Archives for 2015 May-June Issue

The Race is Still Going

The Race is Still Going

May 20, 2015 | by

There is nothing Morgan Weistling enjoys more—or works as hard at—as telling a story. It is exciting and challenging, as he spends countless hours—and makes thousands of decisions—to create each painting in a manner that captures the attention of viewers, draws them in, and—he hopes—puts a smile on their faces. Snake Oil Salesman is a prime example of how Weistling works. “I look at that painting, and I see 100,000 decisions I had to make,” he says of the piece, which depicts a gathering of men, women, and children around a man enthusiastically extolling the benefits of the snake oil
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There Are Places that Speak to Me

There Are Places that Speak to Me

May 20, 2015 | by

“There was validation and hope.” That’s how Jill Carver describes the impact of her first solo exhibition 14 years ago at the New Zealand Embassy in London. The paintings she showed at that event were ones she had done in New Zealand, while on a sabbatical from her job as a curatorial researcher at the National Portrait Gallery in London. She sold 10 of the 20 paintings she exhibited and was more than pleased. It would be several years, however, before she would take the plunge into fine art as a professional. Now living in Austin, Texas, Carver was born
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The Evolution Continues

The Evolution Continues

May 20, 2015 | by

A few years ago, Jason Rich was invited to visit some of the people who had started collecting his work early in his career. He hadn’t seen the paintings in almost 20 years. and he admits that he was surprised when he looked at them again. “Day after day, as you’re working at your easel, the changes in your work are so subtle that you don’t even notice them,” he says. “But when you look back at your early work, you see the evolution. You see the changes that you don’t see day-to-day.” Rich was in his mid twenties, when
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Expression and Intuition

Expression and Intuition

May 20, 2015 | by

As an award-winning member of Oil Painters of America, Oklahoma native Derek Penix strongly believes an artist’s ability to paint intuitively is what makes the difference between creating a work that is technically and aesthetically pleasing versus one that has the potential to become a masterpiece. “Watching a recent U-tube video listing the world’s 10 most expensive paintings, I observed that the common denominator for each was that none of the artists painted literally,” he says. “All changed what they saw, making it into their own world.” This type of discernment comes naturally to one who grew up surrounded by
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Ah, Sweet Color!

Ah, Sweet Color!

May 20, 2015 | by

A burst of color in a painting, particularly when placed against a moody background, is a delightful surprise. It is poetry; it is magic. Color can be as soothing as an ocean sunset, or it can knock your socks off. While most of us appreciate a good black-and-white piece, we find color, when properly placed, leads our eyes along a route the artist has skillfully set for us. Kevin Beilfuss Sarah’s Diary Kevin Beilfuss trained at the American Academy of art in Chicago, Illinois, and has been painting professionally for 26 years—13 as a freelance illustrator and 13 as a
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The Studio of Dan Mieduch

The Studio of Dan Mieduch

May 20, 2015 | by

Dan Mieduch says his man cave (aka the studio) “just has kitchen cabinets, a tile floor, and ceiling fan, and that’s it.” He’s being overly modest, as he explains that the studio came into existence to allow him to work away from the house, where his children could too easily distract him. In the studio, “I could play music, work, and shut myself off,” he explains. Dan Mieduch Studio Dan Mieduch Healing Waters Oil 9″ x 12″
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