Promise of a New Day by Jeff Chapman-Crane |
Jeff Chapman-Crane
Appalachian artist Jeff Chapman-Crane paints what he knows best: the people and places of his home. “The work I do is rooted in the experience of being Appalachian,” he says of his realistic images of the region’s snow-covered hills, quaint storefronts, and inhabitants young and old. “Characterizations like those found in Ma and Pa Kettle and the Beverly Hillbillies form the predominant image of life in Appalachia,” says the artist, who uses his paintings to help counteract these negative stereotypes. “By producing art that portrays the people of Appalachia with dignity and their land with respect, I seek to contribute to a better understanding of life here and to help bring about positive change to the region.” Chapman-Crane is represented by J.N. Bartfield Galleries, New York, NY. —MB
Sweet Grass by Lani Vlaanderen |
Lani Vlaanderen
“My art is about the beauty and flow of everyday life,” says Colorado painter Lani Vlaanderen. The artist lives on a small ranch near Morrison, CO, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and her work reflects her rural surround-ings. “I have a serendipi-tous approach to what makes an interesting painting,” Vlaanderen says. “It could be the unconscious gesture of a model, a child at play, or an animal unaware of its human observer.”
Vlaanderen studied at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and at the Art Students League of Denver with Kim English. Her paintings have won awards at Arts for the Parks and Oil Painters of America shows, and she is represented by Third Canyon Gallery, Denver, CO; Columbine Gallery, Loveland, CO, and Santa Fe, NM; Galerie du Bois, Aspen, CO; and Rollins Gallery, Edwards, CO. —KB
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Succulents by Dennis Doheny |
Dennis Doheny
For 15 years Dennis Doheny devoted his talents to commercial art. The California artist created everything from theme-park billboards to aerospace drawings. Several years ago, however, Doheny decided the time had come to start living a personal dream. “Instead of painting other people’s ideas and designs, I wanted to paint for myself,” he says. An outdoor enthusiast, Doheny found that plein-air painting suited his skills and interests.
Today he paints coastal landscapes near his home in Santa Barbara and makes regular trips to the Sierra Nevada Mountains a few hours away. In 1998 Doheny won an honorable mention at the California Art Club’s Gold Medal Exhibition. He also won first prize in a plein-air painting competition at the Carmel Art Festival, and Carmel Dunes, the award-winning landscape, was sel-ected for the 1999 festival poster. Doheny is
Off Season (detail) by Dennis Dohen |
represented by William A. Karges Gallery in Los Angeles and Carmel, CA. This month his works can be seen at the gallery’s Los Angeles location in an exhibit that runs from May 22-June 30. —BG
Featured in “Artists to Watch” May 1999