Cristina Iotti, 1965 | Photorealism / Figurative painter

Italian painter🎨 Cristina Iotti is born in Sassuolo, Italy where she lives and works. She graduated at the European Institute of design (IED) of Milan in 1987 with a degree in Illustration.

From 1988-2001 she worked professionally for 13 years as a tile- designer for graphic arts and serigraphic studios. She also designed sketches for prints on sweaters and illustrations for packaging and children books.

In 2002 she decided to dedicate herself full time to painting and since then she has participated in national and international group and solo-exhibitions.

In addition to this she has been shortlisted in several and important national and international Prizes🎨 and Art-competitions receiving prizes and acclaim.

Through a personal chromatic choice and photographic framing, yet keeping the link with ancient techniques, she describes, with highly detailed accuracy and attention to details, contemporary and everyday events.

Danilo Ricciardi, 1958 | Figurative painter

Italian painter Danilo Ricciardi was born in Siracusa, located near the southeastern corner of Sicily on the Ionian coast.

At the age of 12 he produced his first canvas with oil paints.

He became a full-time painter at the age of 22.

His paintings have been exhibited in Geneva, Malta, New York, Rome, in many cities in Italy.

Auguste Rodin | Hands of a pianist

Fascinated by the expressive qualities of the hands, French🎨 sculptor Auguste Rodin🎨 sculpted hands more than he did any other part of the body.

As revealing as a face, they are sometimes capable, on their own, of symbolizing an entire of human activity, like the Hand of a Pianist which seems to run along an imaginary piano with nervous energy.

Kal Gajoum, 1968 | Cityscape / Palette Knife painter

Kal Gajoum, Libyan painter, was born in Tripoli. His interest in art was sparked at a very early age. In fact, he was only ten years old when he entered his first art competition. Later on he was introduced to oil painting and palette knife techniques by friend of the family who were artist in attendance at the Leonardo da Vinci school of art in Rome.

He held his first exhibition in 1983 in Tripoli.

He moved to Paris to learn watercolor techniques and the Parisian style of painting from a private artist. Then returned to Tripoli in 1992 to give an exhibition.

In Malta he spent his time as a professional artist where he spent seven years working for the Royal Fine Art Gallery and also during this time continuing his pursuit of artistic knowledge.

He traveled to Tunisia during this time to give exhibitions.

In 2000 Gajoum found himself in Britain where he ran the Center of Britain Art Gallery. He started a permanent exhibition in the City of Carlisle where he steadily developed his palette knife techniques and put together a set of four limited edition watercolor prints of the city. Which he sold with the proceeds going to a local charity.

In 2003 Gajoum immigrated to Canada where he now resides in British Columbia and Quebec. He now concentrates on cityscapes and still life’s using his palette knife techniques in oil on canvas.

Richard Macneil, 1956 | Cityscape painter | Part.3

Richard Macneil🎨 is an British artist🎨 that captures the colors of life in his oil paintings.

Self-taught artist, Macneil has always worked in the creative industries in a wide range of disciplines including sculpture, ceramics and graphics.

Richard Macneil was born in Worcester.

For biographical notes -in english and italian- and other works by Macneil see:

• Richard Macneil, 1958 | Cityscape / Figurative painter🎨

Happy New Year! | Vintage Greeting Cards

New Year's Day, also called simply New Year's or New Year, is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar.

In pre-Christian Rome under the Julian calendar, the day was dedicated to Janus, god of gateways and beginnings, for whom January is also named. As a date in the Gregorian calendar of Christendom, New Year's Day liturgically marked the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus, which is still observed as such in the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church.

Claude Verlinde, 1927 | Fantastic Realism painter

Claude Verlinde is a French painter🎨 who works in the vein of “fantastic realism”, sometimes called “magic realism”, and his work shows the lineage of fantastical art from Bruegel🎨 and Bosch🎨 to the Surrealists🎨 and contemporary magic realism.

I would also suspect that a number of the Surrealists, and certainly contemporary magic realists, were influenced by his work (not to mention the production designers of the Harry Potter movies).

Claude Verlinde found his vocation very early and entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris at the Academy de la Grande Chaumiere at the age of twenty. Soon, the richness of his painting, its great sensitivity controlled by technique, made Verlinde undisputed master of visionary art of our time.

Distinctions: Chevalier of Arts and Letters 1986, Medal🎨 of the City of Paris.

Beethoven's love letters to his immortal beloved, 1812

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German composer and pianist.

A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Classical music, he remains one of the most recognized and influential of all composers.

After his death in 1827, the following love letter was found amongst the personal papers of Ludwig van Beethoven, penned by the composer over the course of two days in July of 1812 while staying in Teplice.

Julius Schmid (Viennese painter, 1854-1935)| Beethoven's walk in nature

Richard Macneil, 1956 | Cityscape / Figurative painter

British painter🎨 Richard Macneil🎨 is a self taught artist who has always worked in the creative industry. Born in Worcester, UK in 1958, he started his working life at Worcester Royal Porcelain and has always worked in the fields of sculpture, ceramics and graphics both in the UK and internationally.

Richard spent many years in the USA where his company Bronn Fine Art, produced large, exclusive sculptures of American western art. One of his greatest achievements was seeing his artwork displayed in the Oval office of The White House.