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The paintings of Terry Furchgott, done mainly in acrylic or soft pastel, feature deep colors and creative compositions that examine feminine archetypes and human relations. After earning an art history honors degree at Radcliffe College (Mass.), she studied at London’s Camden Art Centre, and has had an art career spanning more than fifty years. The recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, her work is in many private and public collections, including Continental Bank, McDonald’s Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and the U.S. Postal Service.
In addition to Furchgott’s studio work, she is successful in the field of public art with commissioned large-scale work for the Kent Regional Justice Center, the Regional Arts and Culture Council of Portland, the Washington State Arts Commission, and other public venues. She has also dedicated time to organizing community-based arts, such as the Art to the People Project and a celebration of Seattle’s African Americans, as well as mentoring emerging artists.
Furchgott is represented by Seattle’s Harris Harvey Gallery.
Artist Michael Van Zeyl specializes in narrative figurative painting reflecting his sensitivity to “subtle changes in gesture, light and energy … [of] a subject’s genuine movements.” He studied art at Chicago’s American Academy of Art and the Palette & Chisel and at New York’s Art Students League. He now teaches at the Palette & Chisel, where he also serves on its board of directors.
Particularly influenced by 17th-century Dutch painters and 19th-century Impressionists, Van Zeyl’s paintings have received awards from The Artists Guild, the Portrait Society of America, and the Oil Painters of America. His work is in numerous private and public collections, including DePaul University School of Law and the University of Chicago.
Van Zeyl is represented by Abend Gallery in Denver, 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago, and Gallery Victor Armendariz in Chicago.
"The Big Show"
By Terry Furchgott (acrylic on paper, 20.5 “x 17.5”, 2014)
"Backstage II"
By Michael Van Zeyl (oil, 24” x 20”, 2013)
"It’s All an Illusion"
By Michelle Jader (oil on two acrylic panels, 25” x 24”, 2018)
Michelle Jader began her professional life as a business product marketer and for ten years ran her own consulting company. She found working with graphic designers and other artists particularly rewarding, nourishing her love of art. Deciding to change her career path, Jader enrolled in the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2007, completing a bachelor’s degree and then MFA degree in Fine Art Painting in 2011.
Jader’s art is distinctive in being painted on multiple acrylic panels. As she explains on her website, she “begins with an idea, a feeling or a moment that I want to explore into several paintings.” After making notes and drawing sketches, she refines her idea and contacts models to take reference photos. She then paints on two or more acrylic panels, shifting “the panels back and forth throughout the painting process to get a better understanding of how the layers work together…” Once the panels are completed, she adds hardware to bring them together for easy display.
Jader is represented by Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, South Carolina, and Abend Gallery in Denver, Colorado.
"Fortune Teller [or Wonder Seller]"
By Nikolai Blokhin (oil on canvas, 71” x 71”, 2009)
Nicolai Blokhin was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he attended an art school for gifted children and later the prestigious Repin Institute (St. Petersburg Academy of Art), 1995-2000. An excellent draftsman and colorist, Blokhin built on the technique of early 20th-century Russian masters to develop a signature style of his own. His artwork is in museum collections in Russia, China, the United States, the Czech Republic, and Finland, and has been in 40 international exhibitions.
"Love Triangle"
By Olga Suvorova (54.7” x 26.5”)
Olga Suvorova was born in Saint Petersburg into a family with several generations of notable artists. A 1998 graduate of the renowned Repin Institute (St. Petersburg Academy of Arts), she studied monumental composition and painting technique under Andrei Mylnikov. Her art is influenced by Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo styles, as well as the Mir iskusstva (“The World of Arts”) movement in St. Petersburg from the 1890s into the early 20th century. Suvorova incorporates historical costumes, figures, florals, musical instruments, and animals in her boldly colorful paintings. Her artwork is part of private collections in Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, and other countries.
"Suspended in Silence"
By Kevin A. Moore (oil on panel, 10” x 8”, 2019)
Kevin A. Moore studied with painter Timothy Jahn and in 2015 graduated from Ani Art Academy Waichulis in Pennsylvania. Moore is now head instructor at the school’s New Jersey branch, Ani Art Academy America. His paintings often combine photorealistic figures with impressionistic, symbolic, or surreal elements. Here, Moore’s “Suspended in Silence” shows a trapeze artist practicing her craft.
"Voice of the Tiger"
by Terry Strickland (oil on canvas over panel, 33'x32')
After earning a degree in graphic design, Terry Strickland applied her talent in diverse fields, including the gaming industry, imprinted sportswear, and as courtroom sketch artist, before becoming a full-time artist in 2005. Her work has won numerous awards and appears in top galleries of representational art.
The artist wrote about the Voice of the Tiger painting on her blog.