Rene Chavelle

Large Trompe L'oeil Oil Painting Rene Chavelle Belgian Photo Realist Peppers

c.1980's

Large acrylic painting by Pat Rosenstein, American Woman Artist, graduate of Pratt Institute whose work has been exhibited extensively. Rosenstein, who...

James Tormey (American, 1938-2017) "Candyland (Mixed Bowl)" on table with white tablecloth cover. Oil Painting on Canvas. Hand signed lower right. Measures approx. - 32" high x 37" wide, total with frame - 37 1/2" high x 42 1/2" wide. James J Tormey, NYC artist, He was born in Brooklyn in 1938. As a young man he moved to Manhattan where he lived and worked for more than 60 years. James Tormey studied at the Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, and at Columbia University and worked in advertising for several years while he painted part time. In the 1960s he supported himself as a photographer, covering openings and events for the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City. For many years he was represented by the Madison Avenue Gallery, in New York City, where he had numerous one-man shows. He has also exhibited in Japan and Germany. The artist makes his home in Manhattan and is represented by the Uptown Gallery, also in New York City. James Tormey paints still lifes of traditional subject matter: fruit, vegetables, or eggs appear in bowls or on surfaces illuminated by powerful directional light. Tormey builds stronger and more precise meaning into his work by exploring how the backgrounds and settings for his still lifes can convey particular ideas. In his recent work, for instance, he painted a series of images in which fruit—a traditional still-life subject—is placed in architectural settings or frames that we usually associate with religious imagery. In Icon, for instance, the artist painted a red cabbage and placed it inside a Renaissance-style frame that he built and decorated himself. Instead of being presented with a saint or a Madonna within such a context, we are given a fully realized, but quite ordinary, vegetable. Tormey’s painting technique involves great care from the beginning. He works in his apartment in Manhattan’s Upper West Side in a meticulously clean space equipped with a very solid easel and a large glass palette on a painting table. For reference he uses photographs he has taken of still-life setups in conjunction with pictures of architectural or other settings he has collected over the years. “I start with a careful graphite drawing right on the canvas,” he explains. These days he uses lightweight cotton duck, although much of his earlier work was done on smoother surfaces. Once the graphite line is established, the artist makes a thin monochrome version of the image with a dull green. “I don’t add anything to the paint other than turpentine,” he explains. “I don’t use oil or glazing mediums because I don’t like shine. The turpentine dulls the paint, which suits what I’m doing.” Once the green layer has dried, the artist applies a second thin layer in a warm brown using burnt sienna or burnt umber. “In all these stages I’m working from dark to light,” he says, “so that I’m always getting a rendered, three-dimensional image.” Tormey works on two or three paintings at a time to allow for sufficient drying time between layers. “I also like the way one painting seems to talk to another,” he says. “It makes for a richer process.” Once he starts working in full color on the image, he continues slowly, applying many thin layers and gradually achieving subtle tonal and color shifts until his forms burst with three-dimensional life. “I work with a very dry brush,” explains the artist. Many of Tormey’s paintings contain dark backgrounds, some of which are pure black—something that can present its own technical problems. “I don’t want those backgrounds to feel present,” he says. “I want them to simply drop out.” Because he doesn’t want any shine on his work he doesn’t use varnish. It’s not surprising that Tormey’s work, with its heavy contrasts and smooth tonal transitions, is strongly influenced by photography. Tormey worked as a photographer for some years, and when he began doing still lifes he often photographed them against black backgrounds. His work was also published as fine art cards, posters, and fine art Giclee prints. He pioneered the "larger-than-life" still-life with his work combining traditional subject matter with a contemporary interpretation that produces startling images of heroic proportions. Light reflected and transmitted lends the natural objects, which are the subjects, a quality which may evoke in the viewer clarity of vision and a delight in the forms of the natural world around them. His work conveys a powerful positive philosophy and he once said "I believe the only way we can come to terms with the world is if we look at it as it really is." He believed that artists should take responsibility for the meaning their works carry and stated that "there are definite ideas behind my paintings". He studied at Pratt Institute and Columbia University and worked in advertising and as a photographer before turning to full-time painting. His paintings were exhibited in dozens of galleries around the country, in Germany and Japan and are now seen in numerous public and private collections. While he was not officially part of the Photorealism art...

Provenance: Madison Gallery (Madison Connecticut) bears their label verso. Hunting and fishing cabin themed artwork in a hyper realist or photo realist style. James Carter (Born 194...

Joseph Maresca (American, b. 1946). Still life rendering on wood mounted tiles. Flowers, Plant and fruits. Green X Ray Oil and wax encaustic on tile Gallery label and hanging wire at back. Dimensions: Height: 12 inches / 30.48 cm Width: 12 inches / 30.48 cm This one is not signed but its companion piece is hand signed and dated in black pigment verso. I am selling them individually but they make a lovely pair. Joseph Maresca was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1946, and currently resides in Rhinecliff, Rhinebeck, NY. He received his BFA in industrial design from Pratt Institute, and a master’s degree in arts education from New York University. His paintings and drawings have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums, including the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Katonah Museum of Art, and even the White House—in honor of his design for an official White House tree ornament depicting Vanderbilt Mansion. Academically, Maresca has taught as an adjunct professor at New York University and at City University of New York, and has authored a book—WPA Buildings: Architecture and Art of the New Deal (2017)—about the influence of Works Project Administration architecture. The book examines the social impact on American cities of the imposing government buildings that were funded by the WPA to restore public confidence during the Great Depression. Maresca has been represented by Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, NY and Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery in New York City. Education BFA Pratt Institute, New York, NY MFA NYU, New York, NY Solo Exhibitions 2010 Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY 2006 Lascano Gallery, Gt. Barrington, MA 2004 Haddad Lascano Gallery, Gt. Barrington, MA 2002 Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, NY 1992 Zimmerman -Saturn Gallery, Nashville, TN OK Harris Gallery, Birmingham, MI 1991 OK Harris Gallery, New York, NY Zimmerman -Saturn Gallery, Nashville, TN OK Harris Gallery, Birmingham, MI 1990 Marilyn Pearl Gallery, New York, NY 1987 Richard Green Gallery...

Original oil painting on canvas, still life painting made under natural light. This artwork is painted using high-quality fine linen canvas and sold unframed, stretched, and ready to...

Antique American modernist realist still life oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed verso.

Pierre Coquet - Still life with red peppers Reference number F286 Framed with a natural oak wood floated frame. 51 x 60 cm frame included (46 x 55 cm wit...

Pierre Coquet - Still life with peppers Reference number F48 Framed with a natural oak floated frame 43 x 61 cm frame included (38 x 56 cm without frame) This wor...