John Morfis

Merite's Key

2017

Morfis paints a tromp l'oeil spataula hanging on a hook from the blue wall that fills the composition. Such a simple object is raised to importance by being the only (very detailed) subject of the scene. Framed dimensions: 21.5 x 15.5 inches Artist Bio: John Morfis was born in Bayville, Long Island in 1976. His humble beginnings made pursuing a career in art difficult and paradoxically necessary. Fixated on making things aesthetically pleasing, John made an extreme departure from his family life when he chose to base his life on art. Surrounded by mechanics, welders, and otherwise trade workers John had a tough time expressing his interest in a world much more utilitarian and much less expressive and impractical. With an extraordinary desire to be an artist and a grant awarded, John was able to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in painting from the University of Hartford in 1998. While there John studied oil painting under American realist Stephen Brown...

An oil painting of a winter scene. Soft short brushstrokes create a sense of movement in the icy water. Painting dimensions: 24 x 18 inches Framed dimensions: 30.5 x 24.5 x 1 inches Framed in a traditional-style frame (see pictures). Artist Bio Rachel Personett was born in Hawaii, but raised in Colorado. Being the daughter of a pilot she has always traveled extensively. She has studied part time at the Savannah College of Art and Design, The Angel Academy of Art, and finally settled on the Florence Academy of Art, graduating in 2015. In January 2016 she apprenticed the painter Odd Nerdrum...

An oil painting of an antique tool, a Garden Dibble, which is a long stick-like tool used to make holes for seeds, to make sure they are sufficiently buried in the soil without damage. This particular object that Morfis chose to paint has a wooden handle, and a metal point. The dibber rests atop a nail, against a gray wall. Bright studio-light casts a sharp shadow directly beneath the tool. Painted in the academic realist style of "trompe-l'oeil" which is French for "trickery of the eye". BIOGRAPHY John Morfis was born in Glen Cove, Long Island in 1976. His humble beginnings made pursuing a career in art difficult and paradoxically necessary. Fixated on making things aesthetically pleasing, John made an extreme departure from his family life when he chose to base his life on art. Surrounded by mechanics, welders, and otherwise trade workers John had a tough time expressing his interest in a world much more utilitarian and much less expressive and impractical. With an extraordinary desire to be an artist and a grant awarded, John was able to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in painting from the University of Hartford in 1998. While there John studied oil painting under American realist Stephen Brown. John’s first solo show took place in 2007 at the Ellen Traut Collection Gallery in Hartford, CT and was a near sell out. Since then John has had success up and down the northeastern coast of the United States working with various galleries and collectors. His work has also appeared in various group shows at the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut. ARTIST STATEMENT Each painting, although a portrait of a tired hand...

A moody and surrealistic still life of peonies. While the scene seems to take place outside, the reflection in the vase reveals a window with light streaming into a dark room. As alw...

Framed dimensions: 19.8 x 19.8 inches Patrick was born in Busan, South Korea in 1984 and raised in La Grange, Illinois. He earned his undergraduate degree in Art History and English from the University of St Andrews in 2006. Patrick moved to New York in 2010 to train under Jacob Collins, Edward Minoff, Joshua LaRock, Scott Waddell, and Colleen Barry at Grand Central Atelier...

A Still life painting of a grouping of spring daffodils, situated in a clear vase, atop a scalloped-edged linen cloth. Carmody uses a palette knife to create texture via gobs of colo...

Gregory Block's (US based) "Eggs" is an oil painting that depicts a blue mason jar full of eggs on a wooden shelf floating among clouds and a bright bl...

Gregory Block's (US based) "Caddy" is an oil painting that depicts a rusted 1950's Cadillac on a wooden shelf floating among clouds and a bright blue sky. Gregory was born in Kansa...

Gregory Block's (US based) "Porcupine" is an oil painting that depicts a Porcupine skull and wooden shelf floating among clouds and a bright blue sky. Gregory was born in Kansas Ci...

Gregory Block's (US based) "Apples" is a still life oil painting that depicts a glass bowl of reddish Apples sitting in situ with a knife and halved Apple slices in a dark interior. ...

Flora in Vase, with red interior

Eel and Floral Element