Literary
"Garden of Eden"
By Andrea Mosley (oil on canvas with gold leaf, 14” x 11”, 2021)
"Of Borrowed Sins [Dorian Grey]"
By Jennifer Hrabota Lesser (oil, 14 “x 11”, 2021)
Andrea Mosley studied art in Florence, Italy, at the Angel Academy of Art, a premier atelier of classical realism in the Renaissance tradition. She completed its four-year Fundamentals Program and one-year Master Portrait Graduate Program, the latter on a full scholarship. The atelier was founded by John Angel a former student of Pietro Annigoni (1910-1988), one of Italy’s most famous 20th-century portraitists.
In 2009, Mosley won First Place in the Art Renewal Center’s Scholarship Competition, and achieved Finalist status in ARC’s 2009 and 2013 International Salons as well as the 2014 Portrait Society of America’s annual competition. She was featured as an emerging artist in the August 2016 issue of Southwest Art. Mosley’s paintings have been displayed in California Art Club’s Annual Gold Medal Exhibitions. She has taught figurative art at the Los Angles Academy of Figurative Art and the Laguna College of Art and Design as well as privately.
Figurative painter Jennifer Hrabota Lesser is influenced by 19th-century artists John Everett Millais (1829-1896) and William Holman Hunt (1827-1910) of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood but she interprets myth and folklore from a feminine perspective. She celebrates women often maligned or marginalized in myth and folklore, and sometimes reverses the roles of traditional heroes and villains. She is represented by Haven Gallery in Long Island, New York.
Lesser’s painting “Of Borrowed Sins,” was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s “The Portrait of Dorian Grey” (1890) and was part of a Wilde-themed group show at Haven Gallery.
"Lady Shizuka"
By Phil Couture (oil on linen, c. 24” x 16”, 2016)
Canadian-born artist Philippe “Phil” Couture grew up in Florida and began drawing and painting in his youth. In 2011, he and his wife moved to Japan, living in the geisha district of Kyoto, the ancient imperial capital and cultural center of Japan. Since 2018, Couture has resided in Wroclaw, Poland.
Primarily self-taught, Couture’s paintings are influenced by both the “Ukiyo-e” Japanese woodblock prints of the 17th-19th century and European realism of the 19th-century. Describing his style of “impressionistic realism,” he specializes in “Binjin-ga,” the Japanese genre featuring beautiful women. His paintings have won several awards, including from the BoldBrush Competition and the Art Renewal Center.
Couture’s painting is of “Lady Shizuka” (1165-1211), a court dancer during the Heian era and loyal wife of military commander Minamoto no Yoshitsune, whose story is related in The Tale of the Heike, a long ballad that is one of the most influential works in Japanese literature.
"Tiger, Tiger, Burned So Bright"
By Janet Cook (oil on panel, 24” x 20”, 2017)
In this painting, artist Janet A. Cook also presents a hybrid human-animal figure and references a literary work, William Blake’s poem, “The Tyger.”
Cook earned a BA in Art History with Honors at De Montfort University in Leicester, England, with additional studies at the Art Students League and National Academy School of Art in New York City. Her artwork has been shown in many galleries and museums, as well as the United Nations, and featured in a large variety of publications, such as American Art Collector, Fine Art Magazine, The New York Times, and the International Artist Magazine. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards for excellence.
Cook is represented by Dacia Gallery in New York City and Haven Gallery in Newport, New York.
"The Big Bad Wolf"
By Matthew Grabelsky (oil on canvas, 47” x 32”)
Matthew Grabelsky invests humor in his art by depicting animal heads on humans engaged in ordinary activities, such as riding the subway or walking on the beach. The hybrid creatures are reminiscent of figures from ancient mythology and folklore but set in the contemporary world wearing ordinary clothing. His painting featured here refers to the “Little Red Riding Hood” fairy (or folk) tale.
Grabelsky graduated from Rice University in Houston (2002) with an interesting combination of degrees: a BS in Astrophysics and a BA in Art and Art History. Four years later, he received a Certificate in Painting from the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. He has exhibited his artwork in numerous venues. In July 2022, his interview with Shoutout LA was published.
Penelope’s Web
by Kirk Richards (oil on canvas, 20 x 26 inches, 2003)
Kirk Richard’s painting Penelope’s Web is based on Homer’s Odyssey, which recounts the legendary journey home of one of the Greek military leaders of the Trojan War, Odysseus, to his wife, Penelope.
During his twenty-year absence, suiters thronged to Odysseus’ estate seeking marriage to his presumed widow. To forestall that eventuality, Penelope promised to decide whom to marry only after completing a funeral shroud for her aging father-in-law, Laertes. Every night, she secretly unraveled her day’s weaving. Her patience is finally rewarded when Odysseus returns in disguise to slay the rivals for his wife’s affection.
Penelope became a symbol in Western culture of marital fidelity and patience. However, contemporary poet A. E. Stallings presents a different perspective in her poem “The Wife of the Man of Many Wiles” posted in the poetry section of this website.
Classical realist Kirk Richards studied under influential artist Richard Lack before earning a BFA and MA at West Texas State University. Richards’s talent manifests in a wide range of paintings: portraits, still life, genre, landscapes, religious, mythological, and historical. He has won numerous awards, such as Best in Show at the National Juried Biennial Exhibition hosted by the Amarillo Museum of Art, and has been named a Living Master by the Art Renewal Center. In addition to being featured in American Artist magazine, Classical Realism, and other art publications, Richards has promoted the contemporary classical realism movement through his own writings, including contributing to Realism in Revolution: The Art of the Boston School (1985).
"The Fables"
by Mary Chiaramonte (acrylic on wood panel, 24 x 36 inches, 2014
A native of West Virginia and Summa Cum Laude graduate of Radford University (VA), the acrylic paintings of Mary Chiaramonte have been selected for the 12th, 13th, and 14th Salons of the Art Renewal Center, awarded by the Portrait Society of America (2016, 2018, and 2019), exhibited at several museums and art galleries, and featured in Fine Art Connoisseur and other publications.
At the center of the featured painting a fox drapes benignly around the neck of the young girl who appears deep in thought. On the background wall are scenes illustrating Aesop’s fables: “The Fox Who Lost His Tail” (upper left) with its moral “Distrust advice from someone who stands to gain”; “The Stag at the Pool” (upper right) warns of valuing the ornamental to the neglect of the practical; “The Lion and the Shepard” (lower right) in which a good deed done will beget a good deed received; and “The Fox and the Stork” which cautions that tricks may be returned in kind.
"Don Quixote"
by Omar Rayyan (watercolor on paper, 11'x8', 2016)
A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Omar Rayyan is inspired by artists of the Northern Renaissance and the 19th-century Romantic and Symbolist movements. Clients for his illustrations include leading publishing houses and Disney.
The featured watercolor depicts the titular character from Miguel de Cervantes’ famous early-17th-century romance, Don Quixote, with his squire, Sancho Panza, in the background.