Lauri Blank | American Romantic Figuritism painter

Lauri Blank was destined to be a creative soul with a burning passion for art. Raised by an artistic mother who attended design school in NYC, and grandparents that are still performing musicians (well into their 80’s), Lauri was constantly engaged by creativity and artistic expression; the foundation of a future art career. Her talents were immediately recognized by patrons in Washington D.C. and the Miami area, where she accepted numerous important commissions. And then in 1999, Lauri’s career would take a different turn, one that resembled one of the masters she studied for most of her life. Lauri Blank was commissioned to paint the ceiling of an 18th century church in Old Montreal. For months, the artist worked day and night painting the Cathedral’s ceiling while standing on scaffolding that had a five-story drop onto the marble floor below. It was the most magical experience she has ever had and is most proud of this work.
Blank's work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the nation. She receives frequent media attention and has appeared on numerous magazine covers throughout the Miami area. In 2002, Blank was selected as the artist for the 2002 Grammy Awards. Her "Post 911" Grammy work symbolized the patriotism of a nation blended with our love of music. Lauri’s style of melding the techniques and icons of the old master with today’s cultural ideology, has won her acclaim. Her powerful images, along with her passion and devotion jump off the canvas and transport the viewer into a by-gone era. Her own imitable style, which the artist refers to as “Romantic Figuratism”, brings a sense of peace and reflection to the modern day world. “The passion in my heart…influences and fuels my love of art and my profession” says Blank of her accomplishments.

Andrew Atroshenko 1965 | Russia | Romantic impressionist painter

Andrew Atroshenko was born in 1965 in the city of Pokrovsk, Russia. Accepted as a gifted child in 1977 into the Children’s Art School, Andrew graduated with honors in 1981. Two years later, Andrew entered Bryansk Art College, and in 1991 was accepted at one of the most prestigious art schools in the world, the St. Petersburg Academy of Art. In 1994, Andrew began taking part in exhibitions such as St. Petersburg Artists in Reutlingen, Germany, the exhibition of a group “Academy” in St. Petersburg 1996, and “Teacher’s memory” 1997. After graduation from St. Petersburg Academy of Art in 1999, Andrew was invited by a New England, US based art group “Bay Arts” to take part in their exhibitions and activities, spending that entire year in the United States into the Millennium. While Andrew’s work was being sold successfully in galleries across Florida, California, Ohio and Arizona, the artist was taking part in a variety of group exhibitions and auctions in France, which resulted in all of his work being sold out. Since 2000, Andrew has worked with dealers from Western Europe and the US, exhibiting and selling his paintings in such US cities as Carmel, Scottsdale, Palm Desert, Las Vegas & Hawaii. Two of Andrew’s pieces were also auctioned off by Sotheby’s in 2002-2003. In 1992 Andrew married a fellow student, Maria, who is now an art critic in St Petersburg, Russia, and has a daughter named Alexandra. Like many artists, Andrew has his artistic references and influences, but his wife and daughter are the inspiration for his passion.

Michael and Inessa Garmash | Ukraina | Romantic Impressionists painters

Mr. and Mrs. Garmash are considered two of the finest Romantic Impressionists of our day. Their incredible talent is only matched by their love and career stories. In similar fashion to the determination of his artwork, Mr. Garmash courted his future wife, after seeing her for but a moment, by painting her image all over her hometown while she slept. She immediately recognized the passion with which this man cared so dearly and married him shortly thereafter.

Auguste Rodin 1840-1917 | Romantic and Realistic french sculptor

Auguste Rodin's realist works created a new era in sculpture. Known as Auguste Rodin, François-Auguste-René Rodin, was a romantic and realistic french sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. He was schooled traditionally, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition, although he was never accepted into Paris's foremost school of art. Sculpturally, Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface in clay. Many of his most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime. They clashed with the predominant figure sculpture tradition, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic. Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, modeled the human body with realism, and celebrated individual character and physicality. Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, but refused to change his style. Successive works brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community. From the unexpected realism of his first major figure, inspired by his 1875 trip to Italy, to the unconventional memorials whose commissions he later sought, Rodin's reputation grew, such that he became the preeminent French sculptor of his time. By 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Rodin's work after his World's Fair exhibit, and he kept company with a variety of high-profile intellectuals and artists. He married his life-long companion, Rose Beuret, in the last year of both their lives. His sculptures suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, but within a few decades, his legacy solidified. Rodin remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside the visual arts community.

Morgan Weistling 1964 | American Romantic painter / illustrator

Morgan began to develop a sense of narrative in his drawing. “It was here that art became a language for me”. At the age of 12, Morgan applied his interest in art to studying his father’s art books and began his art school studies at the Brandes Art Institute at 15. Working in a Los Angeles art supply store while attending art school, Morgan chanced to show his artwork to a prominent illustrator. As a result of their encounter, at the age of 19, Weistling found himself employed at a top movie poster agency in Hollywood. For the next 14 years, Morgan illustrated for every movie studio in Hollywood. Since he has made fine art the focus of his art career, the collector demand for his originals has been overwhelming. Weistling, a highly sought-after teacher, conducts private workshops withjuried students and teaches at the prestigious Scottsdale Artist School. Recent honors and awards include the Patron’s Choice Award and the Trustees Purchase Award at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles, CA, thePrix de West Purchase Award at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museumin Oklahoma City, OK, and the Patron's Choice Award at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage.

William Powell Frith 1819-1909 | Victorian Era painter

Frith was an english painter, specialising in genre subjects and panoramic narrative works of life in the Victorian Era.
He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1852.
He has been described as the "greatest British painter of the social scene since Hogarth".

Nicky Boehme | Romantic american painter

Nicky Boehme’s paintings of quaint, peaceful, scenes awash with dramatic light and vibrant color, draw the viewer into a romantic and memorable adventure of a special place and time. Ms. Boehme studied Technical art at the Oakland Art Institute in California and went on to become the Art Director of several national art agencies. It was at this time that she received numerous awards as an illustrator and graphic designer. She has had many feature articles on her art in national magazines and trade publications. Her art has been published internationally in several books. Nicky is an artist member of the National Society of Marine Artists and the Oil Painter of America.

Janet Kruskamp | American romantic realist painter

Born in Oregon, Kruskamp has been earning plaudits for her artisitc talents since was a child. Working in a style that combines both romantic and realistic aspects, Janet Kruskamp paints charming images of ordinary scenes and objects that reveal their underlying beauty. Her studies of the American scene have been exhibited in many shows in the U.S.A. and France, including exhibits at the Long Beach Museum of Art, C.A., De Young Memorial Museum, San Fransisco and the Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara.

Robert Finale | Cuba | Romantic impressionist painter

The artist Robert Finale is no stranger to struggles and adversity. At the tender age of two, he along with his family fled the communist ruled country of Cuba for a life of freedom and opportunity in the United States. Here Robert learned the value of hard work and discipline and realized his potential to pursue his passion for art. This passion, Finale explains, began very early in life. As a young boy of five, Robert Finale was seldom without a pencil and sketchpad in hand, sketching everything from movie scenes to family vacation destinations. Robert's love for brushing oil onto canvas came much later, when his early childhood sketch were brought to life in a special gift to his wife. From humble beginnings, today his paintings grace several Galleries all over the world. The first, however, has a special place in his family home.
Robert Finale's images originate from his childhood sketches, which his mother always lovingly treasured and encouraged him to keep. Each painting is a journey of unspoken words and hidden whispers of freedom, nurturing the hopes and dreams that exist within all of us. These feelings are resurfaced and unveiled through beautiful city images in romantic surroundings placing the viewer in the dream world of unconscious thought. A quiet, gentle natured man, Robert Finale uses his paintings to communicate with each individual person. Using rich colors and textures, Finale has developed his own rich vocabulary in a painting. Expressing this rich language through places and entities allows him to tap into his own world and the fragile emotions that exist within all of us. The emotion that a person feels upon examining a piece of art is the beauty of this communication. As Robert places the final brush stroke on the canvas he is conscious of the fact that art is a universal language. Therefore, one canvas represents the window to millions of different emotions that have existed and exist through all of us, giving the viewer a powerful, tool to look within his own world, for the understanding of life’s journey.