James Hartman

Cows on Mount Diablo

2018

Artist Comments
"Whether it's fall, winter, spring, or summer it's always time for some colorful birch!" exclaims artist Lisa Elley. A stand of vivid birch trees glows in a b...

Artist Comments
Artist Jeff Fleming describes his painting style as kinetic impressionism. In this piece, a beagle triumphantly retrieves a stick thrown into the ocean. Jeff started the piece with a pencil sketch on the canvas, then with gloved hands, he applied oil paint using his fingers. Details were later added using brushes. Once these layers of paint dried, he moved the piece to his studio floor. "At this point, I whisked paint in random but authoritative strokes - a speckling technique which replicates water splashing."

About the Artist
Artist Jeff Fleming uses fingerpainting to create exuberant portraits of dogs. Growing up in Southern California, Jeff was first introduced to fingerpainting in kindergarten. He painted through high school and college and won several art awards, including Best of Show in a city wide student competition. After graduating with a degree in journalism and advertising, he went to work as an art director. For the next 40 years, he created print, radio and television ads for a number of top agencies. "After retiring in 2019, the clouds of stress and pressure cleared and allowed me to set my creative energy free," says Jeff. He began developing new techniques focused on the excitement and energy of painting. Today, he uses a variety of methods and tools, including fingerpainting wearing nitrile gloves, traditional paint brushes, bamboo shish kebab sticks, kite string, spraypaint and splattering. While working, Jeff always listens to music, including Broadway musicals, dance music and rhythmic Hawaiian tunes.

Words that describe this painting: beagle, dog, pet, impressionism, Iris Scott...

Artist Comments
"For a few brief moments on the south rim, the morning sun lights up the canyon walls like neon while casting blue shadows into its depths," says artist Cryst...

Artist Comments
Working from memory, artist Onelio Marrero paints a full moon in the early morning hours over the salt marshes in coastal New Jersey. The silvery glow in the early morning hours reflects dreamily onto still waters. "These wetlands are profoundly affected by the tides," says Onelio. "The channels that meander throughout the marshes invite the viewer to visually follow the bends and turns." There is a timeless and mysterious quality in these natural elements and Onelio's memory of the scene is well served in the execution of this painting.

About the Artist
Onelio Marrero paints city scenes of everyday life. In an impressionistic style he captures the romanticism of New York City, the picturesque fountains in Central Park and the wet city streets after a rainy afternoon. His use of warm tones creates a sense of nostalgia and the feeling that you have visited or seen this particular scene before. Onelio will often paint from direct observation, or he will work from a combination of photographs and combine numerous sources into one piece. In this way his work combines reality with fantasy, creating a new story with each painting. His work captures an appreciation for beauty in all of its greatest forms; nature, art, and people.

Words that describe this painting: marsh, wetland, swamp, inlet, waterway, stream, river, grass, tree, cloud, moon, mist, morning, water, reflection, dawn, impressionism, oilpaint, panoramic, nature, impressionism, nature, oil painting, blue

Morning Moon and Cloud...