Light My Life

Jeanie Tomanek grew up in the Genesee Valley of New York and now lives in Marietta, Georgia, and is represented by Trinity Gallery in Atlanta. Her paintings have appeared in many juried exhibitions throughout the Southeast, and can be found in numerous public and private collections in the United States and Europe. "Literature, folktales and myths often inspire my exploration of the feminine archetype," she writers. "My figures often bear the scars and imperfections, that, to me, characterize the struggle to become. In my work I use oils, acrylic, pencil and thin glazes to create a multi–layered surface that may be scratched through, written on, or painted over to reveal and excavate the images that feel right for the work." Also a poet, Tomanek’s poems have appeared in Poets, Artists and Madmen, The Birmingham Poetry Review and Poetry Motel.

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Paper Doll | 36x48" | oil/collage

Skinhorses | 12x12" | oil

The Price of Narcissus | 60x48" | oil/mixed media

Scarecrow | 60x48" | oil/mixed media

Evening | 60x48" | oil/collage

Star Quilt | 36x36" | oil

Anniversary | 30x40" | oil

Right Wing | 36 x 24" | mixed media

Clearing | 48 x 48" | mixed media

Quick | 36 x 30" | oil/mixed media

Parch | 36x48" | oil

Antony Micallef (born 1975 in Swindon), English contemporary artist and painter. Graduate in Fine Arts from the University of Plymouth, some of Micallef’s work illustrates many contemporary cultural aspects and connects them with the human experience. His use of neutral colors and depictions of the human form in a Bacon like manner in his paintings delve beyond pop culture and bring to the surface many of the things that operate underneath the cultural construct. His mark making reflects the teachings of his tutor John Virtue who in turn was taught by Frank Auerbach. The London expressionist school of painting had clearly been passed on. His extensive use of popular culture icons and corporate logos depicted along with the human form bring a very special style to his paintings. A visit to Japan in 1999 marked the beginning of his contemporary style and fascination with cultural icons and motifs and their relation to society and the individual. He was the winner of the second prize of the BP/Amoco Portrait award 2000 at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Anthony Micallef moved away from strict portraiture preferring to combine his exquisite draughtsmanship with a dark and passionate exploration of colour and contemporary expressionism as a means of dissecting what he sees as the frivolities of pop culture. He says; “The trouble with pop imagery is that it doesn’t really go deeper than the surface, you have to drag it down and challenge it to make it interesting. When you put two contrasting images together it causes friction and that is the bit I’m interested in.” In the present work, the dark, Bacon-esque smears to the face conjure unlooked for associations when combined with the delicately alluring roses, the juxtaposition revealing at once the saccharine seduction of colourful pop imagery and consumerism alongside its dark and troubling underbelly. This complexity and brutal beauty explain why Anthony Micallef has become one of the most promising young artists working in Britain today.

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21st century love, detail | oil, acrylic and charcoal on canvas | 140cm x 140 cm

I like to draw | oil on canvas | 115cm x 140cm

i like to draw, detail

appearance is everything | oil on canvas | 140cm x 183cm

judgement day | oil on canvas | 184cm x 164cm

god I want to be bad | oil on canvas | 100cm x 140cm

mythic weapon triptych: improvised minotaur | oil on canvas | 140cm x 220cm

study of a prayer | oil on canvas | 31cm x 47cm

collateral damage | oil on canvas | 140cm x 183cm

donuts, girl and a dumb vagrant | oil on canvas | 80cm x 100cm

NYC traffic lights, LAPD cop car, winged minotaur and a hooker | oil on canvas | 100cm x 140cm

bomber girl | oil and acrylic on canvas | 80cm x 100cm

bomber girl, detail

girl | oil on canvas | 80cm x 100cm

I was born in the town of Yachroma nearby Moscow. This is a place on a hill, from which a perspective reminding Brueghel paintings opens.The crossed landscape with significant differences of heights, channel between the rivers Moscow and Volga, small rivers and springs, woods, fields and villages, the railway, an ancient town Dmitrov in the neighbourhood, ships going along the channel and trains overtaking them, and so on and so on… - all this I saw through a window of my house since my birth. The view was like a picture, which includes all the variety of the world. So I can say that for my inspiration impressions of my childhood and youths - beautiful nature and the non-ordinary people which surrounded me, are more important. In a museum of Spaso-Andronikov monastery, Moscow, I copied the best samples of Old Russian paintings of the 15 - 17 centuries. At the same time I worked on my own paintings. By this period I had finally created my individual technique, which was founded on combination of methods of the Russian medieval icon painting, the 18th century Russian painting, composition methods of art group «WORLD OF ART» («MIR ISKUSSTVA») and the Russian constructivism. Following the artists of the past, I work with hand-made colors and use natural pigments ground with the egg yolk.

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Jennifer Coates’ vividly colored, metaphysical paintings utilize the conventions of landscape as an anchor for hallucinatory visions that reference the mind and the body simultaneously. Expanses of sky or sea coalesce into pools of thought-like reflection; clouds of geometry warp into an ecstatic vortex; horizons fissure and swell like skin; and intricate vines tangle into knots of energized ganglia. Coates contrasts an atmospheric radiance with meticulous detail, iconic directness with allusive abstraction. Varied painterly approaches are positioned against each other to create a disjunctive but idealistic experience of place. Coates (b. 1973) lives and works in New York City, where she has exhibited frequently, with this being her second solo exhibition. She teaches at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and often writes on art.

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Two Trees (detail), 2006, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Creeper, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 72 inches

Creeper (detail), 2006, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 72 inches

Undergrowth, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 72 inches

Folding Sky, 2004, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 72 inches

Softwall, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 inches

Softwall (detail), 2006, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 inches

Clipper, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

Clipper (detail), 2007, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

When I look at a great work of art I find the artist at play. I follow the painter’s hand through a carefully constructed framework in which accidental discoveries are made. Digressions of shape, color and texture react against one another, but without losing sight of that initial spark that fueled the idea. Each work is a small journey and a record of one’s experiences. My recent body of paintings represents a continual longing for a more deeply meaningful visual experience. I am interested in exploring universal human themes within the context of ordinary subjects such as family, friends or other figures in spaces. In my observations, I may often find surreal qualities, but choose to ground them in feasible context. Although most of my major work possesses a narrative element, I prefer not to convey specific narratives, but work toward the sense of a collective memory. I prefer a naturalistic approach to the form as a means of maintaining the intimacy of the experience to the beholder. By use of implied spaces, I find opportunity to exploit the psychological aspects of the content. I find the juxtaposition of utilizing aspects of pre-20th Century painting in a contemporary context a relevant and intriguing dynamic.

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Vivienne with Lamb | Oil on Panel | 24" x 16"

A Feast With Friends | Oil on Canvas | 40" x 30"

Testing the Reels | Oil on Canvas | 20" x 16"

Counting to a Thousand | Oil on Canvas | 24" x 18"

The Kids (Family Portrait) | Oil on Linen | 76" x 84"

Late Afternoon Chai | Oil on Canvas | 48" x 36"

Room 1105 | Oil on Canvas | 20" x 16"

Prophetess | Oil on Wood | 37" x 20"

I never thought I’d be so crazy about a collection of chicken drawings, but then I saw these painted poultry portraits by St. Louis artist Mary Sprague. Her website features a small gallery representing several decades of work, but it’s the chickens that really grabbed me.

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George Xiong was born in 1948, China. 1970 he graduated from The Central Academy of Design With B.A. degree. 1989, he graduated from The City University of New York, with M.A. degree. Now he lives and works in New York.

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Noon Time II, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in

Tea II, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in

Blue Sky, oil on canvas, 46 x 46 in

Black Piano, oil on canvas, 46 x 46 in

Bay 05-1, oil on canvas, 48 x 24 in

Lotus 06-02, oil on canvas, 48 x 36 in

Lotus 07-05, oil on canvas, 68 x 40 in

Ali Cavanaugh was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 5, 1973. Learning to sew at the age of 7 opened up a world of creativity for her. By the age of 14 she was painting commissioned portraits. In 1993, she attended Parsons School of Design in New York City and in 1995 earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Kendall College of Art and Design. In 1996, Cavanaugh co-founded the New School academy of fine arts in Grand Rapids Michigan. Through the mid to late 90s she established an enormous following of students and collectors, becoming one of West Michigan’s most sought after private instructors. Cavanaugh is best known for her "little girl" paintings. Fields of alluring color, rich in texture, accentuate quietly provocative adolescent girls. Thought provoking hand cut text, which is a trademark of Cavanaugh’s work, reveal engaging messages. Her poetic words bring to light the complexity within contemplation. Thoughts of envy, loss, and doubt unfold and suddenly the viewer discovers something highly spirited and playful. This vibrant contrast and push and pull of emotions are what make this work so desirable. Cavanaugh’s work has an infectious energy and her collectors are devout. Her work has won numerous awards, received countless recognitions, and is featured in over 200 private collections. She currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her husband and two children, and is very active in its world-renowned art scene.

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My mind wanders back to a time when thoughts were green is this my wonderland?

Oil on wood panel • 30" x 36"

Infinite sky full of light …i surrender

Oil on wood panel • 36" x 36"

Here, take one… there are two, one for me and one for you

Oil on wood panel • 24" x 24"

Dreams of you, moment of quiet

Oil on wood panel • 12" x 12"

Your essence surrounds me and i breathe you in (behind this curtain)

Oil on wood panel • 24" x 24"

When you find me …i will be different than you remembered

Oil on wood panel • 24" x 24"

Artist David Choong Lee was born in 1966 in Seoul, Korea. He moved to the USA in 1993 in pursuit of gaining the skills to be a traditional fine artist. He found that he was very interested in the art of young people after his graduation from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, in 1997. After seven years of focusing on the figure, he began to explore different concepts, such as mixed media, sculpture and graphic design. He’s been influenced by such diverse sources as Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Sukdo, and underground music DJ scenes. He ended up creating his own artistic style that is a combination of graffiti, collage, portrait, and classical realistic skill with bold graphic elements. As you can see by the release of his products, he has combined many different forces to create his own, distinctive style. David’s work has shown at many galleries in San Francisco such as 111 MINNA GALLERY, BUCHEON gallery, CULTURE CACHE gallery, LEVI’S as well as other places in the US and also in South Korea. He has self-published a number of art books– God made dirt, and dirt don’t hurt, 4 WORDS, DIRT– and some of his books are distributed by Gingko Press and 2nd round productions to Europe and Asia. He’s been teaching figurative art at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for last 8 years(from 1998), and he lives in downtown San Francisco with his wife, Sori Kim.

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Surrealist artist Alex Gross features striking, dreamlike imagery that transcends category. Gross paints a haunting melange of fairytale, allegory, history, and pop culture, fusing eastern and western aesthetics in an ethereal world populated by kimono-clad Japanese women and lost Victorian dandies. In more than eighty exquisite color images, comprising all of Gross’s gallery work, silk screens, etchings, and sketches, this volume illuminates his singular blend of realism and whimsy. Embraced and collected by art connoisseurs and lowbrow fans alike, Gross’s work is both enigmatic and irresistible.

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Ted Julian Arnold (born Princeton, NJ, 1956) received his BA in Visual Studies from Dartmouth College, Hanover NH. He has been exhibiting with the Catharine Clark Gallery since 1991.

A Thin Line: New Paintings by Ted Julian Arnold are not works of traditional easel-sized dimensions nor painted on a conventional surface. Arnold’s latest works are in three formats: singular panels, diptychs or triptychs, and they combine oil paint and collage. the panels are actually chair backs, which when presented as a group at eye level suggest a thin line of ribbon encircling the gallery space, and lead us to believe we are looking beyond the gallery walls. Most of the works are rendered in either earthy organic hues or brilliant blues coupled with metallic leaves. In the late 1980’s and early ‘90’s, Arnold painted abstract canvases with “keyholes” of realistic renderings. Now his newest paintings are, in a sense, the keyholes of representation removed from the context of their abstract surrounds. The work in A Thin Line explores the intimacy of domestic moments and the physicality of relationships. The paintings offer a glimpse into the often unnoticed beauty of banal human interaction. The confined space of the chair back provides only enough room to render a portion of a facial element: eyes, mouths, brows: figural references: the slope of a woman’s back, arms embracing a torso, a pink shoulder. The restricted scale of the painted chair backs refer to the narrow band of information which we’re able to absorb in any given situation to create a cognitive reality from the excess of visual stimuli. The fragmentary nature of our visual experience and disjointedness of memory and recollection are here captured leaving the larger context in which these situations occur up to our imagination while emphasizing the beauty of ordinary moments.

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Striding throughthe Museum / oil on canvas / 50″ x 38″ / 1991

Shards / oil on canvas / 30″ x 32″ / 1996

Madonna of the Tub / oil on raw silk / 60″ x 40″ / 1996

Open Heart / oil on canvas / 50″ x 42″ / 1996

Roam Italy / encaustic and mixed media on panel / 30 x 18″ / 2003

Whaaam / encaustic and collage on panel / 46″ x 36″

River, Dreamer, Saint / oil on canvas / 108″ x 84″ / 1987

The quiet revolution is the body of work by London based Illustrator Claire Scully inspired by the conflicting and harmonious relationships the urban environment has with the natural world. "The primary focus of my personal work is to explore the relationship between nature and the modern urban environment by the subversion of the familiar and overlooked into a sinister surreal situation using mutation and juxtapositions. A mix of playful humour with sinister undertones of conflict and mutation the quiet revolution is a visual exploration into the relationship between the natural world and the urban environment showing the significance of nature within a cities surroundings and the struggle for power we have with it, by using a combination of printed illustrations with moving image". Claire Scully: Studied for BA Graphic and Media design at London College of Communication (01-04) and Central Saint Martins (04-06) for MA Communication Design. As well as continually working on many personal projects and frequently collaborating with various other artists, Claire works as a freelance illustrator.

Printed / digital

In this section I have my print based / digital work. These are all digitally produced artworks that use some of the main principles of screen-printing but with the bonus of using a computer too I can create work with much more intricate detail. Because of my organic approach to my image making I try to create digital illustration without it looking like digital illustration.

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"I’ve always had a fascination for the psychological aspects of life, the reason behind every deed, the definition of the truth. In my work as much as in private life I constantly analyse the boarder between: subjective and objective; individual and collective; illusion and reality."
Agnieszka Dellfina

"Being an artist for me is, to walk along the razor sharp shore line between the sea of annihilation and the inner landscape of hope, to float in the gap between the awareness of our souls and the indifference of our TV screens, to survive the no–man’s land, where art pendulates between the cruel madness of reality and the beauty and serenity of our dreams.”
Thomas Dellacroix

Thomas Dellacroix (Stockholm, Sweden, 1953 - )
Agnieszka Dellfina (Warsaw, Poland, 1974 - )

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Statictically Speaking (from the Give Peace a Chance or Have a Nice War Series)

Photograph. Limited Edition (5)

Give Peace a Chance (from the Give Peace a Chance or Have a Nice War Series)

Photograph. Photomontage. Limited Edition (5)

Fetish Dream (from the Art Noir Series)

Photograph. Limited Edition (25)

Arizona - Pearl Harbour

Graphic Print. Silkscreen

Via Cruxus

Painting. Collage and Mixed Media on Canvas

The Dollar Madonna

Painting. Collage and Mixed Media on Canvas

Michael Parkes is the world’s leading magical realist painter, sculptor, and stone lithographer. His decades of success as a fine artist stand out in the art world, where less than 1% of artists ever achieve the success in both the primary and secondary markets that Michael has achieved. His works are collected by celebrities, private collectors, and galleries around the world, and his body of work stands for the ages. That being said, Michael continues to create many new works, all of which are widely sought after. Read on for more information about Michael’s exhibition history, style and technique, place in art history, and personal history.

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The Juggler is the first of ‘the rope’ paintings. Although the final surrealistic image apprears to have come into being quite naturally, it changed many times until it arrived at its finished state.

Some believe that long ago devas (guardian angels) were given the task of creating our physical universe. Here sits the deva of dragonflies, resting, as an artist would, after creating her work of art.

Rosa was a young dancer that used to frequent our home years ago. When she was accepted to a German ballet company in 1984, her physical and emotional maturity were put to the test. She left her home and country and made that first step out into the world of dance alone.

At the transitional time of puberty, innocence mixes with knowledge to create magic. This child experiences the power of this magic for the first time.

In pursuit of the Unknowable, the swan princess is encouraged by the swans to fly. Until ultimately, like Casteneda’s leaping from the cliff, she will learn to shift from matter to spirit and back again as we all must do eventually.