The visionary poet and painter William Blake (1757-1827) wrote, “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity...and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.”
Haynes Galleries, Seraphim, oil on canvas, 35.4 x 23.6", by Bryony Bensly
Alexandra Eldridge, The Sinews of Thy Heart, mixed media on vintage photograph on panel, 60 x 40"
Nature has inspired artists as subject and setting for centuries. Today, artists continue to explore its perennial mysteries and address the discoveries of science about its rapidly increasing fragility.
Alexandra Eldridge is a visual artist who co-founded an establishment for the arts, Golgonooza, based upon Blake’s philosophies. She writes, “My paintings emerge from a place where contradictions are allowed, paradox reigns and reason is abandoned. My search is for the inherent radiance in all things…the extraordinary in the ordinary.”
Michael Bergt, Fire and Rain, gouache/colored pencil on toned paper, 18 x 13"
Conor Walton, The New Religion, oil on linen, 70.8 x 47.2"
In her photo-based painting, The Sinews of Thy Heart, she quotes from Blake’s poem The Tyger. In the poem, Blake contemplates a creator who could make a creature so beautiful and so fearsome, asking “And what shoulder, & what art, / Could twist the sinews of thy heart?” He saw that creator not as an anthropomorphic someone “out there” but as a creative spirit—imagination—in each person. Eldridge paints a regal yet enigmatic tiger at the feet of a young man in a formal Victorian photograph. On his shoulder she has painted a bluebird, symbolic of joy and prosperity. It immediately brought to my mind the Oscar-winning song, Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah from Walt Disney’s 1946 film Song of the South, an early animation and live action film. An upbeat and sunny song, it begins:
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin’ my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
Mister Bluebird’s on my shoulder
It’s the truth, it’s “actch’ll”
Everything is “satisfactch’ll”
The last two lines in the song sung by the freed slave Uncle Remus, give an inkling as to why the film has not been seen since 1986 after protests about its racist stereotypes. 
PoetsArtists, The Dysphoria of Being Here Now, acrylic and oil on linen, 24 x 18", by Grant Gilsdorf
PoetsArtists, If I’m not perfect by tomorrow, oil on linen, 54 x 54", by Dianne Gall.
PoetsArtists, Beyond my eyes, oil on canvas, 55 x 78", by Yunior Hurtado Torres.
Richard Schmid, Jamie, oil on canvas, 36 x 30"
Conor Walton’s 6-foot allegorical painting The New Religion approaches stereotypes head on. He honors the work of the Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) in a work that might at first glance appear to be a contemporary version of one Bellini’s great altarpieces. Yet at the center in place of the infant Jesus is an infant chimpanzee with its hand raised in blessing. He says, “My ‘saints’ are the founders of modern biology: Charles Darwin, the father of modern evolutionary theory, Gregor Mendel, whose experiments with peas laid the foundations of genetics, and James Lovelock, the founder of earth-systems science or ‘Gaia’ theory. My ‘martyrs’ are the victims of extinction and ecocide. The ‘angels’ are my own children, joyfully celebrating Nature’s glory.” And continues, “In Bellini’s day there was no obvious discord between science and religion. It’s that sensibility which I’m trying to recover.”
Principle Gallery, Antecedents, oil on linen, 36 x 36", by Paula Rubino.
Richard Schmid, Nude, watercolor, 30 x 20"
Principle Gallery, Stray Echoes, oil on canvas, 23½ x 27½", by Louise Fenne.
Principle Gallery, Sharing the Food, oil on canvas, 24 x 20", by Anna Wypych.
Lotton Gallery, Memories, oil on canvas, 24 x 24", by Aydemir Saidov.
Aware, assured and hopeful young people around the world are forcing their powerful elders to confront the plight of the planet. A boy in Bryony Bensly’s Seraphim gathers the land and the sea and all living things in his arms as he is supported by Seraphim who, in the Book of Isaiah, surround the throne of the creator singing Holy, Holy, Holy.
Bensly explains, “Seraphim addresses the precariousness of life on this planet, our current tenuous hold and fragility. It is also a prayer: that in our darkest hour, mountains will move and unforeseen forces will aid us in our plight to right our wrongs. Incredible inventions were once impossible ideas: flight, breathing underwater, communicating with someone on the other side of the world in real time—certainly things that were greater than the individual and somehow divinely inspired, and (at their core) altruistic. These thoughts have all culminated in a piece that I hope expresses a real acknowledgement of where we are and the real need and possibility for hope.”
Lotton Gallery, Gentle Affection, oil on canvas, 26 x 26", by Marina Marina.
Eastern League of Professional Artists, Conundrum, pastel, 20 x 16", by Ronnie Offen.
Vanessa Rothe Fine Art, Diana, oil, 14 x 11", by David Gray.
Vanessa Rothe Fine Art, Breathe, oil, 18 x 18", by Olga Krimon.
TROVE Gallery, Juice, oil on panel, 30 x 30", by Trent Call.
In Michael Bergt’s Fire and Rain the ordered patterns of nature surround the figure. Bergt says, “Fire and Rain confronts two extremes: fire and water on a grid pattern where both overlap. The red spots grow and deepen in color like pools of water gathering, only to become more red and hot like the flame. I wanted to create a narrative that became a pattern, only to have the pattern inform the narrative. The image moves between pattern, symbol and story, repeating shapes and concepts to create new layers of relationships.” The subject’s flame could be divine inspiration or the bursting forth of her imagination—“nature itself” in Blake’s words.
Faust Gallery, Kissed by the Sun #2, pastel, 20 x 16", by Andrea Vargas Mendoza.
Vanessa Rothe Fine Art, The Newspaper, oil, 12 x 10", by Nicolas Martin.
Eastern League of Professional Artists, Lost in the Shadows, pastel, 22 x 10", by Nancy Nowak. Blake offered another message of hope when he wrote, “What is now proved was once only imagined.”
In the pages of this special section dedicated to figurative artwork are a number of examples of what artists are creating today. What inspires them and how the human form continues to motivate and challenge artists are also discussed.
Eastern League of Professional Artists, Anna Marie and Anna, oil, 14 x 11", by Margaret Dyer.
TROVE Gallery, Lifted Pose, oil on panel, 30 x 30", by Trent Call.
The PoetsArtists organization represents a variety of artists working in the figurative tradition, but many who are thinking outside the box and producing their own views of the form.
Included in the group is Grant Gilsdorf, who says, “Art and imagery were the first forms of communication. It begins with cave paintings and pushes forward throughout time. I continue the lineage of thematic storytelling within my own work but strive to maintain a small level of narrative dissonance. I sometimes feel akin to a film director in the sense that each of my paintings are a separate thought or theme, but overall, they appear to belong in the catalog of a singular creator.”
Faust Gallery, The Chalice & The Blade #1, pastel, 30 x 22", by Andrea Vargas Mendoza.
Faust Gallery, The Chalice & The Blade #2, pastel, 30 x 22", by Andrea Vargas Mendoza.
Priscilla Nelson, Freestyle, oil on canvas, 24 x 36"
TROVE Gallery, White Stripes, oil on panel, 30 x 30", by Trent Call.
Similarly, artist member Dianne Gall says, “I have always found cinematic imagery beguiling, which I use in painting a world of enigmatic moments where one is free to contemplate but never really understand. Nothing is by chance in my art, there are layers of meaning in every aspect, so even inanimate objects have a life to me.”
Another member, Yunior Hurtado Torres, says, “For some time now I have been working on a series where I talk a lot about the sociopolitical phenomenon that has been happening in my country for a while that affects the entire Cuban people.”
Priscilla Nelson, Dancing with Waves, oil on panel, 30 x 24"
Sarah West, Wonderland, The Civility Paintings, oil on canvas, 78 x 90 x 1½"
Sarah West, Atlas, The Civility Paintings, oil on canvas, 84 x 42 x 1½"
Molly Schmid, daughter of master painter Richard Schmid, says he “has always viewed painting as a language that can express qualities of the human experience impossible to describe in any other terms. As he states in his first book on figure painting (Richard Schmid Paints The Figure - Advanced Techniques In Oil, 1973), ‘Painting, like music or sculpture, can give form to a range of feelings for which we have no words. A world without Art is unthinkable.’”
Elaine G. Coffee, Sargent Seduces, oil, 16 x 12"
Priscilla Nelson, Making Waves, oil on canvas, 24 x 24"
Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia—and a second location in Charleston, South Carolina—represents a number of figurative painters including Louise Fenne, Paula Rubino and Anna Wypych. The artists have their own styles when interpreting the form, the pieces often being narrative in nature.
Lotton Gallery, in Chicago, features the figurative realism genre by artists Marina Marina and Aydemir Saidov. Memories is the most recent painting by Saidov centered around his favorite model and muse. Gentle Affection, by Marina, is an exploration of fabrics of many textures and lustrous materials on and against the body. The amount of joy and passion for the female form is evident by these two artists of the genre. 
Sarah West, Vesper, The Civility Paintings, oil on canvas, 72 x 42 x 1½"
Elaine G. Coffee, Razz Feeds Mind and Spirit, 24 x 36"
Alex Bostic, Camp, watercolor, 36 x 18"
Andrea Vargas Mendoza, who is represented by Faust Gallery, with locations in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, says, “What’s meaningful to me is not the final product, it’s the process. And so when I look back at my work, undeniably, the works that are the strongest are those that have the element of surprise, where there is risk-taking and spontaneity. And a way of seeing. I’m most satisfied when a piece has energy and balance, so that when you look upon it you are feeling the body, but you are also connecting to the way we are energetic forms and alive.”
Mykul Lee, Vanessa, Blue Dress, oil on canvas, 40 x 30"
Alex Bostic, Ms. Betsy, watercolor, 24 x 18"
At Vanessa Rothe Fine Art in Laguna Beach, California, a number of figurative artists are on the gallery roster.
David Gray’s painting Diana was inspired by “historical works of the goddess Diana of the hunt,” Vanessa Rothe, owner of the gallery explains. “Combining fine blended realism and historical influence by the Old Masters but painted for today’s contemporary realism collector.”
Another work at the gallery is Olga Krimon’s Breathe, which Rothe says was started as a “loose sketch in for a bold portrait by Krimon. But when she discovered the strokes really said enough and the work did not need any more detail, it was left as is.” 
Alex Bostic, Quita, watercolor, 24 x 24"
Elaine G. Coffee, Art Comes Alive, oil, 24 x 30"
Hernan Miranda, Alicia, oil on fabric, 32 x 48"
Mykul Lee, Vanessa, Hands on Chest, oil, 36 x 24"
Rounding out some of its offerings is Nicolas Martin’s The Newspaper. The Paris-born artist says, “As an artist I try to paint things that surround me in my life. My paintings are a biography of my life.”
The Eastern League of Professional Artists (ELPA) is a small group of artists from the eastern region of the country who formed to paint together and exhibit in high-quality venues, to introduce themselves to new markets and present themselves to the public and prospective collectors. Most of them paint in plein air as well as in the studio and several are well known for their figurative works.
At TROVE Gallery in Park City, Utah, collectors will find the figurative works of Trent Call. 
Hernan Miranda, Perfil III, oil on canvas, 24 x 20"
Dana Maranto, Allegra, bronze with granite base, 16 x 17 x 24"
“Using the grid method—the classical tool to determine proportions—and the female form as a timeless icon, I focused on dissolving the boundaries of the figure to explore the relationship between organic and rigid forms, context and composition,” says the artist. “I believe in process, spontaneity and action. My style and interests are varied, as are the mediums I use. The medium foresees the style. The interest suggests the medium. My work combines formal academic painting and drawing with a strong interest in graffiti, comics, graphics and pattern. My ‘character-centric’ works are drawn from folklore, specifically Americana.”
Artist Priscilla Nelson is inspired by the interaction of the human figure, light and water. In her artwork she is “capturing the movement created when water and the person meet and how the light, diffused by the water, bounces off the person.”
Natalie Levin, Yemanja, bronze, 18 x 18 x 10"
Pamela B. Padgett, Shepherd in Training, oil on canvas, 12 x 12"
Informed by life in the rural South, paintings by Alabama artist Sarah West present opportunities to bridge the gap, by reaching across the aisle to share conversations with all people, as her narrative works address equality, stewardship and civility. West advises that collectors should purchase works for “posterity, the kind of paintings that people centuries from now can learn from. These are the types of paintings that the artists and appreciators of our modern time are still learning from.”
“As a figurative painter, nothing interests me more than what people ‘say’ with their bodies,” says artist Elaine G. Coffee, who is represented by Tree’s Place in Orleans, Massachusetts, and Tilting at Windmills Gallery in Manchester Center, Vermont. “Gestures, expressions, attitudes—I try to use those factors to express a theme in [my] paintings. And if your subject matter is people, the possibilities are endless. Museums, restaurants, streets, subways or the simplicity of a lonely beach. There can be subtleties of portraying many people in a group situation or focusing in depth for a portrait.”
Natalie Levin, Lady of the Blue Agave, bronze, 46 x 68 x 48"
Natalya Burgos, Love or butterflies in my stomach, watercolor, 48 x 36"
“I am a figurative painter; my art is my voice; this is how I express myself,” says Alex Bostic. “The images that I create are from my personal experiences with my subjects and people that I have a relationship with and find them to be interesting to paint. I choose to paint everyday people that have a deep complexity to who they are. I like to use lines, shapes [and] light to breathe life into everyone I paint.”
Mykul Lee says, “With my work, I would like to bridge a balance between classical posture and contemporary composition. My advice to collectors is to invest in what you love, and please continue to support representational art.”
Natalya Burgos, Europa, watercolor, 40 x 30"
Sculptor Natalie Levin explains, “My desire is to serve the sacred in life, and to infuse each sculpture with an aliveness that touches the heart of the viewer and brings them closer to the divine essence of life.”
On a recent visit to France, Pamela B. Padgett visited a farm that produces Calvados apple brandy. “These smart Australian shepherds in France are such fun to watch. They herd the sheep who trim the grass beneath the apple trees so harvesting is simple and no pesticides are used,” she says. “The dogs work so hard and are so eager to get it right. [It] reminded me of my approach to painting—practice, practice, practice! And the Calvados is delicious!”
Natalya Burgos creates in her home studio surrounded by countryside fields, trees and nearby the unending seaside horizon of Texas’ Corpus Christi. Adapting from themes of nature, fairy tales and ancient myths, Burgos’ paintings display deeply personal portrayals of our raw, primal nature, moving us to confront the inner shackles that bind us to one another. —
Featured Artists & Galleries
Alexandra Eldridge
www.alexandraeldridge.com
Alex Bostic
(804) 502-3151, alex@alexbostic.com
www.alexbostic.com
Conor Walton
www.conorwalton.com
Dana Maranto
(410) 382-5959, dmaranto_4@msn.com
www.danamaranto.com
Eastern League of Professional Artists
www.elpa.art
Elaine G. Coffee
(480) 227-3690, egcstudio@yahoo.com
www.elainecoffee.com
Faust Gallery
114 E. Palace Avenue, Santa Fe,
NM 87501, (480) 200-4290
www.faustgallery.com
Haynes Galleries
Franklin, TN, www.haynesgalleries.com
Hernan Miranda
(561) 860-1626
hernanmiranda1@gmail.com
www.hernanmiranda.com
Lotton Gallery
900 N. Michigan Avenue, Level 6
Chicago, IL 60611, (312) 664-6203
www.lottongallery.com
Michael Bergt
www.mbergt.com
Mykul Lee
Los Angeles, CA
mykul_lee@yahoo.com
www.mykullee.com
Natalie Levin
(833) 628-2549, info@nataji.com
www.nataji.com
Natalya Burgos
(361) 442-9918
info@natalyaburgos.com
www.natalyaburgos.com
Pamela B. Padgett
www.pamelabpadgett.com
PoetsArtists
www.poetsandartists.com
Principle Gallery
208 King Street, Alexandria,
VA 22314, (703) 739-9326
www.principlegallery.com
Priscilla Nelson
(404) 403-6111
nelsonartllc@icloud.com
www.nelsonart.com
Richard Schmid
Molly Schmid, (850) 728-7959
schmidartist@comcast.net
www.richardschmid.com
Sarah West
The Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art
2750 Lee Road 430, Smiths Station,
AL 36877, (334) 480-2008
sarahwestgallery@att.net
www.thesarahwestgalleryoffineart.com
TROVE Gallery
804 Main Street, Park City, UT 84060
(435) 655-3803, www.troveparkcity.com
Vanessa Rothe Fine Art
418 Ocean Avenue, Laguna Beach,
CA 92651, (949) 280-1555
www.vanessarothefineart.com
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