Michael Bergt | Persephone | gouache and color pencil | 14x18.5 | 2018
Alessandro Tomassetti
Joanna Barnum
Alexandra Manukyan
June Stratton
Anna Wypych
Marc Scheff
Arina Gordienko
Michael Bergt
Barbara Hack
Rachel Linnemeier
Catherine Creaney
Robin Damore
Christina Ramos
Stephanie Rew
Daire Lynch
Tanja Gant
Dana Hawk
Valentine Aprile
Daniela Werneck
Vicki Sullivan
Donna Bates
Victoria Herrera
Ethan Price
Curated by Lance Rehs
Anna Wypych
The Fire Reflection | oil on canvas | 9x13 | 2019
I observe the mirror as a glass. Sometimes you have to shatter it to find something new. I observe the fire‘s reflection in the new shape. I observe the beginning of a new path - with hope.
Stephanie Rew
Blackbird | oil on copper | 16x12 | 2018
Bliss | oil on linen |25.5x19.5 | 2018
Vicki Sullivan
I Observe I observe light‌bouncing off and reflecting People, expressions and forms I observe Nature and light refracting I observe skin and hair and hands I observe the subtle hues of veins underneath the skin And the variation in colours of eyes and lips. I observe gesture and character I observe
Tanja Gant
Temperance | charcoal on paper | 20x14 | 2019
Robin Damore
Getting Lost | oil on canvas | 16x20 | 2018
Rachel Linnemeier
Pretty Pest | oil on aluminum | 16x20 | 2018
I observe the simple moments between distractions where time and place dissolve. Triggered by an item, a thought, or even a song, you could find yourself transported to a place built of only memory and emotion.
Joanna Barnum
Aurelia watercolor 15x22 2017
I observe women resplendent in their individuality. I observe subtle, brief moments shared as painter and performer. I observe the wet watercolor alive, dancing on the page, until it finally settles into a moment frozen in time.
Gaze watercolor 15x22 2017
Donna Bates
Cosmic Joker | oil on aluminum comp | 10x8 | 2018
Libertatis & Veritas oil on dibond 48x16 each 2018
Dana Hawk
Steady As She Goes | oil on panel |16x12 | 2018
Valentine Aprile
Dusted Crystal Current | oil on canvas | 30x40 | 2019
Daniela Werneck
Dreamer | watercolor on clay panel | 24x36 | 2018
I observe people and their body language which reveals their emotions, feelings or imagination. I love to observe Foster Children and paint their heartbreaking stories with the aim to enlighten the public and create awareness.
Lost In Doubts watercolor on clay panel 30x22 2018
Daire Lynch
Quill and Coil 1|oil on linen | 30x20 | 2018
Quill and Coil 2|oil on linen | 30x20 | 2018
I observe the idiosyncrasies of people, their interactions and interpretations of the world around them, human, animal and environment. I wish to capture the slightest expressions that so often give away the true emotions, even if the subject would rather mask these, I attempt to draw them out through conversation and delving into what is driving the subject in the moment as we all spiral around on this mortal coil,hopelessly entwined,hopefully enriching each others lives and the world in which we inhabit.
Victoria Herrera
Symbolism of a Sea Shell | oil on linen | 36x30 | 2018
I observe our common need for greater awareness, to pause more often, to feel more, to observe more. I intend that my work contribute to our collective awakening and counter the atmosphere of superficiality that prevails in a culture that accepts what is easy, celebrates the banal, forgets the past and is more connected to technology than “Self.�
Christina Ramos
Let Them Eat Cake
The Lookout
acrylic on canvas
acrylic on canvas
24x12 2018
36x24 2018
Marc Scheff
Amy | acrylic, pencil and resin | 12x12x2 | 2019
Catherine Creaney
I See You In Feathers | oil on linen | 34x26 | 2017
Ethan Price
I observe the fading figures from halfremembered dreams, recollecting their ghostly visages as they slink back in to the unconscious. I observe a forgotten friend, a transitory stranger, and an unreliable memory.
Paper Tiger graphite on mylar 12x12 2019
Alessandro Tomassetti
I observe confidence and what limits it. I observe habit and what breaks it. I observe light and what diminishes it. I observe comfort and what prevents it. I observe change and what impedes it.
Sweet And Tender Hooligan oil on aluminum 16.5x11.75 2018
Barbara Hack
Passage | oil on canvas | 28x22 | 2018
I observe a momentary presence and it’s fleeting solitude. I observe the passage of time.
I observe the ephemeral figure.
Michael Bergt
Venus |egg tempera on panel | 16x20 | 2019
I observe, that as we look at art history, it looks back at us. I observe, that we’re so different, and also the same. I observe, that as we look for new meanings, we reconnect with old ones.
Arina Gordienko
We’ve Been Here Before|oil on linen | 39x47| 2018
I observe, addictively, the reflection of emotions and feelings on people’s faces. The whole
unique world and personal universe is on the face of a stranger. I observe, attentively, people’s eyes where you can see their soul if you are lucky. I observe if there is light or darkness in those eyes, and I always hope to meet the light. Then I try to transfer this precious light into my work. I observe people’s faces when they are looking at my paintings. I observe how we exchange the light and spread it further in the world.
Alexadra Manukyan
I Observe the rhythm of the
seas run with silent serenity. And beneath the still waters of uncharted depths lies
breathtaking wonders of untraveled fathoms. I Observe there she awaits with ageless patience and ever flowing beauty marking her as none other than the lady of the lake.
Lady Of The Lake oil on linen 36x18 2018
Cover Artist June Stratton Measure oil on linen mounted panel 48x26 2018
Valentine Aprile grew up in New Jersey and spent her early creative years in Philadelphia. An artist of multiple disciplines, she has won varied arts awards for painting, performance, and aerial dance theater. Her work as been shown in such galleries and stage venues as Lyons Wier Gallery via The Art Students League of NY (NY NY), The Panama Art Factory (Sacramento CA), The Goggleworks Center For the Arts (Reading PA), The Reading Museum with Berks Arts Council (Reading PA), Artists’ House Gallery (Philadelpia PA), Columbia Art Center (Columbia MD), Harlem School of the Arts with NAWA (NY NY), NYCOO Gallery (NY NY), Manhattan Borough President’s Office (NY NY) The Painted Bride (Philadelphia PA), Martha B Knoeble Dance Center (Long Beach CA), Temple University as a quest artist with Trapezius Aerial Dance (Philadelphia PA), Ursinus College (Collegeville PA), The Trocadero (Philadelphia PA), Kumquat Dance Center (Philadelphia PA), and others. Her arts education includes The University of the Arts (Philadelphia PA), The Art Students League of New York (NY), The Martha Graham School of Dance (NY), The Maggie Flanigan Acting Conservatory (NY), Peridance (NY), and Nimble Arts (VT). She now lives and works in New York. Joanna Barnum is an imaginative realist watercolor artist who was born in 1984 in Connecticut, raised in New York, and resides near Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration and art history from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She is a Signature Artist of the National Watercolor Society, and her work has been exhibited with NASA Goddard, Abend Gallery, PoetsArtists, and Every Day Original; and recognized by Splash: The Best of Watercolor, Infected by Art, American Illustration, and Society of Illustrators West. Native Southern Californian, Donna Bates experience as a commercial illustrator and 3D Artist for over 20 years has evolved into a career in painting. She is a self-taught artist that is known for her own mash-up style of urban, tough-chic edgy strong independent women or “Badass Chicks”. Her women aren’t pin-ups nor portraits, they are a different vision of power and sex flavored with leather, metal, graffiti and fantasy! Michael Bergt (b.1956) is a figurative artist whose work has been in a deep dialogue with art history over the course of his more than thirty-year career. Working across drawing, sculpture, and primarily egg tempera painting, Bergt currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has had major exhibitions in New York, San Francisco and Santa Fe. Bergt has works in the permanent collection of : The Arnot Museum, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Crystal Bridges Museum, Currier Museum, Evansville, Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco—de Young Museum, Frye Art Museum, Kalamazoo, Museum. Catherine Creaney (b. 1978) is a Northern Irish self-taught artist working primarily in portraiture in the mediums of oil, pastel and pencil in a realist style. She has exhibited throughout the UK, Ireland and Europe and has won multiple awards for her work including: The ESB Keating Award and Silver Medal for an outstanding art work at the 185th Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition and First Place in the Artist’s Magazine All-Media Online Competition (2014). She has won The Drawing Prize and The Rowel Friers Perpetual Trophy at the Royal Ulster Academy’s Annual Exhibition twice. She was shortlisted for the Hennessy Portrait Prize, Dublin (2016). She has been awarded the don niccolo d’ardia caracciolo award at the Royal Hibernian Annual Exhibition, Dublin, The Henri Roche Award and The People’s Choice Award at The First International Pastel Exhibition, Rome (2017). Most recently she won the People’s Choice Award at The Royal Ulster Academy, Belfast and the Portrait Prize at the National Open Art, London (2018). Recent exhibitions include ‘20” x 20”’ and ‘Painting Today’ held at the MEAM, Barcelona and the Derwent Art Prize, Mall Galleries, London. She was commissioned by the Office of Public Works in Ireland to create a portrait of the Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland) Enda Kenny (2018). Most recently Catherine has also been involved in creating a portrait for the Women on Walls Campaign. A campaign that seeks to make women leaders visible through a series of commissioned portraits, creating a lasting cultural legacy for Ireland. She was one of six artists commissioned to create a series of portraits of historical female leaders in medicine to be displayed in the Boardroom of the RCSI Dublin. Robin Damore works primarily as a commissioned portrait artist and teacher from
Vancouver, Washington, USA. She studied portraiture under the tutelage of Russian master, Leonid Gervits - professor from the Repin Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her work has been shown at the Festival of Arts with the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, CA, Artist’s Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine - Artistic Excellence Award, The University Club - Portland, Or (where she was chosen for a one year residency), SOD August show (2001-2012), and PoetsArtists. Tanja Gant (b. 1972), a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina (former Yugoslavia) is a contemporary realist portrait artist who currently resides in Texas. Being self-taught she drew throughout her childhood and later on during the Bosnian war. Since becoming a full-time artist in 2010 she has won numerous awards in regional, national, and international competitions and has had her work exhibited in as many shows throughout the country. Her work has also been published in several books and magazines, most notably: PoetsArtists, Southwest Art Magazine, The Artist’s Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, International Artist Magazine and a series of Strokes of Genius books. Tanja’s work is in the permanent collection of the Art Renewal Center (ARC), as well as several private collections throughout the US. Arina Gordienko is a contemporary realist artist best known for her large scale figurative works. She was born in the most north-easterly region of Russia, in a small gold-mining settlement in Chukotka, part of the polar Arctic desert ‘tundra’. Now she lives in the UK. She finished Art School in Russia with Distinction; later she studied at the famous Central Saint Martins College of Art having graduated with Masters Degree in Fine Arts from Chelsea College of Arts (University of the Arts London). She is recognized as Associate Living Master at Art Renewal Center in USA and has received numerous international prizes and awards in the UK, USA and Europe. Her paintings featured at Saatchi Gallery in London (UK), Museum of Fantastic Art in Vienna (Austria), Museum of Modern Art Vittoria Colonna in Pescara (Italy), Europian Museum of Modern Art MEAM in Barcelona (Spain), Rehs Contemporary Galleries in New York (USA), Museum Complex of Dioscuri and Museum Sant’Oreste in Rome (Italy) and many others in the UK, USA, Australia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Check Republic, Belgium and India. Her paintings published in numerous art books, catalogs and magazines, including Reinhard Fuchs’ book ‘Masterpieces of Visual Arts - The Great Female Artists from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era’, ‘Masters of Contemporary Fine Art’ and ‘Masters of Painting’ in the UK, ‘Strokes of Genius’ (Edition 4 & 6) and in the 100th Special Issue of the PoetsArtists ‘Figurative Realism’ in the US. Barbara Hack received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drawing and painting after intensive study in Europe and additional training in New York. Since then, she has continued to harness her artistic talents to drive her professional career. Work in portraiture, fashion illustration, and as a courtroom artist have all allowed Barbara to challenge herself with alternative contexts for figurative artistry, and in a variety of mediums, including graphite, pan pastels, and oils. Dana Hawk grew up in rural Missouri and attended Missouri State University, initially as an art student but switched to Cell and Molecular Biology her sophomore year, earning a B.S. She went on to University of Colorado, receiving a M.S. in Physical Therapy and practiced in the field for over a decade. Dana took up oil painting in 2003, experimenting in a few styles but sticking to realism, and quickly received requests for canine portraits, which she still does today and has been published in many magazines such as The Artist’s Magazine, Metropolitan Magazine, and the New Barker. Although largely self-taught, Dana has committed to improving her art through workshops with Jenny Morgan, Paul McCormack, Lee Price, Stephen Bauman, and Adam Miller. Her realistic paintings of people and animals, with a touch of whimsy at times, can be seen at Abend Gallery in Denver, West End Gallery in Corning, and New York. Victoria Herrera is a representational painter living outside of New York City. She studied art at Moore College of Art and completed a 4-year core program at NYC Grand Central Atelier in 2012. She is recognized for her large scale botanical pieces and portrait paintings where she merges nature with the human figure. Her style is modern, but her processes is deeply rooted in classical artistic training in the tradition of the Old Masters. While she enjoys covering a variety of subjects, what
remains consistent throughout her work is a deep love and respect for beauty and nature. Her work is highly symbolic and spiritual at a personal level. She has appeared in several art magazines and books and her work is collected internationally. Born in 1989 in Indiana, Rachel Linnemeier creates her figurative paintings in the medium of oil paint. In 2013 she completed her undergraduate BFA with an emphasis in Painting and a minor in Art History from Herron School of Art & Design in Indianapolis. She has studied in workshops with painters Alyssa Monks and David Kassan. Rachel has participated in group exhibitions at RJD Gallery in Bridgehampton, NY, Abend Gallery in Denver, CO, and The Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. In 2019 she will show in “Painting Today, International Women’s Day,” an exhibition at the prestigious MEAM - European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona, Spain. Her work has been featured in American Art Collector and in several issues of PoetsArtists. Through PoetsArtists she has participated in online exclusive exhibitions on Artsy with the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago. Rachel currently lives and paints in Tucson, Arizona. Dáire Lynch is a Dublin-born artist who currently resides in County Mayo in the west of Ireland.Born in 1980, he studied drawing in BCFE, Dublin. He also is a qualified sound engineer and multi-instrumentalist. Dáire has featured in several online exclusive shows with the Zhou B Art Center such as ‘Adorn Me’ curated by Carol Holdes and ‘Figurative Realism’ curated by Dirk Dzimirsky. Additionally, he has been published in the associated issues of PoetsArtists as well as exhibiting in the group Show Visions of Venus, curated by Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt. He has exhibited paintings at RJD Gallery, New York, Rehs Contemporary in New York, and Abend Gallery, Denver, Colorado. Ethan Price was born in 1991, and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Upon graduating from his local university with a B.A. in Fine Art, Ethan began working in multiple commercial-art and design related roles, while pursuing further art education under various mentors such as Rebecca Leveille-Guay. As a fine artist, Ethan is a current member of PoetsArtists, and has exhibited in various galleries locally and in New York. He currently works and resides in Lexington, Kentucky. Christina Ramos is a nationally recognized artist from Southern California specializing in figurative realism. Although she studied architecture and interior design during college, it was not until she was home raising her four children that she began focusing on painting. She refined her skills in figurative painting at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art. Her innovative use of acrylic has made her a much sought after demonstrator and instructor. She is currently a Golden Working Artist representing Golden Artist Colors and a painting instructor at LAAFA. Her work has been shown at many museums and galleries throughout the US. Stephanie Rew (b.1971) is a figurative painter born in Carlisle, England and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland. Rew earned a BFA from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, and soon after graduating was awarded the Elizabeth Greenshield Bursary. She was awarded the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Art (RGI) Cuthbert Young Artist Award in 2008. Her paintings are included in the collections of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Standard Chartered Bank plc. Rew curated the Women Painting Women (R)evolution in the UK in 2015. Her paintings have received recognition from RayMar Art, BoldBrush, and International Artist Magazine competitions. She has been published in Practique Des Artes, PoetsArtists Magazine (100 Great Drawings and The Power of Drawing) and International Artist Magazine. Rew was a finalist in Scottish Portrait Awards 2018, ModPortrait 2018 and was awarded ‘Best Nude Painting’ in the 13th ARC Salon in 2018. She is represented by Thompsons Galleries, Fotheringham Gallery, UK and Galerie L’Oeil du Prince, France. She lives and works in Edinburgh. Marc Scheff is an award-winning artist based in New York City known for his unique dimensional conceptual portraits in layers of resin. Self-taught oil painter June Stratton (b.1959 Honolulu, Hawaii) is known for representational figurative paintings that incorporate the female figure with natu-
ral landscapes. Her work is collected internationally including recent solo shows with Robert Lange Studios SC and Distinction Gallery CA. Select Collections include Bennett Collection of Women Realists, Texaco Incorporated, US Department of State, Bank of America, The Mayo Clinic, and The St Regis Hotel. Recently published in PoetsArtists Figurative Realism, Issue #100. Also, American Art Collector, Cover, October Issue 2016 June Stratton’s studio looks over salt water marshes a few steps from her home in a lush sub-tropical coastal area near Savannah Georgia USA. Vicki Sullivan is an Australian contemporary realist painter who lives on the Mornington Peninsula surrounded by the Southern Ocean on one side and Port Phillip Bay on the other. Vicki has been recognized as an Art Renewal Centre Associate Living Master and her work has been exhibited in many exhibitions both in Australia and internationally. She was invited to exhibit her work in the “Artelibre 20x20” exhibition at the European Museum of Modern Art {MEAM} museum in Barcelona, Spain in 2019 and was Selected for the “Painting Now” Exhibition at the MEAM in March 2019. Vicki’s work was also selected for the Women painting Women, Men painting Men, show at RJD Gallery in Bridgehampton New York. Her work recently won an Art Renewal Center Publication Award in Collections Magazine, China and has also been published in online exclusive exhibitions with PoetsArtists, including The New Nude, Anything But Painting the Figure, Adorn Me & Figurative Realism . Vicki’s Drawing has been selected for publication in Strokes of Genius Book 10, by Northlight books in the USA. She has won awards in Australia, the USA, and the UK. Alessandro Tomassetti (b. 1970, Toronto, Canada) is a figurative painter based in Barcelona, known for his intimate portraits of contemporary men. His work has been exhibited at the Architecture+Design Museum and Sotheby’s in Los Angeles, the MEAM in Barcelona, the Salmagundi Club in New York, the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago and the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art. He has won awards through the Tom of Finland Foundation and the Art Renewal Center where his paintings have toured as part of their International Salon. His work has appeared in Architectural Digest (US, France & Spain editions) and he has been featured in several issues of PoetsArtists. Through PoetsArtists he has participated in online exclusive shows on Artsy as well as physical group shows with their partner galleries. He received a BFA from McMaster University and later specialized in Computer Animation and Fashion Design. He created special effects for Hollywood films and designed menswear before dedicating himself to painting. The Brazilian artist Daniela Werneck currently lives in Houston, Texas. She holds a BA in Interior Design (from the University of Fine Art, Brazil), area in which she worked in until she moved with her family to Australia in 2008. After relocated to Houston in 2011, Daniela started exhibiting her paintings nationally and entered competitions where she received several awards. In 2018, Daniela had her art featured in the Watercolor Magazine and the Splash 19 book. Anna Wypych is a Polish contemporary figurative artist, her work is held in private collections such as The Bennett Collection, The Basil Alkazzi & Halima Nalecz Purchase Foundation; Marie Marek Pienkowski Foundation and Ergo Hestia group. Career highlights include representation in the permanent collection of The European Museum of Modern Art, MEAM, Barcelona, Spain and National Museum in Gdansk, Poland. Wypych won the Grand Prix in the national Polish art competition „The Artistic Journey of Hestia 2010” and „The Pomeranian Artistic Hope 2011”. She has been a finalist in the prestigious: the 13th and 11th International ARC Salon Competition; 9 Figurativas Painting & Sculpture Competition; 2nd and 6th Modportrait; and BP Portrait Award 2014. Wypych was published in such magazines as PoetsArtists, The Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, The American Art Collector, The Guide Artists, The International Artist, and „Artysta i Sztuka”. In 2018 her portrait of Stefan Zeromski was chosen by The National Museum in Gdansk for flag work of the exhibition “Wiatr od morza” as well as for the cover of reedition of famous writer’s book. Wypych’s paintings were presented in numerous Museums and Galleries worldwide. Since 2015 Recognized as the ARC Living Master the Art Renewal Center. Remain a member of Poets Artists Association since 2017. She lives and works in Gdynia, Poland.
Alessandro Tomassetti Alexandra Manukyan Anna Wypych Arina Gordienko Barbara Hack Catherine Creaney Christina Ramos Daire Lynch Dana Hawk Daniela Werneck Donna Bates Ethan Price Joanna Barnum June Stratton Marc Scheff Michael Bergt Rachel Linnemeier Robin Damore Stephanie Rew Tanja Gant Valentine Aprile Vicki Sullivan Victoria Herrera Curated by Lance Rehs