David Marty
Gathering Clouds by David Marty |
Washington artist David Marty has tried painting a variety of subject matter over the years, but his creative heart belongs to landscape painting. The allure of being outdoors, where he can hike and paint, keeps him wedded to the genre. “I want to try and capture some of the beauty I see out there in creation,” Marty explains. “I want to give the viewer a sense of the peace and tranquility I experience in rural, pastoral scenes.”
As his experiences working on location have broadened, his paintings have evolved from tight realism to a looser, less structured style. “I used to be quite detailed and hard-edged, but I have gradually softened and loosened up,” he says. “Today, I’m more intent on capturing the feeling of what first attracted me to the scene instead of trying to capture every leaf, branch, or blade of grass.”
Marty’s work is on view this month in the Salon International show at Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art in San Antonio, TX. Last year one of his landscape works won an honorable mention at the annual event. In 2006, he also was juried into the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition held at Lee Youngman Galleries in Calistoga, CA. Marty is represented by Elka Rouskov Gallery, Kirkland, WA; Sacred Dancing Gallery, Big Fork, MT; and Coeur d’Alene Galleries, Coeur d’Alene, ID.
Laura Griffith
Pastel Eggs by Laura Griffith |
When Laura Griffith needs inspiration for her still-life works, she doesn’t have to travel much farther than her own backyard in Sonoma, CA, where she keeps a small orchard with apple, pear, and pomegranate trees. Griffith also grows tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries. Indeed, fruits are among the stars of her often large-scale tableaux that can range up to 72 inches in length. “I love the simplicity of the fruits,” she explains. “They are so voluptuous and sexy.”
Her interest in eggs was nurtured while visiting the home of a friend who raises Araucana chickens. One day, as Griffith recalls, she noticed the beautiful color of their eggs, “from the palest white to pink, blue, green, and rust,” and realized they would be beautiful things to paint. Whether the subjects of her still lifes are apples or eggs, she relishes arranging them in tabletop productions and then watching how the shadows fall, forming patterns on each object.
Creating still-life works has always appealed to her because she describes herself as a “close-up visual person.” “I am more comfortable closer in and dealing with detail,” she says. Griffith’s still-life paintings are on view in August at Addison Art Gallery in Orleans, MA. She also is represented by The Living Gallery, Ashland, OR; Russeck Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Fairmont Gallery, Sonoma, CA; Michael Murphy Gallery, Tampa, FL; and Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, GA.
James Randle
Beck Street Trucks by James Randle |
By day James Randle works in construction as a tile setter. By night and in every spare moment of his free time, he paints street scenes of Salt Lake City, UT. “Most things I paint are places I interact with on a daily basis,” he says. As he travels to and from jobs, he always keeps a camera nearby to shoot the skyscrapers, storefronts, train yards, freeways, and skylines that intrigue him—photos that he will later use as reference material once back in his studio. At 26, he is quickly moving toward a full-time career in fine art. “I am always trying to capture a moment in time, a certain type of atmosphere,” he says. “I like the urban stuff, like trucks and marketing terminals for gas stations.”
Randle says he always knew he would be a painter or an architect from the time he was a youngster. His parents, especially his father, watercolorist Kirk Randle, encouraged his artistic talents. In 2005, he graduated with a degree in painting and drawing from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. For inspiration, Randle turns to the artistic Wyeth family—N.C., Andrew, and Jamie—as well as California painter Richard Diebenkorn. Randle is represented by Coda Gallery, Palm Desert, CA, and Park City, UT.
Featured in “Artists to Watch” May 2007