Creative Thresholds

by Gavin Garcia

Ana – oil on canvas

KB Bed

KB with cushion – pen and paper

Life model I – pen on paper

Lying with her – Mono print

Self-portrait

KB II – pencil on paper

Ana portrait – mono print

KB

Drypoint, self-portrait

KB with cat – pencil on paper

Where there used to be a theatre.

Neil Young

Dylan

For Francis

Artist: Gavin Garcia

I am an artist and a musician from Gibraltar, living and working in London. Within my work I try to explore the human form through the study of individuals whilst hoping to create images which capture the vulnerability and beauty of people. At times I focus on the surrounding landscape and its encompassing attraction, be it man made or crafted by nature. By drawing, painting and printing I use the strength of line as well the power of colour to create images that hold meaning.

Website: www.gavingarciaart.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gavingarciaart

Twitter: @gavinkgarcia

Video to recent interview: https://www.facebook.com/gbcthehub/videos/1168111816606273/

by Thomas Donaldson

Artist: Thomas Donaldson

Thomas is an English figurative painter and Lecturer based in Asia. He received his Master’s degree from Newcastle University in 2000 and since then has taken part in numerous exhibitions globally. His visceral works depict the portrait/nude which has been a traditional subject within the history of painting, which is easily recognizable and has been painted over and over again. This familiarity with the subject and the ideal of beauty in an increasingly over photo-shopped media allows Thomas to develop the process of painting through abstraction, mark making and impasto and at the end of the process still have something that remains familiar although imperfect and slightly awkward.

Website: http://www.thomasdonaldson.biz

Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/thomas.donaldson.art

Instagram   https://www.instagram.com/thomasdonaldsonart/

Twitter       https://twitter.com/thomasdonaldson

Pinterest     https://www.pinterest.com/thomasdonaldson/

Tumblr       http://thomasdonaldsonart.tumblr.com/

by Jenny Schultz

Four years ago I was living a great life as an artist, mom, wife and fun, energetic friend. My art was just gaining ground and was featured in several galleries across the southeast. My painting style was happy, bright and colorful. Then I was diagnosed with late stage, neurological Lyme disease.

Joyous creation was essential to my psyche pre-illness, and work would really just evolve on my easel. The action of painting and interacting with the canvas and mediums truly made me happy. Angst did not figure into my work. I just never experienced it. This showed in the end result.

I could no longer feel those joyful emotions after the illnesses took hold. The ease of creation was lost to me. My actual vision and depth perception had changed. Hand tremors made the actual movement of representational painting difficult. I could no longer see or feel or experience the synergy that was once there.

My Lyme Doctor is located in New York, which gave me the opportunity to finally visit the various museums that I had always dreamed about. I would schedule time after each appointment to sit and soak in the work of the art masters.

I became obsessed with the mid century modernists. Pollack, de Kooning, Hoffman, Klein, Krasner, Freud, and Klee all spoke to me. I understood what they were saying but try as I might, I couldn’t make the jump from my happy, Impressionism to a dialogue via abstraction.

Finally, after four years of healing, I was able to start that conversation with my art. I understood what I needed to say. After four years of fighting to get my brain back, I sure had a lot to say. I began, slowly, to rebuild my life and my art career, with the help of many doctors, friends and two amazing gallery owners.

I actually write about my journey onto my canvas. I write about love and frustrations and the joy of being alive. I then use paint to communicate more, either over or under my words. I sand and scrape and carve, depending on the emotions and thoughts that are trying to reach the canvas. Some days the creation comes easily and I feel the past peek through a bit. Other days, more frequently than not, the bacteria in my body take charge and I have to wait for the healing to happen again.

Artist: Jenny Schultz

Website: http://jennyschultz.com/

Email: jennyschultz1121@gmail.com

by Charles Williams

CONFRONTATION III – JULY 17, 2014 – 48″X48″- Oil on Panel

CHOKEHOLD – Harlem, July 1964 – 22″x30″ – Oil on Watercolor Paper

NIGHTSTICK – Harlem, July 1964 – 22″x30″ – Oil on Watercolor Paper

RIOTER – Watts, August 13, 1965 – 22″x30″ – Oil on Watercolor Paper

KID WITH LUCY – Newark, July 1967 – 22″x30″ – Oil on Watercolor Paper

“Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” is showing at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC from September 19-November 11, 2017. There is an artist talk and gallery walk-through Thursday, October 20 at 7:00. Info here.

More of his work can be seen in the exhibition “BLACK on BLACK,” which runs from October 7-27, 2017 at VAE Raleigh.

Charles Williams is a professional contemporary realist painter from Georgetown, South Carolina and a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art. From utilizing oils for the basis of landscapes, each painting captures his reflection of human emotions in response to and in sync with the natural environment. Recent achievements and awards include a Hudson River Landscape Fellowship, featured work in the Artists Magazines 28th Annual Art Competition, honorable mention from Southwest Art Magazines 21 Emerging Under 31 competition, 2012 Winner of the Fine Art Category from Creative Quarterly and featured cover artist of Composite and Professional Artist Magazine. Williams’ works has been shown in American Art Collector, Empty, Charleston Magazine, Grand Strand, Studio Visit, Bluecanvas and other national publications. He was recently interviewed and broadcast on ETV/ NPR station, entitled: Nature Through the Eyes of an Artist. His contemporary landscapes have been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in galleries in New York, Vermont, California, Georgia, South Carolina and several other southeastern states.

Website: cewpaintings.com
Blog: cewpaintings.blogspot.com

by Melinda Matyas

The red curvature (dyptich)

Seven days (dyptich)

Hope, the thing with feathers

I’am going to be a pilot

The silence of animals

Mama, I’m coming home

The wind blows where it pleases

Lorelei

Stopping by woods on a snowy evening

And the walls were restless under chalk drawings

I’ve been here before (dialogue with myself)

Artist: Melinda Matyas

My artistic preoccupation is mostly based on existential explorations of the human condition. Very much interested in the intensity of sensation experienced from the subject’s presence, I’m looking beyond the body, discovering that beyond our well-lived triviality in each individual the spirit is made flesh, under its surface in each one the whole creation breathes. Though the starting point is always personal, emerging out of my obsessions and the emotional intensity which flows through myself and through people living around me, this intensely personal content of the work invites a reciprocal identification on the part of the viewer.

http://melindamatyas.com

https://www.facebook.com/MelindaMatyasPaintings/

https://www.instagram.com/melinda_matyas/

by Tom Bennett

Barely Resolved Inoffensive Nude, oil on canvas, 2016

Fatigue 4, oil on paper, 2016, 16″ x 22″

Fatigue, oil on paper, 2016, 12″ x 9″

Fatigue 2, oil on paper, 2016, 20″ x 16″

Fatigue 3, oil on paper, 2016, 16″ X 20′

In the Hold, oil on paper, 2012, 18″ x 9″

Muddy Company, oil on paper, 2012, 16″ x 20″

Quiet, oil on paper, oil on paper, 2015, 19.5″ x 27″

Mannered Nude, oil on paper, 2015, 9″ x 24″

Memory Loss, oil on paper, 18″ x 14″

Sleepwalk Redux 2, monotype, 12″ x 12″

Sleepwalk Redux 17, monotype, 12″ x 12″

Sleepwalk Redux 24, monotype, 12″ x 12″

Witch 18, monotype, 2016, 12″ x 12”

Witch 21, monotype, 2016, 12″ X 12″

These Things don’t Mean Anything, 2012, 18″ x 9″

Artist: Tom Bennett

Tom Bennett, born in Ridgefield, Connecticut, grew up in a household of artists and was influenced by his father, Harry Bennett, an award-winning painter and illustrator. His father’s version of Dante’s Divine Comedy was seminal in shaping Bennett’s early aesthetic.  He grew up spending much of his time experimenting with a wide range of art mediums, but particularly, drawing.

He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting at the University of Connecticut in 1982 where he worked under the noted  painter and photographer, Bill Parker. He also studied design and color under the award-winning Paul Zelanski.

Tom had his first one-man show at the Ridgefield Guild of Artist Gallery in 1983, and a few months later moved to New York City to further pursue his painting.

In 1985 Tom spent seven months traveling alone through Western and Eastern Europe— into Hungary, East Germany and Yugoslavia—and Africa, sketching while traveling and absorbing new stimuli. His visits to sites like Dauchau and occupied East Germany left him with renewed connection to an inchoate subconscious iconography.

Subsequently, travelling into northern African countries like Morocco & Algeria provided fresh, non-western- centric experiences that ultimately had a subtle, yet profound impact on his art making.

He returned to Spain and resided in Barcelona. Tom lived on the Spanish Mediterranean coast painting, where he exhibited locally in solo and group shows. Eventually he returned to New York and moved to Brooklyn, where he has resided ever since.

http://www.saatchiart.com/tombennett
https://www.facebook.com/tombennettart/
https://www.facebook.com/tom.bennett.165470/media_set?set=a.124389307155.101484.660327155&type=3
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tom-bennett/
https://twitter.com/TommyBennett
http://tombennett.tumblr.com/

by Michael Creese

Bison Skull

Himalayan Cat

Horse

Hummingbird

Panda Reflections

Panda Stars

Starfish

Tancho Koi Fish

Artist: Michael Creese

Michael Creese was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his family at the age of seven. While in school, he developed a keen interest in art and drawing, and was greatly encouraged by his high school art teachers to pursue his passions. Michael’s interest in drawing quickly progressed to a fascination with painting.

After being accepted at several different universities, including the Pratt Institute of New York, Michael began his formal art training at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, where in 1981 he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Michael paints in the oil impasto style, a technique used in art where paint is laid thickly on canvas, leaving visible brush (or palette knife) strokes. When dry, impasto provides a great deal of texture to the finished painting. He also works with several other mediums in addition to oils, most notably watercolors.

Michael’s work has been sold in print form by major art distributors and retailers, featured in the work of interior designers, and sold as ceramic and marble tile murals. His original oil on canvas paintings are purchased by collectors throughout the United States, as well as internationally. He is currently a member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society.

Artist Statement

As an artist I find myself constantly aware of my surroundings. Each subject that catches my attention, from the smallest of flowers to the brightest of sunsets, gets recorded and eventually ends up on a canvas in my studio.

I feel very lucky to have a talent to share with others, and I feel deeply connected with nature through the process of painting.

Over the years I have tried my hand at many different art materials and many different subjects, but I have always found myself back at the easel with oils on the palette. Oil paints are a true delight to work with and they seem to express themselves effortlessly, as if on their own!

My particular style of painting is a culmination of my fine art training, my fondness for the Impressionist and Expressionist art movements, and my personal artistic vision. Color and composition are two key elements to my creative process, but the application of paint is perhaps the single most important factor in defining my style, from loose brush strokes and rich texture to an almost frenzied use of palette knife marks. The colors that I use are frequently blended directly on the painting, adding liveliness through visibly distinct transitions in color and shade. I have been told that one of the nicest features of my style, even though it is representational, is its abstract quality. This is one aspect of painting that I truly enjoy and one that I have worked hard to preserve. But apart from all the explanations of technique or style, I think that you will find as I have that art is mostly a mystery … so much more than the sum of its parts.

Website: http://michaelcreese.com/

by María Álvarez

Artist: María Álvarez

Madrid-based oil and acrylic painter. Born in Vigo, María began to study drawing and painting at the age of 7 in the studio of the renowned painter Mingos Teixeira. There, she inherited the passion for color and contemplation. While developing her painting skills, she also took music and piano lessons through several years. When she turned 18, María moved to Madrid to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree both in Audiovisual and Applied Creativity Studies. This experience expanded her concept of image and opened her the door to other forms of art such as film, photography and graphic design.

Her art is based on mental passages and richness of color, through nature, wildlife and sometimes abstract scenes, where you can find the inspiration of the Impressionist and landscaper painters.

Website: www.mariaalvarezestevez.com

Instagram: @maria_alvarez_e

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariaalvarezeart/

by Tiago Azevedo

Two Sisters

Aschenputtel

The Frog King

Snow White

The Praying Virgin

Red Riding Hood

Rapunzel

The Evil Queen

Little Fairy

Work in Progress

Artist: Tiago Azevedo

I was born in the Azores islands and influenced by that environment. I have
been drawing magical worlds and fantastic creatures since a very young age.

Latter I attended Art School for a period of three years however I decided to
graduate as an Architect.

Even though I was working as an architect by choice, those fantastic
creatures were screaming to get out.

So I finally decided to follow my passion and dedicate my full attention to the
artistic expression of my world.

Consequently my themes always revolve around Fantasy and Religion.

As a technique I use oil painting for its colour richness and jewel like effect.

At the moment I am working on an illustrated book based on my interpretation
of the Brothers Grimm Fairytales. This emerged out of my move to Germany
and my passion for German folk stories.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tg.fine.art

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TG__Art

Instagram: https://instagram.com/tg.art/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+tgoazevedo/posts

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tg_azevedo/

Tumblr: http://tgoazevedo.tumblr.com/

Blogger: http://www.tgoazevedo.blogspot.de/

by Yazmin Basa

Anthem

Eons It Seems

Blue Autumn

Outside the Fairy Kingdom

Ode

Portrait of a Lady Amidst A Red Damask Background

Ennui Hamper

Indigo

Invisible Strings

Medieval Angel

My Breath Quits

Be Still Your Heart

In Good Company

Artist: Yazmin Basa

Art and yoga have been center stage in Yazmin’s life. She hails from the world of commercial art, having produced and art directed various in-house broadcast promotions for top TV brands. She has moved around to work for top cable companies in Hong Kong , New York, and Singapore. The discipline and work ethic in the commercial world keeps her grounded and she appreciates being able to understand the needs of a business to have reliable people to keep promotions alive. Now an executive for Video On Demand space for a Silicon Valley company, she is also setting her sights on worthwhile after hours activities – creating more paintings, dabbling with oils and watercolors and also making decoupage art with upcycled bottles. She also sells her artwork at Fine Art America, Society 6, Red Bubble and will open store in more Print On Demand sites. She has also written for various spa, yoga and travel publications. An active wiccan, she has a profound love for nature, and is often found creating artwork and writing poetry during frequent excursions in the countryside or by the sea. She is now mid-way through her first illustrated poetry book titled “Witchery and Thievery”. All the artworks shared here are her works in progress for this book.

Website: http://witcherythievery.blogspot.com/

FAA link:  http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/yazmin-basa.html

Society 6 link:  https://society6.com/yazminbasa

Red Bubble link:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/yazminbasa

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Yazmin.Basa.Art/