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Steller Sea Lions at Sea, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A group of large sea lions emerges above calm sea waters just south of Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. “The great thing about marine mammals swimming aro...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Cuddly Bison: Two of Swords, Oil Painting
By Rachel Srinivasan
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"This painting is a part of both my Tarot series and my Power Bison series," shares artist Rachel Srinivasan. "In tarot, the two of swords is about decisions,...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art

Materials

Oil

Canada Goose #1, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Emil Morhardt photographed this goose from a small boat on the Multnomah Channel in Portland, Oregon. "It was serenely paddling along just a few feet a...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Cat Dad, Original Painting
By Jessica JH Roller
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"Rosemary and her cat dad need one another to feel completely relaxed," says artist Jessica JH Roller. "Both are so gentle, so kind and if her cat dad sits do...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Outsider Art Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Beach Patrol, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Ascension, Original Painting
By Candice Eisenfeld
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Pawsitive Energy, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"No bad days with a dog, a ball, and a beach!" states artist Jeff Fleming. He describes his painting style as kinetic impressionism, embodying action, color and fun. "I started with a pencil sketch, then with gloved hands, applied oil paint using my fingers. Later, I added details using brushes and string. Once dried, I moved the piece to my studio floor where I whisked paint in authoritative strokes - a technique that replicates splashing."


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: dog, animal, impressionism, Iris Scott...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Wolf s Reading List, Original Painting
By Andrea Doss
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"The wolf loved to read and spent most of his time in the library," says artist Andrea Doss. A grey wolf contentedly sits on a tall s...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Galapagos Hawk, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"The Galapágos hawk (Buteo galapagoensis) is the same genus and size as the North American Red-tailed Hawk, but a little darker," explains artist Emil Morhard...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

This Is Not a Flock of Birds, Original Painting
By Candice Eisenfeld
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A paper crane flies among a flock of birds against a dusky warm gradient. "The title of this work, 'This Is Not a Flock of Birds,' is a nod to Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte," shares artist Candice Eisenfeld. She takes pleasure in letting her viewers create their own meanings inspired by her work.


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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Three Whimbrels in Conversation, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"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 ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Monarch Butterflies and Fluffs, Original Painting
By Natasha Tayles
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Monarch butterflies amidst white fluff, in pink, yellow, orange, and red, flying about merrily in a bright blue sky. Their colorful wings fluttering in every ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Two Peas in a Pod, Oil Painting
By Jo Galang
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Two geese turn to regard the viewer along the grassy bank of a quiet lake. "Growing up with my older sister, my mom would always dress us in the exact same clothes," shares Jo Galang. "With the same haircut and similar looks, people would always mistake us for twins since we were almost the same size and height. It was fun back then but as we grew up, we each evolved into our own distinct personalities."


About the Artist
Artist Jo Galang expresses a quiet nostalgia in her airy interpretations of the landscapes and waterways of the Pacific Northwest. Her soft oil paintings capture the meditative sounds of rivers and waterfalls flowing past her easel. During the summer, she spends as much time as possible outside creating plein air sketches and studying the light on the landscape. As a young art student in the Philippines, Jo was privileged to study with the renowned painter Danilo Dalena, who she says encouraged her to be the artist she is today. "I believe my art looks simple enough that people have no idea how much time I have spent working on it," she says. When she is not painting, Jo and her husband enjoy taking road trips, playing cards and finding creative ways to spend time with their granddaughter.


Words that describe this painting: animals, birds, Canada geese, geese, lake, landscape, nature, summer, water, waterfowl, grass, classical, wildlife, animals, classical, realism, representational, oil painting, green


Two Peas in a Pod...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Calling from the Mountain, Oil Painting
By Miranda Gamel
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A strong gazelle turns to regard the viewer, with a brilliant landscape drawing the eye into the distance. "There will always be favor when walking on the pat...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist More Art

Materials

Oil

Sanderling #22, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Emil Morhardt captures a sanderling scurrying along the edge of incoming surf. "In a second, he'll turn around and follow ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

In Solitude, Oil Painting
By Jo Galang
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fiery Calf, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"This is a calf from a herd I met in Pagosa Springs, Colorado," shares artist Heather Foster. "I wanted the bold underpainting to show through and give a dist...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist More Art

Materials

Acrylic

A Pair of Curlews, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Whale Ride, Original Painting
By Jessica JH Roller
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A playful and harmonious scene of a woman riding on the tail of a blue whale, created in artist Jessica JH Roller's signature folk-art style. Jessica says the...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Wolf and Hedgehogs, Original Painting
By Jessica JH Roller
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Using her signature folk art-style, artist Jessica JH Roller captures an endearing portrait of a wolf and two hedgehogs in a verdant abstract landscape. Jessi...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Outsider Art Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

The Coy Miss Mallards, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A close-up view of two ducks looking astutely at the viewer. "There's something highly engaging, and perhaps a little unsettling, about the way these young fe...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Two Godwits at Night, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

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

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Spring into Summer, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
With a determined expression, a Pointer leaps out of the water over a colorful beach ball. Artist Jeff Fleming describes his painting style as kinetic impressionism. He started the piece with a pencil sketch on the canvas, then with gloved hands, he applied oil paint using his fingers. Details were later added using brushes. Once these layers of paint dried, he moved the piece to his studio floor. "At this point, I whisked paint in random but authoritative strokes - a speckling technique which replicates water splashing."


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: Pointer, dog, impressionism, Iris Scott...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Matched, Oil Painting
By Miranda Gamel
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A pop art-style portrait of a powerful leopard, surrounded by bursts of bright vivid colors and flowing brushwork. The big cat stares into the distance, undi...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

New Horizon, Oil Painting
By Miranda Gamel
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A stoic portrait of a cheetah looking out over a glowing sunset, with the animal's cool and collected pose amplified by the painterly surroundings. "This piece gives a sense of the calm before the storm - of inner peace," says artist Miranda Gamel. "The cheetah is looking out into the fast landscape, looking for a sign, all while knowing there will be one to find."


About the Artist
The daughter of two artists, Miranda Gamel grew up with artistic aspirations. “When I was young, I couldn’t imagine that I would be anything else… it only seemed natural,” she says. She further developed her skills with her teachers (and fellow UGallery artists) John and Elli Milan. Miranda’s paintings exist on the edge of the surreal and the fantastical while remaining grounded in human emotion. Each painting, through its dynamic imagery, conveys the spirit embodied by the composition’s subject. Miranda’s ultimate goal is to portray each individual “being their true, raw, authentic self.”


Words that describe this painting: cheetah, wildlife, big cat, desert, sunset, animal, calm, expressionism, animals, non-representational, oil painting, purple


New Horizon...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist More Art

Materials

Oil

Voyager, Oil Painting
By Miranda Gamel
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A surreal portrait of a jaguar overlaid with a glowing peony. "She moves unapologetically through space, through water, through the land," says artist Miranda...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Summer Horse, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"This horse was just one in the midst of a crowd at the Santa Fe rodeo - a group that was waiting in the pens behind the action," shares artist Heather Foster...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Stanley Tween, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"There is that point when kids are looking grown but at the same time still look like the young kids that they are," muses artist Heather Foster. "This guy wa...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist More Art

Materials

Acrylic

A Nest and a Feather, Oil Painting
By Judy Mackey
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"I had to have my roof replaced last year and to my dismay, a cardinal couple had made a nest on a tree limb that would have been in the way of the roofers taking off old shingles," shares artist Judy Mackey...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist More Art

Materials

Oil

Raven Couple, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"Common Ravens are a friendly lot, hanging around in large groups at an abundant food source or pairing off to wander as a couple," ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

A New Kingdom, Oil Painting
By Miranda Gamel
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"A New Kingdom was created through the idea of coming and going, moving through new thresholds, from one paradise to the next," exp...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist More Art

Materials

Oil

Raven Skeptic, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"Ravens look highly intelligent," says artist Emil Morhardt. "This one was slowly and purposefully striding back and forth about ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Purified, Oil Painting
By Miranda Gamel
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
In this fantastical jungle scene, artist Miranda Gamel uses tigers as a symbol of strength and leadership. "Placing the tigers in the fire is meant to bring c...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist More Art

Materials

Oil

Speeding Crows, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
I saw this pair zooming around my house, cawing wildly on some crow mission," says artist Emil Morhardt. "One would think that Common Crows are black, but in ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Hey Friend, Why the Long Face?, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"These two friends were at the Santa Fe rodeo grounds, early in the morning, just after they were fed," shares artist Heather Foster. "They were relaxed toget...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Chipmunks, Original Painting
By Kira Yustak
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"This painting depicts a pair of cheerful woodland creatures," explains artist Kira Yustak. "Two chipmunks scamper around on a log in the forest. It's a great...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Outsider Art Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

378, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Heather Foster encountered this inquisitive subject while painting en plein air. "This nosy California girl wanted to be front and center to see what t...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Streaming Illusions, Oil Painting
By Gary Leonard
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A female figure in striking red, black and white posed with a playful pink flamingo. Both poised and seemingly in the middle of a dance, oblivious of the othe...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary More Art

Materials

Oil

Cats, Oil Painting
By Gary Leonard
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A whimsical and dramatic portrait of a stylish figure posed with a lion. "I wanted to create a striking fantasy, playing up the sophistication of the model ag...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary More Art

Materials

Oil

The Wilderness, Original Painting
By Kira Yustak
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A whimsical, folk art style painting of nature interacting with a human in the forest. A snake wraps itself around the outstretched hand while a cardinal rest...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Outsider Art Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Brave One, Oil Painting
By Alana Clumeck
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Using thick brushstrokes and dripping paint, artist Alana Clumeck rendered this white stallion in a powerful and intuitive pose. ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Three Long-Billed Curlews, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Long-Billed Curlews, some of the largest of the shorebirds, often hang out together, milling around at the edge of the surf, then wading in to feed. I spotted...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Shall We Dance?, Oil Painting
By Jo Galang
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
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...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Librarian, Original Painting
By Andrea Doss
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Of this great voyage, Andrea Doss says, "She is a great adventurer of many lands, where she has seen a million places and times, a...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary More Art

Materials

Acrylic

Fierce, Oil Painting
By Alana Clumeck
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A lone wolf trots in the snow, encircled with a red halo. In the background, herring swim among a flower pattern, inspired from her childhood memories growing...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Lone Star, Oil Painting
By Shao Yuan Zhang
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"This painting was inspired by the idea that we are shaped by outside forces, but remain unchanged, we persist in the face of adversity," says Shao. "It is what makes us human." Shao's energetic paintings of stallions explore and illustrate movement through nature. This work represents an immigrant's journey, filled with strength and perseverance. Shao incorporates both contemporary watercolor and traditional ink calligraphy styles into this series of oil paintings.


About the Artist
Art has been with Shao Yuan Zhang for the majority of his extraordinary, and at times difficult, life journey. Raised in communist China...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Thunder, Oil Painting
By Shao Yuan Zhang
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
"This painting was inspired by the idea that we are shaped by outside forces, but remain unchanged, we persist in the face of adversity," says Shao. "It is what makes us human." Shao's energetic paintings of stallions explore and illustrate movement through nature. This work represents an immigrant's journey, filled with strength and perseverance. Shao incorporates both contemporary watercolor and traditional ink calligraphy styles into this series of oil paintings.


About the Artist
Art has been with Shao Yuan Zhang for the majority of his extraordinary, and at times difficult, life journey. Raised in communist China...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

With Gold II, Original Painting
By Candice Eisenfeld
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Symbols of home and family juxtaposed with adventure, discovery and flight are re-occurring themes in Candice's work. A hummingbird boldly flies away from its...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Black Butterfly, Original Painting
By Kira Yustak
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This painting is of a black swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly is painted larger than life to show all of the detail. It has a mystical quality as the butterfly seems to float above the garden with a few stars beginning to appear on a lavender sky.


About the Artist
Kira Yustak paints fantastical scenes that come from her childhood memories, dreams, and the natural world. Each piece feels like part of a larger narrative of an alternative reality, rendered in a style she describes as comic realism. She feels art must trigger something inside the viewer’s soul.Kira currently lives in New Jersey and finds inspiration in the work of Lowbrow, Folk, and Surrealist artists.


Words that describe this painting: butterfly, insect, garden, stars, wings, animals, representational, acrylic painting, purple


Black Butterfly...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

The Watchful Doe, Oil Painting
By Onelio Marrero
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
The area in northwestern New Jersey where the artist lives has a large deer population. This painting is a scene revealing a portion of the yard in the home o...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Chrysanthemum Fox, Oil Painting
By Tara Zalewsky-Nease
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Celebrating the transition of summer into fall, featuring a white fox in a field of golden and rust colored chrysanthemums. This painting is part of a series ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Costa Rica Falls with Fox, Oil Painting
By Tara Zalewsky-Nease
Located in San Francisco, CA
<p>Artist Comments
Tara's reference photo was a view of a waterfall in a lush forest in Costa Rica. She combined this with the vertical aesthetic of tradi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Oil

Great Crested Tern #1
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Emil Morhardt photographed this tern from the National Geographic Orion cruise ship off Tahiti in May 2019. These birds, he says, are large, beautiful, extrem...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

The Edge of a Dream
By Alana Clumeck
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
The bison and the beetle have a prehistoric elegance about them that I thought would compliment each other perfectly. Symbolically, both represent life and mortality, which has been on my mind lately. To Native Americans, bison are symbolic of sacred life and abundance. And in ancient greek mythology the beetle became revered as a symbol of rebirth and immortality -- its daily journey across the sky became an allegory of human life. The Wallpaper collection is a juxtaposition of masculine meets feminine. I wanted to create a unique series that stands apart from traditional nature paintings, where the wild and somewhat prehistoric aspects of my animals featured contrast against their delicate backdrops. In addition to this, many of my paintings are created with a little bit of underlying symbolism usually sparked from a world event or life moment that I am experiencing. I concentrate on this theme as a therapeutic mantra throughout the creation of the painting. For each painting, different techniques and layers of design are implemented when creating the wall paper effect. To keep the patterns consistent I create a stencil to outline the shapes of my hummingbirds, bugs and fish, and then I hand paint each shape individually. In the areas where I wanted a little more chaos, I would forgo the stencil and eyeball each design. My animals are always painted first, and then I layout the design around them.

About the Artist
Australian-born Alana Clumeck...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Sleepy Willet
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Willets are usually at the edge of the surf, poking into the wet sand as they follow each wave in and out. This one, when I came on him, was standing above th...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

A Northern Shoveler Churning
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Sometimes these handsome ducks, who feed at the Santa Barbara Bird Refuge by plowing through the water with their bills open, take a break from shoveling and ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Out Running the Waves
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
When I walk along Santa Barbara beaches in winter, Marbled Godwits are the most common bird, often seen in herds, as in thi...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Green Snakes
By Kira Yustak
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
I wanted to paint a pair of snakes that are intertwined like a puzzle. It is difficult to tell where one ends and one begins.

About the Artist
Kira Yustak paints fantastical scenes that come from her childhood memories, dreams, and the natural world. Each piece feels like part of a larger narrative of an alternative reality, rendered in a style she describes as comic realism. She feels art must trigger something inside the viewer’s soul.Kira currently lives in New Jersey and finds inspiration in the work of Lowbrow, Folk, and Surrealist artists.

Green Snakes...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Animal Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

The Derby Race
By Shao Yuan Zhang
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This painting was inspired by the idea that we are shaped by outside forces, but remain unchanged, we persist in the face of adversity. It is what makes us human. My energetic oil paintings of stallions explore and illustrate movement through nature. This work represents an immigrant journey or strength and perseverance. I incorporate both contemporary (watercolor) and traditional (ink calligraphy) painting styles into this series.

About the Artist
Art has been with Shao Yuan Zhang for the majority of his extraordinary, and at times difficult, life journey. Raised in communist China...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist More Art

Materials

Oil

The Herd
By Shao Yuan Zhang
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This painting was inspired by the idea that we are shaped by outside forces, but remain unchanged, we persist in the face of adversity. It is what makes us human. My energetic oil paintings of stallions explore and illustrate movement through nature. This work represents an immigrant journey or strength and perseverance. I incorporate both contemporary (watercolor) and traditional (ink calligraphy) painting styles into this series.

About the Artist
Art has been with Shao Yuan Zhang for the majority of his extraordinary, and at times difficult, life journey. Raised in communist China...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist More Art

Materials

Oil