Anne Neilson Fine Art is excited to present their newest artist to join the gallery, Jane Schmidt! Living in the beautiful mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, Jane is inspired by the vivid colors of her surrounding environment. Her abstract landscapes use color and texture to express more what is felt rather than what is seen by direct observation. Her paintings evoke a strong connection to nature and portray a variety of colors, which balance the landscape between realism and abstraction. Keep reading to learn more about Jane and her artwork.

Name: Jane Schmidt

Hometown: Birmingham, Michigan

Currently Living: Asheville, NC

Read on to get to know Jane Schmidt, her art + her life! (more…)

Name: Judith Vivell

Currently Living: New York, NY

When did you start your career in art? How long have you known you wanted to be an artist? (more…)

Anne Neilson Fine Art is excited to exhibit Jim Keffer’s exquisite pottery for sale as part of our holiday gifting pop-up party and Small Works Exhibition! Jim is widely known around the Charlotte area for his car dealerships but many are less aware of his hidden talent as a potter, which he has been practicing and refining for over 30 years! Keep reading to learn more about Jim and how he got started creating these unique and stunning vases.

“Keffer’s introduction to the world of pottery began accidentally with an elective class as a freshman at Appalachian State in the eighties. Unbeknownst to him, he had a natural talent and a love for throwing pottery. His talent flourished, especially under one fabulous professor and with many hours spent in the studio, throwing pottery and throwing away even more pottery. Soon after graduation, he got involved in the family car business and with raising a family he had to slowly put to rest his pot throwing skills.  Now that his children have flown the coop his passion has been reignited. He truly has the ability to create beautiful and intricate pieces of artwork that he hopes to share with everyone.

Read on to learn more about Jim Keffer’s pottery, life + path to his art! (more…)

Anne Neilson Fine Art is elated to report the newest addition to our gallery roster: Ken Tate. A Mississippi native, Tate is known for his unconventional painting methods that herald back to the deliberately chaotic style of Abstract Expressionism and Beats writers such as John Kerouac. His recent work superimposes vibrant and raw layers of acrylic paint unto photographs of high-fashion advertisements and celebrity icons. In the Spring of 2017, Ken notably collaborated with Bloomingdale’s Department Store for their merchandising campaign, where his work was introduced to a broader audience (photo featured above). To learn more about this highly-motivated and acclaimed artist, read our exclusive interview below! (more…)

Joe Vinson is a truly talented artist who rotates painting between two broadly contrasting styles, abstract and figurative. This contrast is partly reflective of his lifestyle, rotating between New York City in the winter and Italy in the summers. In Italy, he enjoys painting the captivating landscapes en plein air, working from direct observation of his beautiful surroundings. In New York, Joe has a large studio in Brooklyn where he prefers painting abstract and more experimental paintings. His ability to rotate between the two dynamic styles speaks to his expertise and continued experience with the paint brush. Read the interview with Joe below to learn more about his unique lifestyle and artistic process!

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Along with incredible works by Julio Larraz, ANFA is extremely honored to exhibit Ron Hall’s private collection of paintings by his late friend, Denver Moore!

Denver was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on January 30, 1937. He was raised on a cotton plantain in Red River Parish. In the mid-to-late 1950s, he left Louisiana for the first time and lived briefly in Fort Worth, Texas, before moving to Los Angeles. He left LA in the mid 1960s, riding the rails before returning to Texas then Louisiana. He was living in Dallas at the time of his passing.

Though his lips were always flapping’ like the Bible pages, he would say he never claimed to be a preacher, just a sinner saved by grace with a message of hope for those that didn’t have any. (more…)

ANFA is thrilled to show works by the esteemed Cuban artist, Julio Larraz in honor of the upcoming major motion picture, “Same Kind of Different As Me” opening in theaters October 20^th. Featuring renowned actors, Greg Kinnear, Djimon Hounsou, and Renee Zellweger, the story follows an international art dealer, Ron Hall, who befriends a homeless man, Denver Moore, who changes his life for the better. Julio, portrayed in the movie, is part of their remarkable journey and his original artwork is highlighted in the film. (more…)

In the last blog post we learned about different fine art mediums. Today we want to take a closer look at texture and explore the different ways artists use texture to emphasize aspects of their work. As we learned last week, medium is not texture. Unlike medium, texture is the perceived surface quality of a work of art. It refers to the tactile qualities of a work and has elements of two-dimensional or three-dimensional designs. Texture is distinguished by its perceived visual and physical properties.  Therefore, medium can contribute to the texture of an artwork but texture does not influence the medium of the artwork.

Physical vs. Visual Texture

            Physical texture differs from visual texture by having a physical quality that can be felt by touching the surface of the artwork. Visual texture is the illusion of having physical texture. Some materials are perceived as smoother or rougher than others and can influence the outcome of the artwork. Artists take into consideration both physical and visual texture in order to give a sense of personality or character to their design. Repetition of shape and line and elements of the surface (canvas, metal, glass, wood grain, etc) all effect the perceived rhythm, contrast, or tactile quality of the work of art – also known as texture. Lets look at a few examples from some of ANFA’s artists.

Vesela Baker

Acrylic and watercolor are Vesela Baker’s, a full time artist based in Chatanooga, TN, art medium’s of choice. On many of her acrylic and watercolor paintings, Vesela applies a thick coat of resin over her different landscape paintings. The end result creates a texture that appears glossy, thick, shiny, and clear as seen in her works below.

Mossy Creek, 36×48

Summer’s End, 60×48

Troy Dugas

Troy Dugas, an artist based in Louisiana, creates collages made from shredded, vintage product labels. He cuts and arranges the labels onto flat surfaces, usually paper, canvas, or wood, to create texture that appears woven. Repetition, pattern, precision, and scale all influence the perceived texture and distract the eye from seeing the original product label.

Purple, 30×30

Still Life, 48×36

David Burdeny

David Burdeny, an award winning photographer based in Canada, translates his appreciation for travel, structure, and space into photographic observations of the sublime. His sparse landscapes are characterized by an aerial perspective that renders pattern and repetition within his captured details. He uses an aluminum composite panel and lustre laminate when printing his photographs to emphasize the smooth and sleek texture of the landscape that is perceived to continue off the surface of the work.

Tulips 02, 32×23

Saltern Study 06, 32×32

Kinuko Hoffman

Kinuko Hoffman has lived in countries across Asia while studying traditional Chinese brush painting before she moved to New York City to study at the National Academy School of Fine Arts and explore painting in oil. Her training has led her to create mixed media assemblages full of texture, depth, and contrast. She experiments with different materials such as pumice, paper, wood, string, and cloth, adding and taking away elements from the canvas until her finished work emerges. The assemblage of raw materials and limited color palette of bold tones creates varied texture within each abstract painting.

Distinct Path, 50×40

Origin, 48×48

As with all things, the computer screen can distort images especially when it comes to color and texture. Stop by Anne Neilson Fine Art to check out different textures for yourself!

With close to 50 artists represented at Anne Neilson Fine Art, we see a wide variety of art mediums. An artwork’s medium refers to the different materials or supplies that an artist utilizes in order to create a work of art. In painting, medium can refer to both the type of paint used (oil, acrylic, watercolor, etc) and the base or ground to which the paint is applied (canvas, wood, paper, etc). Knowing the paint medium when you look at a work of art is key because it greatly affects the way one can perceive the color, texture, and overall appearance of an artwork.
At the gallery, our artists utilize a variety of media. This permits differences between artworks where the style and subject matter cannot compete. Below we’ve highlighted a few examples to show you why medium matters and how it contributes to the diversification of our fine art collection.

Painting: Oil vs. Acrylic vs. Watercolor

Oil on Canvas: Sandy Ostrau, Joe Vinson

Oil is a type of slow drying paint. It consists of particular pigments suspended in a drying oil. This kind of medium does not dry quickly. It blends into the surroundings and allows the blending of color. It produces vivid colors with a natural sheen and distinct context. It provides a surface translucency similar to human skin making it an ideal for portrait painting. Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. The transition began with Early Netherlandish painting in northern Europe, and by the height of the Renaissance oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced tempera paints in the majority of Europe.

Sandy Ostrau, Outdoor Seating, 18×12

Art Critic, John Seed describes Sandy Ostrau and her work, “An intuitive artist who loves paint as a substance — and who has a tendency to obliterate her imagery with painterly gestures — Ostrau doesn’t go all the way to abstraction. To do so would remove the emotional connection she wants viewers to have with her source material. “I’m not a fully abstract painter,” she explains: “I want people to feel the landscape.”

Joe Vinson, Tangerine, 24×24

Joe Vinson explains his love for oil painting, “I love painting, especially oil painting.  There is something wonderful and unique about the immediacy and totality of this art form.  I love its long history and the many forms that it has taken.”

Acrylic: Stuart Coleman Budd, Adele Yonchak

Acrylic is a fast drying paint allowing far less time than oil to blend colors and apply minute details unto the painting. It contains pigments suspended in polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints are usually diluted with waters, but become water resistant when dry. Using acrylic, the artist must work far more quickly than if they were using oil.

Stuart Coleman Budd, Folly, 44×72

Adele Yonchak, Viaduct View, 30×30

Watercolor: Ellen Levine Dodd

Watercolor is a painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle. The traditional and most common support for watercolor paintings is paper; other supports include papyrus, bark papers, plastics, vellum or leather, fabric, wood and canvas. The art of water color began with the cave paintings of Paleolithic Europe, used in the manuscript illumination by the Egyptians, and continued to flourish during the European Renaissance. Water color paint consist of four principal ingredients; colorant (commonly pigment), binder, the substance that holds the pigment in suspension and fixes the pigment to the painting surface, additives, substance that alter the viscosity, hiding, durability or color of the pigment and vehicle mixture, lastly, the solvent, the substance use to thin or dilute the paint for application and that evaporates when the paint hardens or dry.

Ellen Dodd, Saguaro Sunset, 11×15

Ellen Dodd, Sea Bluff, 4×3

Mixed Media: Ken Tate, Kinuko Hoffman or Kim Fonder 

Wait…. What does “Mixed Media” mean? Mixed media indicates that an artist used a variety (two or more) of mediums to produce a single artwork. 

Ken Tate, Burberry, 31×25

Kim Fonder, Cieli Grigi E Blu Delle Nuvole, 60×72

Kinuko Hoffman, Bliss II, 50×40

CAUTION: Medium is not Texture!

Sometimes the best of us confuse medium with texture. Although medium contributes to the texture of a painting, the two terms are completely different. Texture refers to the tactile qualities of a work. Does it look smooth and glossy? Or rough, like sandpaper? Is the painting built up in drips/globs? The texture will differ depending on the medium that the artist chooses. We will discuss more of texture in a later post, so check in soon!

Anne Neilson Fine Art would like to introduce one of our most distinguished artists, Michael Barringer. A fellow North Carolina native, Michael has been painting full time for as long as twenty-five years. His work provides the viewer with a fresh perspective, often breaking down forms and exploring multiple layers. Interested in the history of the natural, spiritual, and primitive world, Michael’s work questions, “how the world fits together from its many parts, and what drives our need to know and create and seek the spiritual.” He uses charcoal, conte crayon, and washes of acrylic paint to create his image and continues by sanding and carving directly onto the canvas with a razor blade to develop multiple layers within his work. To gain more insight about Michael’s artistic process, read the exclusive interview below!

Michael and his son, Ben hiking at Stone Mountain Park

Name: Michael Barringer

Hometown: Granite Quarry, NC

Currently Living: Lilburn, GA

When did you start your career in art? How long have you known you wanted to be an artist?  

I began painting full time in 1992. From early on, I drew constantly. I remember always feeling the magic of being in the ocean or the mountains, and wanting to make my own version of those experiences. My maternal grandfather was a stonecutter in the quarry. My paternal grandfather was a blacksmith for Southern Railroad. I suppose some of their ability for making objects, and crafting out form came down through the gene pool. As well, both were Renaissance men: making their own tools, planting and harvesting many vegetables and fruits, and making wine.

Michael’s maternal grandfather, Arthur Lefler’s handmade hammer, chisel, and cut paving stone from Granite Quarry, NC, circa 1920s – 30s

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Inevitable, layered, lingering

Close up detail of Michael’s work

Describe your artistic process and preparation.

I paint by natural light during the day, and never work at night. I enjoy taking walks through our woods and meadow, as this exposes me to textures and lights and natural sounds. Lately, I have been using my computer to continually run through images and texts and ideas from all over. This “universal brain” we now have is astounding. I keep regular studio hours, Monday through Friday, generally 6 to 7 hours daily.  I need the structure.  

Michael’s light-filled studio

Favorite piece you’ve painted to date and why?  

I like to think my most recent completed painting is my favorite piece!  But then, there is always the restlessness to keep going, and make the next work the one I am most proud of making

Who inspires you personally and/or professionally?

I greatly admire these poets: TS Eliot, Wallace Stevens, Kenneth Rexroth, and Walt Whitman. Eliot’s major work, Four Quartets, has been the main foundation for me for many years, because of his exploration of the spiritual in humankind, from the primitive sense of the Other, on through to highly developed rituals and sacraments. Wallace’s use of colorful language and his supreme imagination have all been intriguing. Rexroth’s concern with integrating many religious belief systems, throughout eras and geographies, has been inspiring. With his exploration of the animal desires in us all, Whitman has always opened my eyes to our place in the natural world.

T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

What challenges do you think exist in the world of fine art?  

There is always the desire to keep the work honest and original and untainted from popular tastes and demands.   

How do you approach/overcome them?

I try my best to stay fresh, but I realize that it is an honor to paint for a living, and that compromise is unavoidable at times.

Biggest accomplishment to date (personally or professionally)?   

I think striving to meet the challenge of helping to raise my three children with my wife, Mindy, and maintaining an active studio practice as well.

Favorite location to paint/what is your studio like?

My studio is filled with natural light, with several windows and skylights and a large garage door on one end which I can open – so it is an airy, bright space. I enjoy an orderly and clean environment. I work to music of all kinds, but lately, jazz, and the more free form expressions of Eric Dolphy, Dave Holland, Ornette Coleman, McCoy Tyner, and Charles Mingus, to name a few. Acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges, with his primal groove and unbelievable dynamic range, always inspires. PJ Harvey’s raw emotion and artistry are examples of urgency.

Musical artists often played in Michael’s studio and influencing his work

Years of accumulated layers and drips of paint in Michael’s studio

A random fact about you?

Rufus Barringer, a general in the Civil War, and a distant relative, was married to Stonewall Jackson’s daughter.

Rufus Clay Barringer (1821 – 1895)

Favorite place to vacation?

Our honeymoon trip to Alaska was life changing. We flew into Anchorage, rented a car and drove over 2500 miles through awe inspiring terrain: huge expanses of tundra, soaring mountain ranges, rushing snow melt fed rivers, and mammoth slow creeping glaziers. Another adventure up the coast of California to Humboldt State Park and the largest Redwood trees on earth was truly reality altering. The gigantic scale and otherworldly quiet within the groves made for a primal exhilaration. Frequent trips to the southwestern mountains of North Carolina always reacquaint me with the ancient cycles and the frightening indifference of the natural world.

Alaska

What are you currently reading?  The Idea Of The Holy, by Rudolf Otto.

What would you be doing if you were not an artist?

I would enjoy being a chef or landscaper. Chefs are perhaps the truest artists we have, as they create beauty which arouses and satisfies all the senses. Landscaping provides the joy of witnessing first hand, and in focus, the shifting seasons and growth rhythms.  

One thing you couldn’t live without?  

I would like to think that I could adapt to losing anything.  

If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who would it be?

Albert Einstein.

Your all-time favorite artist and/or your favorite emerging artist?

Brice Marden, James Bishop, Willem deKooning, Paul Klee and Kurt Schwitters are visual artists of great importance for me. I admire Marden for his integrity and purposefulness and ability to evoke deep emotions within a rigorous, minimalist aesthetic. Bishop’s sense of improvisation, and his confident acceptance of the accidental are both powerful strategies I admire. DeKooning’s versatility and sheer energy are almost beyond belief. Plus, his supreme dedication to the craft of painting always amazes. With his ability to create profound visual statements within a small format, Klee demands my continual respect. As well, his highly sophisticated visual language (in the guise of primitive markings) is a wonder. I go to Schwitters for his pursuit of the collage sensibility.

Willem de Kooning, Woman I, 1952

Dream commission?

The next one!

What do you want your audience to know about your work?  

Each time out, I do my best.

What makes your work unique?

Only one me in the world, so it could not be otherwise.

Name one goal for your career you’d like to achieve in the next 5 years:

Just being able to keep working steadily, and feel that the work is illustrating my vision.

Come check out some of Michael’s works now hanging in the gallery!

Bloomstone (Tabernacle), 48×36

Bloomstone (Chauvet Rain), 44×44

The Rock (Broke Into Bud), 48×36

In Search of Crowns, 22×22