SmithKlein Gallery represents many Colorado artists.
Linda Israel
Capturing
the essence of life through the colorful innocence of animals is what inspires
Linda and brings her joy. She says, “Animals are so in the moment, simple
and direct. They are pure consciousness”. She paints the
peaceful, unconditional and simple souls of animals. Linda has been
inspired since she was just 3 years old, when she first started drawing.
Using
an array of vibrant colors, Linda approaches her portraits like the subjects
themselves —playfully uninhibited. Her techniques of painting on a
large canvas, her use of color and light and the glazing of acrylic create a
deep connection to Self. Linda believes that through art, human
growth can be both expressed and seen. Art is a unique visual
translation of the feelings created in response to the world around
us. She finds it no accident that animals are drawn to her. Linda
studied painting at the University of Colorado-Boulder before moving to New
York to study interior design. While in school, Linda painted
numerous murals for private businesses.
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| "Once Upon a Bear" oil 36 x 48 |
Louise Peterson
Louise
is fortunate to be living her dream with her husband, Chris, in Colorado. She
spends her time hiking with her Great Danes, horse riding, spoiling her three
cats, sculpting in her studio and operating the business of her art which often
involves traveling to interesting places.
Louise began studying clay modeling after moving the the United States from England. Louise learned to sculpt with the
human figure, but after moving to the rural mountains of Colorado in 1998, the
only model in her small studio was her Great Dane. What resulted were fine
classical renderings of dogs that are often both humorous and elegant. Louise
is a huge animal lover, and future plans include a retirement home for senior
Great Danes. She also spends time walking dogs at the local animal shelter.
Louise works from her ranch studio where she is inspired by vistas of the
surrounding high country. She lives with her husband Chris, Great Danes Rigel
and Bella, and her cats Adora, Illana and Kaz.
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| "Tickled" Bronze Various Sizes |
James Moore
James
has been working professionally in bronze for many years. After pursuing a
15-year career as an art teacher, James now devotes full time to his bronze
sculpting. His award winning work is in private and public collections across
the United States and Europe. James lives with his family in a small rural
community in the West. He, his wife and two daughters enjoy a small acreage
where they garden, raise horses, dogs and an assortment of other animals. This
environment provides plenty of inspiration for creating art.
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| "Ebb & Flow" Bronze 20" |
Paul Cunningham
Paul is a self-taught
artist who displayed his artistic genius and passion from an early age. He was
inspired by a deep appreciation of the West, fueled by many boyhood trips to
our neighbors in Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico. The amazing ability to
capture the true magic of the West is one of Paul's special gifts.
Paul's venture into
abstract work offers a style featuring minimal imagery, a proprietary
high-gloss application on the finish layer and stirring splashes of color,
which merge into intense artistic creations. The deep rich pallet, high clarity
and full purity are Paul's signature trademarks found in these pieces. The
enthusiast gazes through layers of transparent glaze applies in a pain-staking,
time-consuming process.
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Paul doing a live painting demonstration at SmithKlein Gallery. |
D.D. LaRue
Dede
LaRue is a visionary. She is a self-taught, mixed media artist whose work has been
featured in galleries, publications and on television. Using a combination of
sturdy, lightweight material, including wire, wood, paper mache, gypsum,
fiberglass, and air brushed enamel, Dede creates striking free-standing
interior and wall sculptures which explore the complex relationships between
animals, humankind and their environments.. Sometimes whimsical and sometimes
challenging, Dede’s eye- catching animals combine a fearless point of view with
a respect for the dignity inherent in all animal species.
“As the human race’s
relationship to the world becomes ever more complex and technological, I feel
it becomes increasingly important to attune our emotional and spiritual
connections to nature.”
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| "Dog in Door" Mixed Media 43" |
Lyudmila Agrich
Lyudmila Agrich was born in
Russia. As a
child her parents were always
encouraging her in all of her creative expressions. As a result she spent several
years in musical school and the school of fine arts for children. She was lucky
because she was able to taste the nectar of creativity so early, and
intuitively she knew in the beginning what could bring her happiness and
contentment. But when she had to make a choice, she went to Architectural school
and received bachelor degree in Architecture and Fine Arts.
After a career in the technical
field of beams and concrete, she started to hear a strong calling for painting.
She quit architecture in 2001 and became a professional artist. Her choice is
not her career; it is her life, fulfilled and happy. She replaced her painting
brush with palette knife in order to create bolder, brighter, and powerful
images of nature, flowers, and people. Her style is expressionistic
impressionism. her main focus is to capture intimate moments in ordinary life.
No matter what she is painting, a landscape, or a little cafe in an old
European town, she wants her paintings to speak in the language of human
feelings.
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| "Quiet Harbor" Oil 20 x 20 |
Sandy Graves
As a child who was born in
Colorado and grew up in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Sandy first displayed her work
at county fairs as a 4-H member. Once she started her art education, mostly at
Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, she worked in many different
mediums. Sandy took naturally to sculpting, and it ended up being her favorite
medium. Horses are a theme in Sandy's work, but she likes to sculpt a variety of animals, mostly ones native to the areas in which she has lived.
“I see bronze sculpture as being a friendly
and beautiful medium. I enjoy watching the public interact with art. In sculpture,
viewers can walk around it, touch it, and become part of the artistic
expression in a very personal way. “
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| "Sugar" Bronze 22 x 12 x 8 |
Giuseppe Palumbo
Artist's Statement:
“When a viewer
mentions that my sculpture has soul or has stirred their soul it is the highest
compliment and what I aim to achieve in every piece. Successful art
communicates in a universal language that words fail to convey.
My work is
figurative, the objective not to recreate a replica of the living, but to
capture the essence of the being, not a frozen pose, but alive in spirit,
texture and warmth.
My chapter in
the story is short, finished with the piece, then it becomes an endless tale as
each viewer relives and creates their own.”
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| "Flock of Five" Bronze various sizes |
Bryce Widom
Bryce
grew up in rural Alaska. His mother is an artist,
and while she is a great resource for feedback, Byce is primarily self-taught.
Stepping outside his house when he was young, he’d be
greeted by wide-open stretches of sun-drenched tundra, or a wintry frozen sea.
Bryce would watch, listen and observe. He would often be drawn in and, one foot
after another step into the spaciousness of the landscape.
In
many of Bryce’s paintings, he is re-awakening this scenario, recreating a
moment. A figure in the painting stands before nature or walks into the
landscape, and the viewer is invited to do so as well, to identify with what’s
on the canvas and mentally step into the painting. Having grown up with ravens,
bears, fox and salmon living near his house, he feels camaraderie with the
wildlife, which is why these animals often accompany the figures in his
paintings. While the landscape has changed (the location could be Colorado, or
Alaska, or some mix of the two), the spirit remains the same.
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| "In the Valley of Ages" Oil 60 x 36 |
Shano
Shano’s
journey as a jeweler started in 1973.
In the Arizona desert, He
enjoyed exploring the rocks. With the help of some of the first published gem
prospecting guides along with the advice of ole timer's, he began digging for
gems and minerals throughout the southwest.
Shano also learned to cut
and polish stones, first crafting into animal fetishes, then cabachons. Soon
after, he met Neil, a creative artist already working as a silversmith. In exchange
for some of his cut stones, Neil taught Shano how to make his first ring. The
next day they went shopping for tools and silver, a total investment of
$150.00. That was the only lesson Shano ever had in jewelry making.
A Shano continues to
travel, seeking out gemstones. He has studios in Colorado as well as Florida.
Once the student of a single class that inspired Shano to pursue a career in
jewelry making, he, in turn, has passed his craft onto many others.
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| Turquoise and silver earrings |
Stalin Tafura
Tafura was born
into a famous sculpting family in Zimbabwe and is the grandson of sculptor,
Claudio Nyanhongo, and son of world-renown sculptor, Agnes Nyanhongo. His
education as a sculptor began in early childhood, as he observed the work of
his grandfather, mother and uncles, and began to assist in the finishing
process of their pieces.
“From a very
early age, it was typical that I’d be surrounded by various family members
sculpting and I became familiar with not only the techniques and the tools, but
also the creative process and approach that I continue to use today. As
a child, I used clay earth to sculpt cows, sheep and other animals; I
was always exploring the world in a creative way. I remember
sculpting one of my first stone piece around the age of five. As I
matured, it didn’t take long for me to realize that art could serve as a very
powerful and personal way for me to communicate,” explains Tafura.
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| "Encircling my Soul" Springstone 20 x 6 x 4 |
Pokey Park
Pokey Park (Marie Whittle-Webb Park) was
born and spent her formative years in Coastal Georgia. Pokey's earliest memories are the play
of light and shadow in the live oak forest, the designs in driftwood and
shells, the patterns created by wind and tide, the dance of wild animals, the
flight of birds, and the force of storms.
Those early impressions have greatly influenced her art and life.
Pokey has a BFA from the University of
Georgia where she first experimented with bronze casting under Leonard
DeLonga. She also works in clay,
wood and stone. Pokey taught art
to both adults and children when she lived on the East Coast, and now divides
her time between Arizona and Colorado. Her work ranges in scale from a few
inches to more than ten feet and has been enlarged or downsized for
site-specific commissions. Pokey
has public installations in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and her work is in
private collections across the United States.
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| "Kit Fox" Bronze 23 x 25 x 17 |
Belgin Yucelen
Artist's statement:
Sculpting is a
way to communicate for me, a way to record my emotions and perspectives. It
provides a vehicle for me to present my ideas and beliefs. I would like
to see my work as a philosophical journey through the essential elements of
life. When someone who comes across one of my sculptures steps out of time to
question some of the basics in his life my purpose is fulfilled. Sculpting is
an act of giving for me.
The soul of a
sculpture lies in the emotions and reflections of the sculptor and how well the
technique is utilized. When it is time for the realization of an idea, I start
sculpting. There is always a call to make a sculpture, but the result is
unknown even though I know why I am making it.
Creating is
exhausting, but joyful. I love working with clay, which responds to my hands
buthas its own dreams. I stop when I see my idea born together with some solid
life in the sculpture.
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| "Conversation" Bronze 12 x 8 x 3 |
D'Ette Delforge
D’Ette
describes her jewelry as “Simple Elegance”. “Contemporary yet classic has
always been my style. Comfort, wearability and good clean design has
always been my trademark.”
D’Ette has
a full line of hand made custom jewelry including rings, pendants, earrings and
hand forged bracelets with the ability to create whatever your heart desires.
The settings include both colored stones and diamonds in all shapes and sizes.
She also has a line of sterling silver jewelry which features 14kt. yellow gold
accents with a variety of colored stones.
“One of
my greatest joys, is seeing the satisfaction on the faces of my clients, and
that alone inspires my creativity to continue.”
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| Various ring by D'Ette Delforge |
