Joaquín Sorolla 1863-1923 | Realist/Impressionist painter

Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida was a spanish painter, born in Valencia, who excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by a dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the sunlight of his native land. Joaquin Sorolla was the eldest child born to a tradesman, also named Joaquin, and his wife, Concepcion Bastida. His sister, Concha, was born a year later. In august 1865 both children were orphaned when their parents died, possibly from cholera. They were thereafter cared for by their maternal aunt and uncle. He received his initial art education, at the age of fourteen, in his native town, and then under a succession of teachers including Cayetano Capuz, Salustiano Asenjo. At the age of eighteen he traveled to Madrid, vigorously studying master paintings in the Museo del Prado. After completing his military service, at twenty-two Sorolla obtained a grant which enabled a four year term to study painting in Rome, Italy, where he was welcomed by and found stability in the example of F. Pradilla, the director of the Spanish Academy in Rome. A long sojourn to Paris in 1885 provided his first exposure to modern painting; of special influence were exhibitions of Jules Bastien-Lepage and Adolf von Menzel. Back in Rome he studied with Jose Benlliure, Emilio Sala and Jose Villegas.

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot 1796-1875 | French realist/impressionist painter

Corot was a french realist impressionist painter and printmaker in etching. Corot was the leading painter of the Barbizon school of France in the mid-nineteenth century. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting: His work simultaneously references the Neo-Classical tradition and anticipates the plein-air innovations of Impressionism. Of him Claude Monet exclaimed "There is only one master here - Corot. We are nothing compared to him, nothing". His contributions to figure painting are hardly less important; Degas preferred his figures to his landscapes, and the classical figures of Picasso pay overt homage to Corot's influence.

Susan Lyon | American Realist/Impressionist painter

Susan Lyon studied painting at the American Academy of Art and the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, both in Chicago. It is there she first began exhibiting and selling her oil painting art. At 23 she was the youngest winner of the prestigious Gold Medal, which she won two years in a row. She has won awards for her work exhibited at the Palette & Chisel Academy, the Oil Painters of America, and the Northwest Rendezvous Show. Lyon draws much inspiration from painters such as Zorn, Malavin, Sorolla, and Cecilia Beaux. Lyon’s technique is to paint wet-in-wet to start and then wet-on-dry for her finishing touches. She occasionally thins her oils with mineral spirits to obtain a balance of scratchy brushwork against thick opaque strokes for the lights. "My style is realistic with as much impressionistic color as possible", the artist says. "I like to combine wide brushes for sweeping strokes in the background with small, soft brushes for subtle details in my center of interest". The ideas for many of Susan’s paintings come from the everyday things that surround her home. Although Lyon’s main medium of choice is oil, she spends at least half her time working in such drawing media as charcoal and pastel. "I’ve always loved to draw and have kept working from life consistently ever since art school", she explains. "A few years ago I began to take my drawings more seriously and wanted people to see that a drawing could be just as important and aesthetic as any other piece of art". Lyon lives in rural North Carolina, which allows her the space and privacy to grow as an artist and also serves as the perfect home base for her international painting travels with her husband, the artist Scott Burdick.