Karen Baker's
soft pastels are so stunningly executed that even common objects such as lemons
and watermelons seem to acquire a personality of their own, as if each subject has
its own compelling story to tell.
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Karen Baker
Pastel artist Karen Baker paints whatever piques her interest. Natural subjects
include landscapes, florals and still lifes. Her fruit and vegetable series offers
a selection of "organic portraits with an abstract edge" that are both animated
and sublime. For these, she applies pastel pigments in multiple layers onto archival-sanded
boards, creating images wrapped in warm color and diffused light. Baker is a signature
member of the Connecticut Pastel Society, a member of the Southern Vermont Art Center,
the Pastel Society of America, the Southwest Florida Pastel Society and Plein Air
Florida. She has studied with the late Master Pastellist, Herman Margulies. Her
paintings have won awards in regional and national exhibits and are sought after
by collectors worldwide. Gallery's representation include Sandra Neustadter Gallery
(NY & FL); the Garden Gallery and Gallery at the VAULT (VT); Indigo Glassworks (NY);
and Greatroad Gallery (MA).
Michael
Crampton expresses his art in masterful illustrations with a unique style
reminiscent of the art deco era but with a twist of the modern. Inspired by the
advertising posters of the 50's, the retro look of his images has a nostalgic if
bold feeling.
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Michael Crampton
British born Michael Crampton studied illustration at the Art Center College of
Design in Pasadena, CA. After freelancing in Los Angeles and England,Michael then
went on to become the Executive Art Director at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, TX. After
six years he moved to New York City where he lived and illustrated. He now resides
in Connecticut with his wife and children and freelances in the US and Europe. In
addition to illustration,Michael also enjoys painting large images that are reminiscent
of vintage posters. His clients include The White House, IBM, CocaCola, Estee Lauder,
Mobil, Citicorp, American Express and American Airlines.
In the suggestive black and white photographs of George Forss, exist an almost Ansel Adam's feeling
in which the drama of the landscapes becomes sculpture-like and acquires a unique
quality that expresses his true genius.
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Anthony Kleem
creates storytelling paintings in his artful rendition of the primitive style. In
his inspiring work, everyday scenes become idyllic settings. This artist's inventiveness
can be discovered in the multitude of details that together create that nostalgic
feeling of a time where simple things and values were important.
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Anthony Kleem
Anthony Kleem grew up in a small college town in Ohio living with his parents and
seven siblings. Anthony's parents always encouraged his enthusiasm for the arts.
Anthony attended the University of Akron and received his Masters in Education.
While attending college, Anthony met his wife Mary. Anthony resides in Berea, Ohio
with Mary and their five children. They own a 155-year-old historic home which they
love dearly. He currently teaches European History and World Geography at one of
Northeast Ohio's finest high schools. When not in school, Anthony continues to paint
in the Americana art style in his studio with his family around playing games, doing
schoolwork or just relaxing. He thrives on the happy noise in his home. New England,
Eastern Pennsylvania and the rural settings of the Midwest remain the inspiration
of many of Kleem's paintings. He is greatly influenced by Winslow Homer, the Wyeth
family and Charles Wysocki. Some of his original artwork is shown at the Frank J.
Miele Contemporary American Folk Art Gallery in New York City.
The suggestive landscapes of Adriano Manocchia, a recognized contemporary Master,
will transport you from the vivid wilderness of the rugged Western Rockies to the
softer nuances of the Eastern countryside and river scenes. His dramatic still life
will speak of nostalgic times and places.
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Adriano Manocchia
Born in New York, Adriano Manocchia received his Bachelors degree from Pace University
in New York City. After graduating, he spent twelve years as a photojournalist traveling
the world to cover news events. In 1984, Adriano turned his attention to fine art,
adopting the painting techniques of the Old Masters and quickly received the attention
of critics worldwide. A number of awards and special projects marked his recognition
in the traditional art field as a foremost contemporary artist. He is now a resident
of Cambridge, NY, a picturesque community rich in art history. Adriano's work is
in major private collections as well as prestigious galleries such as Wally Findlay
and J.N. Bartfield Galleries in New York, the Sporting Gallery in Virginia, and
the Sportsman's Gallery & Paderewski Fine Art in Georgia & Colorado. For a number
of years he has also enjoyed his role as art and photography professor at Long Island
University.
You can learn more about Adriano Manocchia through his personal website at
T.S.M. & Company.
The elegant ceramic vessels that Brenda McMahon creates are a perfect combination of
artistic skills and the magic of the kiln. Each piece has a soft finish that
characterizes her Saggar-fired porcelains. This unpredictable technique is
achieved by layering the unglazed bisque porcelain with sawdust, grass, and other
organic materials, producing results that vary with each firing.
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Brenda McMahon
"I love unglazed work, simple and strong forms and a quiet meditative aesthetic.
From there I expand and explore. Lately it's celebratory figurative, carved vessels
and fire paintings upon a tile canvas."
Schooled at Manhattan's Hunter College, ceramic
artist Brenda McMahon received her Master of Arts from SUNY Albany in 1987. Though
she grew up along the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean in the greater New York City
area, it was the quiet of the land and not the city that captured her heart. Her
earliest memories are of sand, water and salt air. Now, more than 20 years away
from the shore, her early life of inhaling nature's salty breath comes out in her
work. She forms soft earth into subtle polished vessels among the rolling hills
of upstate New York. Instead of using glazes, she experiments with natural materials,
polished porcelain and the random markings of fire upon earth. Like the changing
waves chasing the shoreline, each firing yields unique results upon her pots, never
are two alike.
She came to ceramics after working in broadcasting for 10 years.
Brenda studied at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy, NY and apprenticed
with several experienced potters. Though self-taught, she is greatly influenced
by her partner John Visser, whose 30 years of ceramic experience became her personal
training ground. Together, they own Blue Moon Clay Studios in upstate New York.
Some of the awards received by Brenda include the Award of Excellence, Beaux Arts
Festival, Florida (2006); First Place-Ceramics, Glastonbury Art Show, CT (2005);
Judges Choice (2005) & Patron's Choice Award (2004) New Smyrna Beach, FL; Juror's
Choice, WMHT Public Television Art Auction, NY (2003/05); Judges Choice, Berkshire
Art Festival, MA (2003/05); First Place, Glastonbury Art Show, CT (2005); Judges
Choice, Berkshire Art Festival, MA (2004); Second Place, Ceramics Bruce Museum Craft
Festival, CT (2003).
Virginia
McNeice is able to create a world of harmony and aesthetic beauty in her
images of countryside and European gardens. The blended hues of the pastels she
uses well render the romantic but still contemporary feel of her art.
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Virginia McNeice
Virginia McNeice's work in oil and pastel is inspired by nature, and her primary
focus is color relationships, contrast and the effect of light at various times
of the day. She lives and works on an old farm in Cambridge, NY where she also displays
her work and teaches workshops in her studio/gallery. Born in New York City, McNeice
attended Pratt Institute of Art and has studied at the Art Student's League, SUNY
Albany, Skidmore College and the Vermont Studio Center. She is currently represented
by the Valley Artisans Cooperative in Cambridge, the Rice Gallery at the Albany
Institute of History and Art, the Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburn, VT and Gallery
100 in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her work is included in many private, corporate and
public collections.
Connie
Netherton has found in the Dutch Masters of the sixteen hundreds the inspiration
for her dramatic still life. Her paintings are emotions, a study of forms and colors,
light and shadows, old and new.
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Connie Netherton
Connie Netherton's paintings are about beauty, light, and luminosity inspired by
the Dutch Masters of the 1500's onward and the Academic Painters of the 1900's.With
this background and knowledge she has developed her own unique style of contemporary
realism. The Dutch painters provide the inspiration and the challenge; the Academics,
the technique; and contemporary life, the subject matter and concept. Her paintings
are executed with a reverence for the objects represented, melting the play of light
and color with mystery and wonder. Strong abstract design and symmetry form the
foundation of her work. This together with her fine drawing and her skillful application
of paint gives the feeling of viewing an old master work painted in modern times.
Connie has a Master of Fine Arts Degree, from Fontbonne College, St. Louis, MO,
and has studied with Michael Grimaldi, nationally known Contemporary Realist, and
Andrea Smith, formerly on the faculty of the Florence Academy, Italy. Her work is
in major private collections as well as prestigious galleries in California, Connecticut,
Illinois,Missouri and New York.
Clifford Oliver
"I have been in love with photography my entire adult life. Beauty and photography’s premise
to truth is the basis for my love. Like all good love stories mine with photography has heartache,
and the heartache came with the dawn of photography. During photography’s early years in America,
black people were left out as subjects and makers of photographs. Be it economics, or disenfranchisement,
blacks were left out. I want to put us back into the photographic history of America."
Fine Art photographer Clifford Oliver was born and raised in New York City. While serving
in the U. S. Navy as a reconnaissance technician developing negatives, Clifford discovered
the allure of art photography. Essentially self-taught, Oliver returned to the States where
he photographed medical procedures at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. At the same
time his wide-ranging interests in various subjects blossomed. He pointed his camera towards
dancers, dogs, horses, and Native and African-Americans. This led him to rural New York where
he has lived and worked for the past 35 years.
A recipient of numerous awards from Kodak and Oriental Paper, Clifford has been recently awarded
an Individual Artist Grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. His works have appeared
at the National Museum of Racing, Javitts Federal Bldg., Epcot Center, the National Museum of Dance,
Schenectady Museum and the Fenimore Art Museum.
Andrew Orr
has developed his own style where impressionism and realism are combined to create
vibrant paintings. His rendition of floral images reflects his love for nature and
the aesthetically appealing.
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Andrew Orr
Andrew Orr combines realism and impressionism to create paintings that reflect his
love of nature and beauty. His paintings are direct and rich, with clear color,
expressing his passion for light and life. Orr began painting at an early age. His
training includes courses at the University of New Mexico, private study with impressionist
Carol McIlroy and porcelain artists Barbara Duncan and Thelma Donovan. His work
has won numerous awards in juried exhibitions and has been featured in several one-man
shows. In addition to his own gallery, Bentley Avenue Fine Art, Poultney (VT), O'Karma-Jones
Gallery, Atlanta (GA), the Design Consortium Gallery, Cincinnati (OH), and the Red
Stallion Gallery, Glen Haven, (CO) represent his work. A full time artist, Andrew
is a member of the Georgia Watercolor Society, the Poultney Area Artist Guild, the
Professional Porcelain Artist Association and the World Organization of China Painters.
If Leslie Peck's
experience as a skillful illustrator allows her to capture the barn animals' true
characteristics, it's her artistic sensitivity that turns her oils into real works
of art and allows each painting to tell a story.
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Leslie Peck
Leslie Anne Peck is a native of Buffalo, New York. She lived there until she moved
to New York City to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology where she received
her Bachelors degree in fine art. In 1987 Leslie spent a year studying art in Italy
at the Scuola di Lorenzo De Medici in Florence and subsequently apprenticed in Rome
with renowned illustrator Alessandro Biffignandi. Leslie began a freelance career
in romance book cover illustration in 1988.While still enjoying a tremendous success
in the publishing field, Leslie's love for portraiture of people and animals has
found its expression in oil paintings the artists masterfully creates. Now that
she is married, the proud mother of three and living in picturesque Washington County,
New York, her interests have shifted. Being surrounded by beautiful farms and the
countryside, farm animals have become her favorite subject for paintings.
In the pastoral quality of Brian Sweetland's country landscapes, farm animals,
barns, silos blend in almost idyllic surroundings so reminiscent of European master
paintings. The colors often muted are suggestive and help create the illusion of
a timeless world.
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Brian Sweetland
Brian Sweetland was born in Wheaton,Minnesota and was raised in Montana, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio. He is now a resident of West Rupert, VT. After graduating
from Ohio University in 1974 with a degree in History, he settled in Washington,
D.C., where a natural and increasingly serious interest in graphic arts led him
to develop a portfolio of paintings and drawings. In 1977 Dean Fausett, a prominent
portrait, landscape, and mural painter saw his portfolio and brought him to Vermont
under a grant from the Society for the Preservation of Traditional Values in the
Fine Arts. After his first major exhibit in 1980 in Middleburg, VA, Brian has had
several exhibits at various galleries. His work hangs in the permanent collection
of the Southern Vermont Art Center and in many private collections.