Paul Horton, 1958 | Storyteller artist

Paul Horton was born in Harborne, Birmingham. "- Looking back on my childhood it seems I was always drawing and painting, I think it was my destiny to become an artist. By the mid-seventies I was taking my art very seriously and studied Life Drawing and History of Art at Bournville School of Art, I also began exhibiting my work at regular intervals. 

I was awarded a Certficate of Merit in 1976 by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists which gave me my first critical acclaim and in a strange way seemed to seal my fate adding to my determination and desire to become a professional artist.

Johan Zoffany | The Tribuna of the Uffizi, 1772-1778

In the summer of 1772 Zoffany set off for Florence with £300, letters of introduction and a commission from the Queen to paint highlights of the Grand Duke of Tuscany's collection shown within the Tribuna of the Uffizi Palace.

The inspiration for the commission could have been the Cabinet of Paintings (Royal Collection, now given to Formentrou), then attributed to Gonzales Coques, which hung in Queen Charlotte's work-room at Kew.

Gianluca Mantovani, 1974 | Figurative painter

Italian painter Gianluca Mantovani was born in Livorno, where he lives and works.

In 2004, driven by the innate passion for drawing and reached a level of personal maturity, begins to engage in the self-taught oil painting.

Livorno, the city of Macchiaioli, introduced him initially to Impressionism: the first works in fact strongly affected by these characteristics but his artistic research and experimentation led him to approach other styles, until he meets his teacher Bruno Di Maio.

James Wiens | Abstract painter

James Wiens is a professional artist who grew up in British Columbia. This avid outdoorsman uses his paintings to express his love of landscapes and nature. He also uses them as a mean of communication through which he expresses his feelings to his viewers. What inspire his paintings are the dramatic mountains and rivers that surround his place of residence. Wiens joined the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver where he studied and graduated with a diploma in painting and printmaking. He has combined his formal education with the work ethic he gained on his family farm to advance his professional career as an artist.

Amedeo Bocchi | Figurative Realist Painter /Sculptor

Amedeo Bocchi (August 24, 1883 - December 16, 1976) was an Italian painter, active mainly in Rome.

• Biography

He was born in Parma to a father who worked in painting wall decorations. At the age of 12 years, he was enrolled in the Royal Institute of Fine Arts of Parma, under the direction of Cecrope Barilli. In 1901, at the age of 18 years he was graduated, and Barili prompted him to travel to Rome to the Scuola del Nudo on Via Ripetta.

Myles Sullivan | Figurative painter

Myles Sullivan spends his days working from his West Coast studio. Surrounded by the serenity of the countryside he creates works that capture the energy of the world around us.

After graduating from Art School, Myles experimented with his art career, painting in a variety of styles and mediums. Today, he focuses on compositions that capture a fleeting moment in time.

When not painting, Myles escapes to the wilderness of the back country. His wife and children are a constant source of inspiration and joy.

Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain | Rococo Era sculptor

Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain (11 October 1710 - 1795) was a French sculptor who tempered a neoclassical style with Rococo charm and softness, under the influence of his much more famous brother-in-law, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle.

Allegrain was born into a well-established family of landscape painters in Paris.

His single most famous work, a marble Bather (La Baigneuse), was commissioned for the royal residences through the Bâtiments du Roi in 1755; a modelled sketch was shown at the Salon of 1757.

Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain portrait by Joseph Duplessis, 1774,

Giorgio Vasari | Allegory of Italian cities

Giorgio Vasari | Allegory of Romagna

Vasari’s (1511-1574) life is intimately rooted in the Uffizi Gallery. With five of his paintings in various rooms throughout the museum, he also chronicled the lives the Renaissance artists that fill the Gallery, but even more importantly, he laid the original architectural design for the Palazzo degli Uffizi.

An acclaimed artist and architect of his time, Vasari is perhaps better known today for his invaluable tome of biographies, Le Vita delle più eccellenti pittori, scultori, ed architettori (Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects) or simply the Vite or Lives of Artists.