American Realist Animal Paintings

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A solitary black swan leisurely glides on a tranquil pond in artist Guigen Zha's allegorical rendering. The still waterscape ripples from the delicate movemen...

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A brown colt quenches its thirst from a pristine lotus pond in artist Guigen Zha's symbolic piece. Part of his Dreamland series high...

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A ceramic camel sculpture and a vase with lotus flowers settle on the surface of artist Guigen Zha's realistic piece. These ornaments called Tang Sancai radiate vitality in the painting. "The reference of the Bactrian camel...

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Artist Emil Morhardt paints a glaucous-winged gull lifting off Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. He paints the bird splashing the crystalline water in detailed realism. "These big gulls are unafraid of brown bears, dodging between their legs to grab morsels," says Emil. He highlights the piece with a silvery edge reflecting a dazzlingly sunny day.

About the Artist
Emil Morhardt is an acrylic painter from Santa Barbara, California who expresses his passion for birds through realistic acrylic paintings. He paints at home in a studio room that has large windows and a north-facing view of the mountains. He observes the animals from this window, watching roadrunners, foxes, bobcats, deer, and coyote run by. Surrounded by this wildlife, Emil paints bird portraits reminiscent of those by artist John James Audubon. He bases his paintings off hundreds of photographs he takes of birds in the wild and at wildlife recovery centers. Emil captures the freedom and inquisitiveness that birds display in the natural world. Before painting birds, he painted landscapes of San Francisco and the Eastern Sierra. Emil was raised in the high desert of California and learned to paint from his father, who was one of the early California watercolorists...

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A delicate portrait of a Canada goose against a pastel backdrop. "Spending time alone in nature is something I take advantage of whenever possible," shares ar...

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"Corgis have big ears, big smiles, and have lots of LOVE to share," says artist Jeff Fleming. He displays the two playful canines with endearing grins and sparkling doe eyes. Jeff blends multiple colors and textures, adding depth and character to the composition. He creates dynamic points of interest with finger painting and applying drizzles of color with string.

About the Artist
Artist Jeff Fleming uses fingerpainting to create exuberant portraits of dogs. Growing up in Southern California, Jeff was first introduced to fingerpainting in kindergarten. He painted through high school and college and won several art awards, including Best of Show in a city wide student competition. After graduating with a degree in journalism and advertising, he went to work as an art director. For the next 40 years, he created print, radio and television ads for a number of top agencies. "After retiring in 2019, the clouds of stress and pressure cleared and allowed me to set my creative energy free," says Jeff. He began developing new techniques focused on the excitement and energy of painting. Today, he uses a variety of methods and tools, including fingerpainting wearing nitrile gloves, traditional paint brushes, bamboo shish kebab sticks, kite string, spraypaint and splattering. While working, Jeff always listens to music, including Broadway musicals, dance music and rhythmic Hawaiian tunes.

Words that describe this painting: Corgi, happy, dogs, kinetic impressionism, oilpaint, fun, Iris Scott...

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"The iconic powder-blue lifeguard tower with a patriotic flag waving, stands tall on the wide Southern California beach," describes artist John Jaster. A life...

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"Considered symbols of luck, Koi fish are known for their tenacity to swim rushing streams and waterfalls until they reach their goal," says artist Candice Eisenfeld. "They are determined and they never give up. Symbolic in Buddhism, they represent courage and strength."

About the Artist
As an American exploring issues of identity, artist Candice Eisenfeld paints through the lens of the first American art movement, the Hudson River School. Rather than depicting a specific locale, Candice’s artwork evokes a sense of place. These "inner landscapes" are invented, and often reference photographs taken during travels in southern Appalachia and the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains. Whether real or imagined, her paintings are influenced by the Dutch Masters, Tonalists, and Chinese painting. Produced on a single wooden panel, the ethereal landscapes are often joined with segments of aqueous color fields which act as commentary for the landscapes, like the chorus in a Greek play. The crisp, hard edges separating the landscapes from the color fields command a sense of order in an otherwise fluid and painterly surface. With two or three sections of the panel competing for attention, the painting creates multiple focal points. Candice's art has been displayed in embassies in Namibia and Belarus, held in the collections of Norwest Bank and Northwest Airlines...

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Artist Pamela Hoke displays a monochromatic portrait of a highland cattle. She captures the serenity of a majestic yet gentle and b...

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"These two glowing marbled godwits are painted at the edge of the surf on a soft late evening on a Santa Barbara beach," sh...

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"The two nearer whimbrels look to me," shares artist Emil Morhardt. "They look as though they might be discussing whether or not to let junior fly to Florida ...

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"These two long-billed curlews are gazing at us with an unmistakable curiosity," says artist Emil Morhardt. "Like many shorebirds, when I sat on the beach qui...

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When artist Jo Galang moved to Vancouver many years ago, she and her family settled in the city near Stanley Park. "On frequent visits to the park, we would o...