Category: Artist

Daniel Wall

Daniel Wall is the innovator behind Intense Impressionism, a contemporary style that brings the Impressionist art movement from the 1800s into the modern era with vivid colors, heavy textures, and messages of joy and love.

From his subjects to his techniques, every aspect of Wall’s works has an optimistic meaning behind it, which he reinforces with each stroke of his palette knife. Drawing on his passion for art that began in early childhood, Wall creates expressive landscapes, cityscapes, and floral paintings that appeal to art lovers across the globe.

  • Wall describes his art as “Intense Impressionism,” and as a means of extending the Impressionist approaches made famous in the 19th Century into the 21st Century.
  • Wall became a professional artist after receiving his Master’s degree from Georgia Southern University.
  • Wall has published hundreds of illustrations in journals and books, has exhibited widely, and won awards in China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United States.
  • Wall now resides and paints in North Carolina. His paintings continue to be widely collected in the U.S. and around the world.

Daniel Wall: Personal History

Born in a small village in northern China in 1965, Daniel Wall began drawing and painting at the young age of 4. Crayons were a rarity in his household, so Wall’s aunt, an elementary school teacher, brought home chalk and pencils for Wall to use. His mother, a talented self-taught artist, also encouraged Wall’s interest in art.

Wall took every opportunity to draw or paint after school, earning numerous art awards in his youth. At 16 years old, Wall received a government scholarship to study art at Laiyang Teachers College, an academy that only accepts a handful of students every year.

Following his graduation in 1983, Wall worked as a full-time art professor in the Teacher’s College in his hometown, and later furthered his education by graduating from Shandong University of Arts in 1987. After graduating, Wall worked as an illustrator and fine art editor for the “Fire Fighter Journal” of Shandong Province.

 

Birth of Intense Impressionism

Soon after he began teaching, Wall became fascinated by Impressionism and one of its founders, Claude Monet. While teaching about Monet to his students, Wall would sometimes duplicate a painting by Monet many times to better understand the artist’s techniques. During that time, Wall realized that the moderate colors and textures in Impressionist paintings could only realistically depict light. Wall desired for the colors to be more vibrant and the texture to be stronger to reflect the excitement, fast-paced, and high intensity of modern life.

One day in 1984, Wall decided to adapt the unique Chinese “Dry-Brush” calligraphy and painting technique, using a palette knife to apply additional colors to some of his oil paintings to enhance their intensity. When his family and friends were amazed by these paintings, Wall realized he discovered something special. He continued to use palette knives and hone his style, and in the process, Intense Impressionism was born.

Coming to America

In 1995, Daniel Wall and his wife immigrated to the United States to further their education. Wall earned a Master’s Degree in mathematics with computer science concentration from Georgia Southern University, but instead of pursuing a career in this field, Wall followed his lifelong passion and became a full-time artist.

Wall resided in Florida to draw inspiration from its ocean scenes and tropical landscapes, though he left briefly to study fine art in Italy for three months. Later, he returned to Italy multiple times to draw further inspiration from the country’s architecture and culture. His artistic development was solidified through his extensive experience as an art professor, illustrator, and art editor. In 2000, Wall began featuring his artwork on auction television shows, resulting in a national following.

In 2006, Wall, his wife, and their 6-year-old son moved to North Carolina. Wall paints full time while his wife works as a professor at East Carolina University. In 2007, they welcomed a daughter to their family.

Wall continues to reside in North Carolina, and his paintings are widely collected in the United States and around the world.

 

Daniel Wall: Style and Influences

Wall describes his work as Intense Impressionism, his own modern-day interpretation of the style Impressionists made famous in the 19th century. Intense Impressionism is characterized by large, conspicuous strokes, heavy textures formed by thick impasto, and an exaggerated emphasis on light.

All of Wall’s artwork is created exclusively with a palette knife. Even the smallest details are applied with the tips or edges of palette knives instead of brushes. Wall prefers palette knives for their ability to apply thick swathes of bright oil paint onto the canvas.

Wall is heavily influenced by the Impressionists, principally Monet, but also by Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, and Georges Seurat. His strategy of allowing his strokes to be fully evident—while also imbuing his pigment applications with an Expressionist energy—reinvigorates the Impressionist style, allowing Wall to find his own unique artistic approach.

Wall is adept at juxtaposing color to create striking contrasts and dramatic effects. At first glance, his combinations of colors—with their warm and cool, dark and light contrasts—may appear spontaneous, but further viewing reveals his dedication to a fixed light source, bringing his compositions into focus.

Wall attaches specific meanings to certain elements in his art. He describes light as a representation of hope, the open sky as freedom, a road as the path of life, and water as emotion. Even his thick impasto represents what he calls “strong and powerful love.” All of his symbolism points toward his own romantic and joyful view of life.

“I use different colors and different shaped trees to make my paintings colorful and beautiful to inspire people to appreciate the beauty of life,” Wall says. “I want the bright colors to inspire people to feel that every day is a good day.”

 

Daniel Wall: Accomplishments

  • Wall served as a journal illustrator and cover designer for more than 20 national journals, and has published over 500 book covers and illustrations. His works were voted “Best in Art” by Absolute Art in 2013 and 2015.
  • Wall’s artworks were widely collected by many corporations and celebrities, and have been used in Hallmark movies.
  • Wall won a number of fine art awards throughout his career, some of which include: First Place in Youth Fine Art Competition in the City of Laixi in 1981, the Best Work Award from Shandong News Artists Association in 1990, the Best Book Award from China National Fire Control Association in 1990, the Best Illustration award from Shandong Insurance Magazine in 1991, the Excellent Work Award in Starke Art Festival in 1999.

Gregory Arth

Whether it’s larger-than-life murals or a collage of repurposed circuit boards forming a robot, Gregory Arth captivates the imagination by exploring the beauty of technology.

I have been making a living as a freelance artist for most of my adult life. What is on this web site is a hand-picked representation of my collective work. Each image will have title, size and other information as well as availability attached. This is where you may see if an original is available or gilcee’s of the image are printed.

My giclee prints are small limited editions, signed and numbered and produced with high quality archival inks on canvas, with a durable lamination clear coats that are UV filtered applied through a heat and vacuum process. Some images are then embellished by hand with clear texturing, highlights, and/or gold leaf paint, each of which is a unique piece. Look for this information below each image.

Personal History

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on October 17, 1955, Arth and his family moved to Texas when he was 2 years old. At a young age, Arth demonstrated talent in drawing and painting. When he traveled to Europe in the mid-1970s to visit family, he was awed by the artwork he viewed.

Arth’s father, a geophysicist, did not want him to become an artist, but Arth couldn’t deny or curtail his creativity. He studied drama and fine art in high school, then briefly at the American School in London and the University of Texas at Arlington. He designed sets, theatrical backdrops, murals, and paintings, leading to professional opportunities designing sets and backdrops for movie studios, ballets, operas, and companies including Six Flags Corporation and Cinemark Theaters.

“Even the discouragement from my father was not enough to stop me from making a life as an artist,” Arth says.

Arth and his family currently live in Colleyville near Ft. Worth, Texas.

Style and Influences

Arth loves the fascinating complexity of circuit boards, often using them to portray themes of technology. Through the deconstruction and assemblage of technology, Arth transforms ordinary and utilitarian objects into dynamic and textured art.

Arth began using circuit boards in the early 1990s when he realized circuit boards bear an uncanny resemblance to an aerial view of a city. Arth gathers his supplies through recycling companies dealing in computer parts, often searching for specific shapes, colors, and unusual pieces to incorporate.

Through a fusion of collage and paint, he began creating cityscapes. Since then, he has expanded this technological theme to depict robots, “space cowboys,” and American flags.

“I’ve been asked many times why I do what I do. I can’t say I know exactly,” Arth says. “I was born with the need to create things.”

During his visits to Europe, Arth became fascinated by works from John Singer Sargent, Gustav Klimt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Vincent van Gogh, as well as African art. Contemporary artist Chuck Close also inspires Arth with his colorful grid paintings.

Arth credits his older brother, who once worked an artist, as one of his biggest influences for deciding to become an artist.

Accomplishments

  • Arth’s works are displayed in galleries, offices, and restaurants and are collected around the world.
  • In 2015, he was the official artist for the spring Bayou City Art Festival in Houston.

 

David Najar

David Najar describes nature as a subject that is simultaneously in perfect harmony, full of beauty, and near God. His artwork seeks to capture this indescribable balance with a serene combination of movement and color, mixing imagination with reality.

Najar’s paintings are sold worldwide and have been featured in exhibitions throughout Israel, Canada, and the United States.

NAJAR: PERSONAL HISTORY

Born in 1962, Najar grew up in Israel. His teachers recognized Najar’s artistic skills, but his family was less supportive of Najar’s talent.

“In my family there was no such thing as an artist or painter. The closest thing to a painting we had at home was a tapestry,” Najar says.

Najar attended Bar-Ilan University from 1987 to 1990, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences. With his artistic pursuits stymied, sports took over Najar’s life. This eventually led him to an exercise facility that also served as a school for Krav Maga, the hand-to-hand combat system used by Israeli defense and security forces. Najar took an interest in the martial art, and soon after met Imi Lichtenfeld, the creator of Krav Maga. The two became fast friends despite an age difference of 50 years, and Najar endured intense training to become a coach and leading figure in Krav Maga.

Najar taught Krav Maga for 20 years. During his many conversations with Lichtenfeld, his master often told him that he “would be surprised by what you’ll find inside you.” This prophetic musing came to be when Najar visited a museum where, upon viewing a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, felt his passion for art reawaken and decided he had to learn how to paint.

Najar was in his 30s when he realized that he wanted to create art for a living. He signed up for painting classes, instructing Krav Maga by day and painting at night. After a year of classes, his art teacher praised Najar’s abilities, but asked him to leave the class because of his “independent style.”

The artist didn’t let the critique deter him. In 2003, renowned Israeli artist Itzchak Tarkay began to mentor Najar. The two artists painted together until Tarkay’s passing in 2012. Najar also learned from Moshe Rosenthalis, a Lithuanian artist who was a soldier and illustrator during World War II before immigrating to Israel.

Today, Najar continues to paint at his studio located in Israel.

“I thank God that I do things that I love,” he says. “I don’t take it for granted.”

NAJAR: STYLE AND INFLUENCES

Najar coins his vivid portrayals of nature as “Contemporary Expressionism.” The artist says he does not base his scenes on actual places, but that about 40 percent of his technique leans toward abstraction. Instead, Najar borrows aspects from reality and combines them in his imagination.

Najar embraces the philosophy that beauty is everywhere, and that one does not need to travel far to see something worthwhile.

 “It’s not just shapes and colors, you see the harmony, the symbiosis, the unconditional love,” he says of nature. “I try to share with someone who looks at it the feeling that I have when I look at the colors, the movement there, the quietness.”

Characterized by coiled brushstrokes, rippling patterns, and saturated hues, Najar uses nature and his love for artists like the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists as inspiration. Najar paints spontaneously, instinctively choosing colors to express his emotions.

Utilizing impasto and rubber brushes, Najar uses color and texture to define the relationship between light and shadow in his paintings. Often focusing on landscapes, his compositions feature themes of reflection by utilizing water sources, the setting sun, and shadows. He also paints figures and still lifes, focusing on bright colors that are deepened by heavily contrasting shadows.

While he doesn’t consider himself a philosopher, Najar believes that to become an artist, one doesn’t need to attend art school. Instead, one simply has to look around and let nature be an instructor. He says that the modern world is so busy that everyone should slow down, and uses his art as an invitation for viewers to stop and breathe.

“I try to give you something where your soul can feel at home,” Najar says.

 

Wayne Smith Lanford

The world through the eyes of an artist is filled with hope and beauty. Even to his last days, sharing that vision was the life work of Wayne Smith Lanford, who passed away August 25, 2003. Born April 13, 1926 in Globe Arizona, Lanford’s roots are deeply embedded in Arizona history.
His Father Samuel Ford Lanford, Sr., an early Representative from Greenlee County, was an Alderman from the city of Globe and worked for the Arizona Highway department when it was in its infancy. His mother Martha Francis Smith, a bookkeeper and business woman, home steaded a ranch in Cochise in 1914 and was instrumental in starting the first adobe, one-room church there.
Wayne was the youngest of four children in this pioneering family. Lanford, like so many young boys of his era, was eager to join the fight during World War ll. Before he was officially of age he began service first in the Third Marine Division, and then in the Fleet Marine Force. By the time of Lanford’s high school graduation he had already served his military term in Guam. After high school, Lanford studied at the prestigious Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. There he married Vera Blanche Sheeks, started a family and lived in Pico Rivera. But the call of the Arizona desert must have been strong as he and his family moved to Phoenix in 1955.
In his professional life, Lanford was a Graphic Designer and Executive Art Director, working for such companies as Goodyear, Sperry Rand and A&M Associates, the in-house ad agency for U-Haul. There he met and later married Nikki Tillinghast. As Executive Art Director he infused his staff with a spirit that colleagues describe as creative, encouraging and gentle.
An entrepreneurial soul, Lanford also operated a company called Venture Advertising & Design. Being a man who loved telling a good story, Lanford enjoyed Toastmasters International and was a past president. Lanford’s strongest ambition was his painting. Watercolor was his form. Using both soft and brilliant tones of his medium he portrayed the beauty of the western world he loved. He was a past president and honorary lifetime member of Arizona Watercolor Association, a member and Chairman of Contemporary Watercolor Association and member of Arizona Artists Guild. He was known for his Watercolor Windows Workshops, where he inspired artists to paint with a new perspective.
Lanford is survived by his loving wife, Nikki Lanford of 21 years as well as his ex-wife, 4 children, 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Michael Atkinson

Evening Light – Lithograph
Biography
Contemporary Colorist

Michael Atkinson born in Texas in 1946. He started painting as a child in the northwest Texas town of Lubbock. Attracted early to the study of architecture, he earned a degree from Texas Tech University, then taught and worked in the field for a time. He soon realized that he was most drawn to the design and presentation aspects of his profession. In the summer of 1974, he took time off to concentrate on his painting.

The response to his work was so great; he made the decision to paint full time. A painting by Michael Atkinson is immediately recognizable by its composition He feels that watercolor permits spontaneity and freedom and can be made to do things on its own utilizing texture, density of color, variation of light and dark.

White space is also an essential element of the “Atkinson look”. In addition to his dazzling medium of watercolor, Atkinson demonstrates his excellent artistic ability with beautiful bronze sculpture. His bronze pieces mirror the electricity of his two-dimensional work, earning a grand reception from his legions of collectors.

Brilliant use of color and design has won Michael Atkinson international acclaim… but that has not stopped this native Texan from continually exploring reality through new media and images of the mind and heart

From his Smoky Ridge studio in Austin, Texas, Atkinson seeks to “capture the emotion – be it subtle or exaggerated,” a pursuit that has been in evolution since he started painting as a child in the northwest Texas town of Lubbock.

Attracted early to the study of architecture, he earned a degree from Texas Tech University, then taught and worked in the field for a time.  He soon realized that he was most drawn to the design and presentation aspects of his profession, and in the summer of 1974, he took time off to concentrate on his painting.

“I rented a beach house and began to develop my own style, which has slowly evolved into what you see today,” he says, nothing that the response to his work then helped make the decision to paint full time.

From the first, his art has reflected his training, experience, and wide ranging interests,  as he creates images – buildings, oceanscapes, animals, Southwestern landscapes – through a unique set my abstract style and the mastery of watercolors “spontaneity and freedom.”
His subjects and style have also been influenced by other artists such as Jason Williamson, Frank Howell, and Gerald Bromer, and whose work he first noticed “how white space could be used effectively to  enhance the images.”
White space is an essential element of the composition that characterizes the Atkinson look, yet as Atkinson explains, “The white is not empty. It is completely finished.”  Treating the paper as an element of design, the artist works from one concentrated area of detail in color, leaving much of the paper white and allowing the eye to focus on the central image without intrusion from the periphery.
The white space is defined and given direction by Atkinson’s signature birds which either sweep towards the center of interest or decrease in size is they go back into the painting, drawing the eye into or out of the painting, and thus completing it for the viewer.

“Collectors take what’s in my paintings and use it to get their imaginations going, then they weave a story around the space I have left,” Atkinson says.

Atkinson admirers and collectors have enthusiastically embraced his work over the decade. Quickly sold out, his pieces have been selected for public collections throughout the United States and abroad and are found in such distinguished private collections as those of Burt Reynolds and Malcolm Forbes.
Now represented by galleries in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and California, the artist continues to express stories of contemporary yet lasting value through brilliant use of color in form. And the appeal of the unmistakable Atkinson look has never been stronger.