Tuesday, March 22, 2011

American Watercolor Masters -- Chris Krupinski


Cooking with Wine, 30" x 22"

Although Chris Krupinski has been drawing and painting all of her life, watercolor became her passion after she discovered the medium in the mid-1980s, and she is widely regarded as a brilliant watercolorist. Dynamic light and shadow treatments are prominent in her paintings, and by focusing much of her attention on the smallest details, the viewer is drawn into the intricacies of her work. These two elements have enabled her to create powerfully expressive still lifes and bold compositions.


Lemons and a Lime, 22" x 30"


Clementines and Pitcher, 30" x 22"


Chris has continually drawn rave reviews for her fine art work, winning nearly 100 national awards and honors. She is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society, Rocky Mountain Watercolor Society, Allied Artists, and the American Artist's Professional League, to name a few. Chris was one of 26 "American masters" invited to the prestigious Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary International Watermedia Masters in Nanjing, China in both November 2007 and May 2010. She has been published in major watercolor publications, has been a featured artist in numerous leading national art magazines and is consistently included in Marquis' Who's Who Internationally, Who's Who in America, and Who's Who Among American Women.


Apples, Stripes, and Jar, 30" x 22"


Pears and a Glass, 30" x 22"


Please go to Chris's website to see more of her exquisite watercolors.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Geoffrey McCormack


Reina de la Costa, 22" x 30"

Labelled an "abstract naturalist" by a fellow artist, Geoffrey McCormack was influenced early in his career by the trompe l'oeil painters and, later, the new photo realists. He works in series with the goal of fully exploring an idea -- both in terms of seeing common objects in a new light and in relation to the formal aspects of art-making: composition, value, color, etc. He has been working with his "String Theory Series" for more than 20 years and the concept has become an integral part of his symbolism.


Three Rivers: Rock Dance on Hunter Creek, 22" x 30"


The Three Rivers series came about by a wonderful accident. Geoffrey relates, "While printing a copy of an earlier series, there were multiple printer errors which produced a rough triptych. I liked this accidental format and added it to other reference scraps pinned to my studio wall.

"Several months later, as I was thinking about the parameters for a new series, my eyes landed upon the accidental triptych. Incorporated with the stones, sticks, string and shallow space of my Greek series, the new series would refer to the rivers of Western Oregon and these waterways would be the source for forms, materials, colors and perhaps regional or universal detritus.

"When combined, these elements work on many levels: as materials and objects that give a sense of place and as forms that cast shadows describing volume and shallow space. The manmade objects set scale, time or action. For example the strings can be seen as compositional tool that delineates two dimensional space and at the same time casts a shadow describing the three dimensions of the object it falls on. They are also reference to archeological digs and an investigation over time."


Three Rivers: The Rogue, 22" x 30"


Three Rivers: Yellow Twig, 22" x 30"
watercolor and fluid acrylic


With an MA in sculpture, Geoffrey has taught college courses in both two- and three-dimensional art. He has been increasingly active on the national watercolor scene over the past few years and his painting "Red Twig" – from the Three Rivers Series – was honored with the Purchase Award with Silver Star (Best in Show) at the National Watercolor Society exhibition in 2009.


Rocky Point, 22" x 30"


Please visit Geoffrey's website to see more of his work and get information on his workshops.