were buying, with very little artistic freedom.

During the late 1990s, Leonid was constantly holding exhibitions in Russian community centers around Israel; everywhere else the doors were closed because he was a Russian immigrant. During this time he already worked mainly with a palette knife and oils, he began establishing a unique artistic identity, however it was difficult to paint what he wanted because of the financial obligations and the picky customers. Around 1999, Leonid became friends with Russian-speaking Israeli jazz musician Leonid Ptashka, who inspired Afremov to paint a collection of portraits of popular jazz musicians and helped him secure a successful exhibition in the International Jazz Festival in Ashdod. Since then, Leonid Afremov has painted dozens of his favorite musicians. In March 2001, Afremov’s gallery was completely vandalized. Dozens of paintings were destroyed, the artistic equipment stolen and the facility turned into rubble. Then Leonid decided it was time to move somewhere else where he could be treated with deserved respect, eventually moving to the USA in January 2002.

Leonid Afremov was preparing his move to USA very carefully. For several months he did not sell any paintings, everything he painted he sent to his sister in Brooklyn. When he arrived in the US in January 2002, he had more than one hundred paintings at his disposal. Him and his son were systematically going from one gallery to another in New York. They found galleries that liked and purchased paintings, however they only took what kind of judaic themes and musician portraits. Afremov found himself forced to paint only limited themes and subjects for living.

In 2004, after graduating high school, Leonid’s son Boris was introduced to ebay by his friends. They tried to sell a couple of paintings by auction and immediately received positive approval. Paintings were sold for hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars and everything sold without exception. For the first time Afremov was given the opportunity to paint what he really wanted. At this point the real artistic journey began. He began painting what he really wanted from his personal inspirations and finally was able to explore his artistic vision and abilities all the way.

The exposure on eBay gave him opportunities for commission orders and access to different galleries. However, because of negative experiences with galleries, Leonid preferred to sell directly to the collector. In 2007 with the help of his sons Leonid lunched his own personal site where he began selling giclees, prints and original painting, eventually moving all the business and attantion to his personal site.

Leonid Afremov keeps the majority of his art politically neutral. His paintings are not offensive to anyone nor send any hidden messages. The paintings usually reflect certain personal memories and emotions. Leonid Afremov tries to draw the viewer to have a certain feeling rather than tell a story via the painting, or have the viewer see the world how he sees it. The neutral attributes of Afremov’s art make the paintings appealing to almost any social, ethnic and age group. Almost every painting he painted has a very personal inspiration. His art can be reflected as very positive through the bright colors he uses.

Andy Everson was born in Comox, BC in 1972. Influenced heavily by his grandmother, he has always been driven to uphold the traditions of both the K’ómoks and Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw First Nations. In this regard, Andy has pursued avenues where he can sing traditional songs and perform ceremonial dances at potlatches and in a number of different dance groups.

Pursuing other areas of traditional culture has also led Andy to complete a Master’s degree in anthropology. Because the K’ómoks First Nation lies on the border between the larger Salish and Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw realms, his thesis focused on notions and expressions of contemporary Comox identity. His work in anthropology provided him with a background in linguistics which subsequently inspired him to create a company, Copper Canoe, Inc, that specialized in the creation of Aboriginal language media.

Andy feels that his artwork stands on par with these other accomplishments. Although he began drawing Northwest Coast art at an early age, Andy’s first serious attempt wasn’t until 1990 when he started designing and painting chilkat-style blankets for use in potlatch dancing. From these early self-taught lessons, he has tried to follow in the footsteps of his Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw relatives in creating bold and unique representations that remain rooted in the age-old traditions of his ancestors. The ability to create and print most of his own work has allowed Andy to explore and express his ancestral artwork in a number of contemporary ways.

Tim Shumate is a 30-year-old Chicago-based artist with a degree in Editiorial Illustration from American Academy of Art, as well as a few years of Graphic Design from Illinois Institute of Art. He currently works as an Art Director at a Bradford Exchange designing sculptures and collectibles. Tim also works as a freelance tattoo design artist and illustrator by commission. 

Paul James is a leading contemporary animal and landscape realist painter renowned for the skill and craftsmanship with which he depicts the fine detail and realism of the many textures portrayed within his imagery. He is an exceptionally gifted and uniquely different animal and landscape artist. Currently residing in Southern Ireland, he was born and grew up in Leicestershire and his artistic and musical abilities were apparent from childhood.

Essentially self-taught, Paul began painting professionally in 1986. It was the haunting beauty of Charnwood forest that greatly influenced his early atmospheric landscapes (a trade mark that continues to this day). Paul has become renowned for this together with his animal portraiture and has perfected a style of his own. The originality of his compositions along with the attention to detail means that his works take time. Paul dedicates himself to each piece with a passion rarely seen in today’s commercial art world, insisting on the freedom to paint the subjects he chooses, which allows him creative flexibility and it’s this freedom that keeps his work fresh and current.

Although Paul continues to paint in fine detail he has recently given his pieces a more humorous edge, experimenting with perspective and size, thus creating a more contemporary feel. It seems that his ability to surprise, delight and push boundaries is limitless.

At first glance these celebrity portraits appear to have been created from aerial photographs of dozens of people. But a closer examination of this series, by Atlanta-based artist Craig Alan, reveals that the tiny figures were actually painted into place. Alan has created paintings of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Elvis Presley, as well as the Statue of Liberty, with his realist technique.

The artist says he first came up with the idea after after taking photos of the street from an apartment. I was in Orange Beach, Alabama at my mother’s condo watching people on the beach from the balcony. I started photographing them from the 6th story balcony and began to notice a pattern through the camera. In one shot, the group of people appeared to have formed an eye on the screen, this started my creative wheels turning.

Combining technical skill, creativity and wit, Craig portrays iconic faces, buildings and abstracts through dozens, sometimes hundreds of intricately painted, exquisite figures. Each distinctive piece is created in black and white with a touch of red on some of the more glamorous faces. In their own way, they reflect his highly recognizable take on life, where it is the small details that work together to create the big picture.

Craig carefully plans and creates each tiny figure, all which have their own identity and personality which he has thought through to the finest details. In some of his extremely rare originals, he even goes as far as detailing each item of clothing on the individuals. His cast of characters include family members, friends and models, giving his work a uniquely personal touch. Each piece contains a range of 400 to 1,800 people in it depending on the type of work it is, and he spends anywhere from 50 to 150 working hours on one painting. His painstaking efforts are well-rewarded though – a single piece from the ‘Populous’ series can sell for up to $50,000.