American Realist Art

Artist Comments
Two geese turn to regard the viewer along the grassy bank of a quiet lake. "Growing up with my older sister, my mom would always dress us in the exact same clothes," shares Jo Galang. "With the same haircut and similar looks, people would always mistake us for twins since we were almost the same size and height. It was fun back then but as we grew up, we each evolved into our own distinct personalities."

About the Artist
Artist Jo Galang expresses a quiet nostalgia in her airy interpretations of the landscapes and waterways of the Pacific Northwest. Her soft oil paintings capture the meditative sounds of rivers and waterfalls flowing past her easel. During the summer, she spends as much time as possible outside creating plein air sketches and studying the light on the landscape. As a young art student in the Philippines, Jo was privileged to study with the renowned painter Danilo Dalena, who she says encouraged her to be the artist she is today. "I believe my art looks simple enough that people have no idea how much time I have spent working on it," she says. When she is not painting, Jo and her husband enjoy taking road trips, playing cards and finding creative ways to spend time with their granddaughter.

Words that describe this painting: animals, birds, Canada geese, geese, lake, landscape, nature, summer, water, waterfowl, grass, classical, wildlife, animals, classical, realism, representational, oil painting, green

Two Peas in a Pod...

Artist Comments
A closeup of a radiant bouquet of yellow, white and red roses. Artist Jo Galang received this floral arrangement as a gift from her children on her birthday. "Small and simple things can inspire and spark happiness," says Jo. "I decided to immortalize this gift so othe...

Artist Comments
An uplifting, light-filled landscape that combines old world realism with a modern aesthetic. Cumulus clouds gather at the horizon and sweep upward across the sky, enlivening the landscape. The cool blues of the sky contrast with the warm oranges and ochres of the hills. The long horizontal format gives a contemporary feel and a sense of calm.

About the Artist
Mandy Main is an art historian and landscape painter based in the Southern California desert. She has long been passionate about 19th Century American landscape paintings, which has been influential in her artistic practice. Mandy works in series, generally three paintings at a time. Her process begins with a vision of a place she has been, but she takes creative liberties with the aesthetic details. The artist is captivated by light and shadow, and strives to instill her work with moody drama through the representation of these elements. Using layers of paint and glazes, Mandy achieves mesmerizing atmospheric depth, encouraging the viewer to gaze and be still.

Words that describe this painting: landscape, realism, nature, clouds, sky, sunlight, countryside, panoramic, hills , landscape, realism, representational, oil painting, blue

Golden Hills...

Artist Comments
I really enjoy combining realism with very impressionistic, almost abstract brushwork. The areas of this painting that are loosely interpreted are meant to e...

Artist Comments
While on a summer hike in the woods, Jo discovered this stream and small pool of water. She says she couldn't resist stopping and dipping her feet in the cool...

Artist Comments
A culinary-themed still life featuring a Honeycrisp apple and sewing thimbles. "The beautiful profession of farming requires many hours of pruning or mending ...

Artist Comments
"This sweet spot can be found around the base of Shannon Falls in British Columbia, the third highest falls in the province," explains Jo. "There you'll also ...

Artist Comments
Artist Emil Morhardt depicts an Elegant Tern and a Forster’s Tern hanging together in the winter shallows of the Santa Barbara beach in California. Their evening reflections ripple above the water highlighted in gold, silver, and copper leaf. "While the Elegant Terns show up in huge flocks, the much smaller Forester’s tern is uncommon in Santa Barbara, and so a treat to see."

About the Artist
Emil Morhardt is an acrylic painter from Santa Barbara, California who expresses his passion for birds through realistic acrylic paintings. He paints at home in a studio room that has large windows and a north-facing view of the mountains. He observes the animals from this window, watching roadrunners, foxes, bobcats, deer, and coyote run by. Surrounded by this wildlife, Emil paints bird portraits reminiscent of those by artist John James Audubon. He bases his paintings off hundreds of photographs he takes of birds in the wild and at wildlife recovery centers. Emil captures the freedom and inquisitiveness that birds display in the natural world. Before painting birds, he painted landscapes of San Francisco and the Eastern Sierra. Emil was raised in the high desert of California and learned to paint from his father, who was one of the early California watercolorists...

Artist Comments
A realistic still-life watercolor of an egg and blue cups by artist Dwight Smith. "This painting is composed of found objects from around our home," says Dwight. "The color of the small paper cups...

Artist Comments
A close-up view of two ducks looking astutely at the viewer. "There's something highly engaging, and perhaps a little unsettling, about the way these young fe...

Artist Comments
"These two long-billed curlews are gazing at us with an unmistakable curiosity," says artist Emil Morhardt. "Like many shorebirds, when I sat on the beach qui...

Artist Comments
"The two nearer whimbrels look to me," shares artist Emil Morhardt. "They look as though they might be discussing whether or not to let junior fly to Florida ...

Artist Comments
A refreshing basket of juicy red apples after a rainstorm. Raindrops slowly dry under the warm sun as leaves rustle in the cool wind. Artist Nikolay Rizhankov...

Artist Comments
"My wife has been baking pecan pies for the holiday season," shares artist Dwight Smith," which inspired me to paint the still life. I love the warm colors of...