Abstract More Art

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Artist Jennifer Ross paints a sunny and cheerful still life of a robin’s nest occupied with three eggs. Nestled within a carefully woven nook of grass and twigs, three blue eggs appear within its dark recesses. The nest is set against a white surface cut by a bright complementing yellow hue. “Robin’s egg blue is one of the most beautiful colors found in nature, and one found on my palette,” says Jennifer.

About the Artist
Artist Jennifer Ross creates intimate portraits of birds, nests and horses. Jennifer grew up surrounded by the art of her mother and grandfather. Her attempt to follow in their footsteps presented detours, however, and she ended up working in art galleries selling other's work. But her desire to paint continued to grow throughout the years. In 2008, a gift certificate...

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A blaze of color warms sunset clouds. "It was early autumn and the leaves turned into yellow, orange, and pink, but some were still very green," explains arti...

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Artist Nancy Merkle shares that this painting was inspired by an adventure in rural Oregon. A small trail in the backcountry reveals a forest of pine and fir trees among rolling hills. Crisp light warms the golden hillside and pulls the viewer deeper into the scene.

About the Artist
Nancy Merkle's process begins with a glimpse of color, a flicker of light, a pattern, or a texture. Elements swirl in her mind for hours, sometimes days, sometimes weeks before a design clicks and is transferred to canvas. With the canvas in front of her, she works intuitively -- a mark here, a mark there, a little touch of color, a bit of texture -- until she is satisfied and declares the work finished. Currently Nancy's work leans toward abstraction; she doesn't paint the world as it is, but as she wishes it were. Bold colors and loose brush strokes are her goal. When she's not making art, Nancy travels the Pacific Coast with a bicycle strapped to the car and "curiosity in my back pocket."

Words that describe this painting: landscape, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, nature, forest, trail, road, woodland, hills, rural, outdoors, impressionist, pine, fir, trees, impressionism, landscape, representational, acrylic painting, green, yellow

Oregon Trail...

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Artist Janet Dyer displays an expressionist landscape view of a Mediterranean forest. She paints the temperate shrubland on a warm summer afternoon. Janet pai...

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Artist Naoko Tadotsu displays ethereal expressionism with an image of a blazing tree. The sun sets behind it, giving its silhouette a dark translucent glow. The light reflecting from the river's surface filters through the leaves and twinkles like glass shards. The fiery orange hues against the blue and green accents give the composition warmth and brilliance.

About the Artist
Brilliant prismatic trees radiate in artist Naoko Tadotsu’s expressionist compositions. “I am always in awe of nature, color, and light,” says Naoko. These three facets establish her vibrant works in fluid strokes of vivid hues. Roots of her influence trace back to growing up in Osaka, where these elements were abundant. Naoko migrated to New York where she was immersed and fell in love with the world of art. What was once unexpressed inspiration inevitably translated onto the canvas. Her work often crosses into abstraction, capturing her feelings towards nature and painting it as its own entity. “The trees, like people, show different faces,” adds Naoko. In the same way, her pieces elicit different perspectives from every viewer. All Naoko needs is a portable easel...

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Artist Valerie Berkely displays and abstract floral filled with small peppy blossoms. She creates a glowing background using a limited palette of transparent purples and yellows. Valerie demonstrates expressive finger painting...

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"Year after year, I look forward to having a white Christmas," shares artist Jo Galang. "To my surprise, the first snow came on Christmas Day last year. All t...

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Artist Judy Mackey shares her joy in painting US flags. In this piece, the flag is painted at a stationary position set against an abstracted blue background....

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"Snowed in for days, this dogwood with a few lingering leaves caught my eye one sunny morning," shares artist Elizabeth Garat. "I wanted to record the play of...

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An impressionist view inspired by the Great Lakes of North America by artist Valerie Berkely. Using her fingers, Valerie forms a gentle rendering of crashing ...

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"The fall colors of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado are rich with earth tones," says artist Heather Foster. "One of my favorite road trips takes me t...

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As the sun sets behind the distant ridge, the fork in the river floods with warm hues from overhead. "I loved the way the light bounced on this southern river...

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An expressionist portrait of relationships as a dance. Dominant blue palette with hints of red, purple and pink that offers both cal...

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"Monet's Garden in Giverny, France - just a delightful train ride outside of Paris - never fails to inspire artists just as it was intended to do when it was ...

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"This painting was inspired by beautiful Vernazza, one of my favorite villages of Cinque Terre," shares artist Oksana Johnson. "On a bright sunny day, Vernazz...

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Artist Morgan Fite paints with neutral tones, letting movement, texture and subtle contrasts tell the story and capture moments in time. "I painted this piece...

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This painting is part of Suren Nersisyan's series of California landscapes focusing on the nature and stunning light around Los Angeles. He draws inspiration from the residential streets, parks and gardens that dot the vast city. Of this piece, Suren says Just before dusk, the soft light from the sun and the beautiful colors of vintage buildings...

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"This is a loosely painted scene based on a visit to a ranch in Stanley, New Mexico," shares artist Heather Foster. "I think they thought I was going to feed them. Sometimes a group of cattle will see me and run away like they imagine I'm thinking about burgers. But this group was curious and started towards me, with the ones in the distance moving at a quick pace, worried that they might miss out on something. Then we just paused & looked at each other for a bit." Heather captured the moment with her painting vividly portraying the scene. The cattle stand with inquisitive gazes before her. A bright underpainting shows through exemplifying the heat of the day and the amusing instance.

About the Artist
Artist Heather Foster captures an enduring image of the West. She paints the dramatic landscapes and stalwart animals she encounters on her adventures to ranches and rodeos. Heather says she has always known she wanted to be an artist. As a child, she spent her weekends and summers riding the bus into Philadelphia to attend art classes at Philadelphia College of Art, Moore College of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Over the years, she's moved around the country quite a bit and done many jobs - everything from driving a pedicab (a giant tricycle that transports passengers) to art restoration and conservation (for one project, she unstretched and then restretched a $17 million painting that would not fit through the door of the buyer's house). The one constant though, no matter where she lived or what side jobs she held, she always made space and time to paint. Today, she works from a home studio in Santa Fe, painting from thousands of reference photographs she shoots on her travels. Her artwork has been featured in the magazines Southwest Art, American Art Collector, and Western Art Collector, and published in the books Art Journey New Mexico and The Book of the Horse.

Words that describe this painting: ranch, cattle, cow, herd, animal, western, country, countryside, panoramic, New Mexico, impressionism, animals, landscape, western, acrylic painting, purple

Gathering on the Plains...

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The Smithsonian Castle in Washington, DC on a bright summer afternoon. The brilliant green lawn and trees in the foreground ...

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"This girl was posing for me on a trip to visit a ranch in Pagosa Springs, Colorado," shares artist Heather Foster. "She looked, to me, as if she was wearing black knee socks...

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A young girl sits at a park on a late summer's day in August, lost in a story of a compelling book. The strong afternoon sunlight highlights her hair and back. "I saw this girl sitting by the reflecting pool in Washington, DC", shares artist Faye Vander Veer. "I wanted the painting to be about her, so I obscured surrounding details and kept the brushwork loose. What was her story, what was she reading?”

About the Artist
Artist Faye Vander Veer seeks out moments with engaging narratives and captures them with an impressionist style. She describes herself as an observer of people living their day-to-day lives. Her goal is to offer viewers a look into her sensory memory while also prompting the beginning of a story. Faye always keeps her camera by her side, ready to capture reference material. "For me, each painting is an opportunity to explore my emotional reactions to the color and light I observe," says Faye. She enjoys being in her glass-walled studio surrounded by nature to inspire her creative process. When she is not putting paint on canvas, Faye can be found in nature, journaling or writing poetry. Her artwork has been showcased in both American Art Collector and Art of the West magazines.

Words that describe this painting: figure, figurative, female, woman, girl, impressionism, impressionist, water, book, Manet, Degas, people, park, book, hair, impressionism, people, oil painting, brown

Young Girl Reading...

Artist Comments
"This piece is inspired by a steep hike in the high mountains in summer," shares artist Crystal DiPietro. As a hiker, Crystal imparts the feeling of happiness from these wonderful views she gathers during her adventurous trips. "The flower-filled alpine meadows and stunning views bring joy to the heart."

About the Artist
Many artists work with the landscape, but Crystal DiPietro sees her works as different from most in the genre. "I tend not to see landscapes as soft and pretty, but as rugged, dramatic and colorful." Many of her works depict wild storms and moody sunsets. She spends a lot of time in remote spots and uses layers of color to create her compositions. Her work hovers between a brief impression of a scene and a pure dream. Crystal's landscapes of southern Utah seem to undulate and continuously change. What's interesting, though, is that these mountains and valleys seem to do the same thing in person. In these areas, the view changes constantly throughout the day as the light shifts, throwing shadows of faces, mazes and alien patterns across the cliff faces. Crystal impressively captures what's there, and what seems to be but isn't.

Words that describe this painting: mountains, flowers, hike, landscape, alpine, peaks, wildflowers, southwest, west, western, impressionism, impressionism, landscape, western, oil painting

Alpine Flowers...