Robert Alexander Graham

Robert Alexander Graham (1873-1946), “Bear Creek, Near Kittredge,” plein air painting, oil on canvasboard 12”x16”,




Robert Alexander Graham was a leading impressionist painter and instructor in Colorado during the 20's and 30's, who came to Denver after distinguishing himself at the Art Students League in New York, where he was the pupil of American masters Twachtman, Henri, De Camp, and Bridgman. He also studied with John Fabian Carlson.

Stylistically, Graham was a classic American impressionist and highly skilled plein air painter, and although he painted landscapes, still lifes and figural pictures with equal facility, it is in the landscape genre where he achieved the most success, and left his most enduring legacy. His work was not unlike some of his notable contemporaries in California of the day - high key, broken color impressionism, adept light handling, and a painterly technique with generally thick applications of pigment.

"Sergei Bongart" by Mary Balcomb

"Sergei Bongart" by Mary Balcomb

These paintings inspire me.
IT SEEMS HE IS PAINTING WITH LIGHT RATHER THAN PAINT

Red Chair and Shawl, Sergei Bongart


This beautiful volume (splendidly designed by Artist/Graphics Specialist Norman L. Nason) is resplendent with Bongart’s masterful paintings and drawings, and is interlaced with a biographical account showing the evolution of his oeuvre from Kiev to California. Highly trained in traditional academic methods at Kiev Art Institute, his work has the emotional quality of Russian Realism tempered by the light and brilliance of Impressionism. Life in Kiev, WWII, unique survival, emigration to the USA, and his exceptional teaching and painting careers are discussed. Bongart was a generous teacher and encouraged his students to tape the lessons for future reference and to share with others. It is in this spirit that TheScreamOnline shares with you the brilliant talent of this amazing human being.

Autumn Scene, Sergei Bongart

Profile Perry Austin

Profile Perry Austin

PERRY AUSTEN


I really relate to this painting. It is not unlike (but much better) than a plein air painting I completed several months ago while in Toodyay Western Australia


TOODYAY HOMESTEAD (1) - PLEIN AIR STUDY

En plein air oil painting on 6"x8" hardboard panel. This painting was sold from the framer's gallery in December 2004 for $450

Reflecting on Traditions of Plein-Air in Russia

It seems to me that relevance of impressionist and plein air art painting in Russia is at last being noticed.

RETURN TO ARTISTIC TRADITION
February 2005 PLEIN AIR MAGAZINE (I recommend this magazine. Click on link above)
John Wurdeman was born into a family of artists in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1975. He began his undergraduate work as a painting major in The Maryland Institute, College of Art in 1991. In 1994, he transferred to the Surikov Institute in Moscow, where he completed his MFA in 1998. He teaches, paints and lives in the Republic of Georgia; and he exhibits throughout Europe and America.

I love this
It is important to note that the approach to portrait, still life and figure painting does not differ from that of plein-air painting. The purpose of all the studying and education is not to squeeze the life out of painting or to somehow enhance or improve upon nature; rather, it is to have more tools in one's tool box to explain in paint a deep and passionate of nature.

The more one learns how to the paint the simpler vision, like peeling away layers of extra baggage and preconceptions, one begins to arrive at a deep and personal encounter with creation.

This humble approach to plein-air allows the artist to study deeply and not look for an excuse in nature to express something that has more to do with the artist and drawing ability than something that transcends the person -- something not fleeting and passing but eternal beauty.

In Russia today, one seldom hears the concern "that has already been done before." Creativity is viewed less linearly in terms of and categories that art historians can organise comfortably. To capture light moving across the branches of a tree with authority is considered a difficult and admirable feat that can still contribute to an artist's aesthetic development.

It is not the outside form whether he or she paints with dots or geometric shapes, broadly or with much detail – that makes the artist unique. The importance is how sincerely and deeply the artist sees, how much ability (they have) to convey the experience. To seek exalted beauty with humility and to communicate it with awe have always been and always will be considered noble, for it is not dependent on the times one lives in.

Russian 2004 • Group Exhibit GREEN HOUSE GALLERY

Warm Autumn, Fyodor Zvonarev
Warm Autumn 

Galust Berberian

Suppertime, Berberian


Sundown, Berberian



Galust Berberian is considered by westerners to be one of today’s premiere impressionist painters. Having emigrated from Russian Armenia in 1977, he currently resides in rural Idaho, where his picturesque surroundings are inspiration for his seasonal landscapes and vibrant still lifes. Galusts’ work has a very painterly style, using sweeping brushstrokes to create rich texture. His masterful depiction of light provides great impact and sensory appeal.