Figures in Landscape
"Mrs. Zimmermann"
By Rose Frantzen (oil, 42” x 50“)
One of today’s most respected figurative painters is Rose Frantzen. She studied art at the American Academy of Art College (Chicago), the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts (Chicago) under Richard Schmid, and Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts (Connecticut).
Historically, portraits were usually commissioned paintings of wealthy, notable people. Even today, most portraits are commissions, although from a wider spectrum of society. In 2005-2008, Franzten painted from life (not photographs) residents of her small hometown of Maquoketa, Iowa. Frantzen’s goal was to democratize portraiture. “I wanted to paint my neighbors and fellow Maquoketans without any selection or choice on my part, attempting to capture a direct portrayal of the people around me.” The result was a collection of 180 12”-by-12” portraits.
In 2009-2010, Frantzen’s “Portrait of Maquoketa” was displayed at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Portrait Gallery for eight months. In 2012-2013, that series, plus Frantzen’s 315-square-foot landscape of her hometown, exhibited at The Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa. Shown on 34 vertical panels hung from the ceiling, the landscape merged into a seamless picture of Maquoketa as visitors entered the exhibition room. “Portrait of Maquoketa” is now in the permanent collection of The Figge Art Museum. A hardcover book of the show is available on Frantzen’s website.
The larger portrait work featured here is part of a series of figures in exteriors or interiors set in Maquoketa. Frantzen also has a figurative series “In the Face of Illusion” that incorporates optical illusions to symbolize how we might misperceive other people or ourselves. Her creativity and skill are apparent, too, in her “Dormancy” and “Thistle” series.
Frantzen’s commissioned painting of George Washington Carver and a young Henry A. Wallace, the future U.S. vice president, is part of the Iowa State University Museums’ collection. Her “Iowa Shares” was commissioned by the World Food Prize Foundation. It features Cambodian, Tai Dam, and Vietnamese refugees (third row, right, via link) brought to Iowa through the efforts of former Iowa Governor Robert Ray. Her works are also part of the collections of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Dubuque Museum of Art, and the USDA.
"Repose"
By Dominic Avant (oil on linen, 24” x 22”, 2018)
An artist from his youth, Dominic Avant earned a BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. He then worked as an art teacher and freelance illustrator before joining Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1996. He has been painting full time and teaching workshops since 2003.
Avant specializes in figurative and landscape oil paintings, often done plein air, in a style integrating Realism and Impressionism. The featured painting, Repose, demonstrates his style and skill with a beautiful model posed gracefully in sunlight and shadow. The painting won Honorable Mention in the Art Renewal Center’s 15th Annual International Salon Competition in 2021. His many other awards include a Certificate of Excellence from the Portrait Society of America in 2017 and Best of Show from the Oil Painters of America in 2007.
Avant is represented by Palm Avenue Fine Art in Sarasota Florida and Avant Studios in Bradenton, Florida.
"She Knows the Land"
By Joshua LaRock (oil, 32” x 22”)
Preeminent figurative painter Joshua LaRock dedicates his art to the pursuit of beauty, which “generates wonder, shapes our desires for the good and true, and ultimately produces hope.”
LaRock graduated summa cum laude from the University of Colorado in 2005 with a degree in Music Industry Studies. The next year, he began studying classical drawing and painting at Water Street Atelier under Jacob Collins, a pioneer of the Contemporary Realism renaissance. LaRock then taught as a core instructor at Collins’ The Grand Central Atelier, 2009-2016.
LaRock’s honors include being named, at age 33, a Living Master by the Art Renewal Center in 2015. The next year, he won a BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London, for “Laura in Black,” which also won the Purchase Award at the 12th Annual Art Renewal Center’s International Salon. LaRock is represented by Collins Galleries in Cape Cod, Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles, and Portraits, Inc.
"The Sun and the Clouds"
By Logan Maxwell Hagege (oil on linen, 40” x 40”, 2012)
Based in Los Angeles, artist Logan Maxwell Hagege (pronounced ah-zhayz) received a classical art education in Southern California, honing his skills by drawing and painting live models. He specializes in rendering traditional images of the American West in a contemporary style, creatively blending nature and imagination. His “stylized realism” features strong geometric design and a masterful display of light and shadow to focus on the essence of the image.
Hagege’s artwork is in private and public collections across the U.S, including the permanent collections of museums, such as the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, The James Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
Hagege is represented by Maxwell-Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles, Trailside Galleries in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Gerald Peters Gallery in New York City and Santa Fe.
"Keep Rising"
By Megan Aline (acrylic on panel, 20” x 16”, 2022)
Growing up in a small town along Maine’s coast nourished artist Megan Aline’s love of nature, while allowing her to take classes at the nearby Farnsworth Art Museum and interact with American Realist painters Andrew Wyeth and his son, Jaimie. Broadly educated in the liberal arts, she took courses in International Studies at the Universidad de los Andes in Venezuela, photojournalism at Regent's College in London, and earned her BFA from the University of New Hampshire in 2003.
Aline married artist Robert Lange, a hyper-realist painter, and the couple moved to Charleston, South Carolina, opening Robert Lange Studios. Initially focusing on the business side of the gallery, she later devoted more time to her own art, creating a distinctive style that quickly proved popular with art collectors. Her paintings are in a variety of sizes, some as small as 4” x 4”. Recent work, such as the featured “Keep Rising,” depict silhouettes of women with serene landscapes within the figures’ outlines.
As Aline explains’ “My images indicate a precision of detail and an attention to form are as important as the easy grace and melodious balance of the overall composition."
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"Carpe Diem"
By Ryan Wurmser (oil on panel, 20.5 x 16 inches, 2006)
From an artistic family, Los Angeles native Ryan Wurmser worked as a concept artist for Disney, Paramount, Universal, and other clients in the entertainment industry. He continued his art studies under renowned realists Steve Huston, Yuqi Wang, and Ted Seth Jacobs. Wurmer is now drawing and painting instructor at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art and founder, director, and principal instructor at Studio 909 atelier in Thousand Oaks, California. The recipient of the Gold Medal for Best Painting at the California Art Club’s 95th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition, his artwork has been exhibited at numerous galleries and museums.
Part of a series of portraits in which Wurmser depicted beachside characters at Venice, California, in the ironically titled “Carpe Diem” a homeless man sits serenely on a bench, profiled against an overcast morning.
"Soldier’s Dream"
By Elena Prudnikova (oil on canvas, c. 51” x 39")
Elena Prudnikova was born in the southeastern Russian city of Chita on the trans-Siberian Railroad route. After graduating as a fine arts major from the Chita College of Music in 1997, she studied at the prestigious St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts (2000-2007), graduating with honors and receiving a Gold Medal.
Prudnikova is a member of the Russian Artists Union, the National Pastel Union of Russia, and a signature member of the Pastel Society of America. She has participated in numerous group and solo shows, and her work is part of private collections in Russia and other countries as well as Russian museums. Her art includes portraits, figures, landscapes, cityscapes, and still life in oil, pastel, and graphite.
In the featured painting, a soldier sleeps in an almost fetal position amid an open field, a respite from war. However, the indistinct image in the background sky, though likely a bird, might be a plane or helicopter approaching to threaten his rest.
"Gathering Thunder"
by Ruth Fitton (oil on canvas, 24” x 32”)
Influenced by the 19th-century Pre-Raphaelite and Naturalist movements, self-taught artist Ruth Fitton is based in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. She specializes in portraits and figures, ranging from life-size to miniatures, observing that she has “always been fascinated by the human face, with its unique capacity for character and communication.”
Fitton’s artwork has won several awards, including Winsor & Newton Young Artist Awards at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, two Finalist selections and Purchase Award in the Art Renewal Center’s International Salon 2020, and winner of the Michael Klein Portraiture Competition 2020. She is represented by Island Fine Arts and Fine Art Commissions Ltd. (St. James, London).
On her website, Fitton discusses the painting shown here:
“’Gathering Thunder’ is one of those paintings which took a great deal of thought. I was inspired by the stormy light, by the setting, by the way the stripes of the scarf twisted and flowed in the wind. I wanted to capture the charge of a pre-storm atmosphere on the Moors. But at the centre of it all, more powerful than the storm, is the energy and intensity of the model's gaze. The whole picture orbits this emotional core.”