VICKIE GUTHRIE
The International Guild of Realism’s Spring Salon Online Exhibition will feature more than 200 paintings by artists from around the globe.
(254) 396-4290, vruthg@hotmail.com www.vickieguthrie.com
Lifelong Texas artist Vickie Guthrie began painting 20 years ago. By participating in many workshops, she quickly gained knowledge and sped up the learning process.
Her major influence came from oil/pastel artist Kaye Franklin, who focused on composition and color theory. Guthrie enjoys creating still life paintings with objets d’art from antique dealers and finds landscape inspiration from the backroads of Texas.
“I thoroughly enjoy creating art. Painting is a continual process of problem solving,” says Guthrie. “Each decision you make affects the stroke before and the next stroke you’re about to make.”
Her work has been juried into the national Bosque Art Classic in Clifton, Texas. She and husband, George, live on acreage in rural Somervell County.
International Guild of Realism has been at the forefront of contemporary realism since its inception in 2002. One of the ways it continues to promote its artists is through yearly exhibitions at galleries around the country, but a new opportunity for the members is to show their work online in its Spring Salon Online Exhibition.
Not only will the exhibition be available to view in its entirety on the IGOR website, but our brand-new website will be hosting the entire show as well. Since the magazine started 15 years ago, American Art Collector has been a corporate sponsor of the Guild’s shows. With our new homepage we are allowing you, the collector, the opportunity to see the more than 200 works that were juried in the show and communicate directly with IGOR about purchasing the work by clicking “Inquire About this Art” in the Gallery Space Online. The Spring Salon Online Exhibition will be available to view March 20 through May 20.
“As an original charter member of the International Guild of Realism, I am thrilled to see the amazing growth within IGOR over the past 16 years. IGOR is proud to present the 2020 Spring Salon Online Exhibition,” says Donald Clapper, a founding charter member of the group. He adds, “IGOR is definitely a major player in the resurgence of academic realism in fine art. Our juried membership represents some of the very best realists in the world and this year’s
Spring Salon is one of our best shows to date in terms of quality, creativity and number of paintings. Our artist members hail not only from North America but from more than 35 countries around the world.”
American Art Collector editor Joshua Rose says, “We are thrilled to be partnering with International Guild of Realism once again, and this is a great opportunity for us to not only display the beautiful artwork of the group’s talented artists but also show everything that is offered through our new website.”
Included in this year’s show are Abbey Ryan, Aicy Karbstein, Al Vesselli, Ann Justin, Barbara Clements, Cathryne Trachok, Cathy Johnson,
Cher Pruys, Cindy Valek Mottl, Debbie Shirley, Duhita Samaiyar, Eduardo Landa, Erwin P. Lewandowski, Jesse Lane, Laurie Riley, Lloyd Voges, Lorn Curry, Marissa Oosterlee, Michela Mansuino, Nancy Jacey, Sandra Desrosiers and Sharon Sayegh.
Aleta Rossi-Steward’s floral painting Diamond Droplets represents the memory of one of her neighbors who passed years ago. “This hollyhock had been in her yard, but was terribly neglected,” she says. “I rescued it, and it has flourished, growing back larger every year. I was struck by the way the sun shone through the petals and illuminated the droplets after a summer rain.”
Also focusing on the natural world in all its beauty is Carin Wagner, who was taken aback by the tree that is center stage in Lady of the Sycamore. “I encountered a tree that looked so much like a woman with her arms raised joyously that it stunned me,” she recalls. “She became the basis for my painting Lady of the Sycamore. Would showing people the human form of some trees arouse a protective spirit in them?”
In Stoic Observers, a landscape by Dimitrina Stamboldjiev Kutriansky “the turbulent sky reflects the vivacity of nature, which, coupled with a nuanced palette, creates an atmosphere that is characterized by the congruence of both drama and subtlety. The light emerges through the grayness of the clouds, illuminating the battered trees, rooted in the rocky earth. These ‘stoic observers’ have stood as witnesses to the constant changes in the natural world, their enigmatic beauty persevering through the years. The painting invites the viewer to reflect upon humanity’s capacity for endurance and serves as a symbolic affirmation of man’s innate ability to hope.”
Rob MacIntosh’s painting The Three Amigo’s was inspired by where he lives. He elaborates, “Living in the Sonoran Desert I get to experience watching these magnificent cacti produce the most beautiful blooms. Watching them unfold is just magic. Every detail is inspirational—an artist’s dream.”
Allan Gorman is always looking for architectural and
structural oddities that are interesting or challenging for a painting. His juried work Crown, “depicts the iconic Crown Building in NYC, reflected in the sloping, modern facade of 9 West 57th Street,” he says. “I love the way the alternating glass panes between floors distorts and makes abstract shapes of the reflected facades of the buildings across the street.”
Also focusing on architecture is Ron Craig, whose juried work Inside Out depicts beauty in an overlooked place. He muses, “An empty warehouse occupied only by the afternoon sun, surrounded by stillness inside— looking out. My moment of inspiration.”
Surprise! by William C. Turner shows a rusty interior of a car, with a hidden creature within its parts.
“The challenge of replicating the complexity of wiring, hoses, rust and colors and the surprise of seeing it is a creature’s home was my inspiration,” he says.
Shawn Robichaud’s Yesterday’s Tomorrow shows a long-abandoned train. He says, “No longer in use; the caboose played a huge part in our locomotive history. For nearly 150 years, it served as shelter for the crew, but also it played a part as a building block in creating the country we now have. Today it is but a relic, some [are] found in museums and only few remain. In a strange way, it is a reminder that we all play a part in this world and will one day leave a legacy.”
Wildlife artist Brenda Morgan’s painting Anticipation depicts one of the cougars that lives at
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. “[It is] a wonderful nonprofit providing lifetime refuge to neglected, abused or abandoned ‘big’ cats,” Morgan says. “I visit there a few times a year to take photo references and have painted many of their rescues.”
Another artist focusing on animals is Brenda Kidera, whose painting Shirley is a cow portrait. “Cows evoke a feeling of calmness in me. I’ve painted cows for many years and enjoy being out in the pasture with them,” explains Kidera. “I find their anatomy particularly interesting and challenging to paint. Cows are curious and social animals; they’ll often sneak up behind me.”
In her painting Ghost Rider, Cathy McClelland also focuses on cattle, but in a larger context. “We are sixth-generation beef cattle farmers in Queensland, Australia, and this is a painting of my oldest son, Travis, ghosting in and out of the thick choking dust on our farm as he was mustering the cows,” she explains. “I was watching him disappear then reappear through the dust and was pondering the question— with the continuing crippling droughts and financial difficulties faced by small family farms, will they and our iconic Aussie cowboys become ‘ghost riders’ of the past? Disappear into history? I hope not.”
The Hunter is a falcon painting by Cher Anderson that shows the creature in all its majesty. Describing
the inspiration, she says, “I have always had a passion for birds and am inspired by their beauty, intelligence and incredible spectrum of species. The peregrine falcon is one of my favorites because of their speed and death-defying dives during hunting. I photographed this one in particular to use as reference and was amazed at its beauty.”
A toucan appears in Dirk Freder’s juried work A Rainbow in the Forest. The artist says, “When I was on a trip through the rainforest of Costa Rica, shortly after a heavy rain shower, which plunged the whole scenery into a deep green, a keel-billed toucan appeared with its intensely colored beak shining like a rainbow. I knew that this was one of those moments that I had to realize as a painting in order to preserve the memory of this fascinating atmosphere, which I could only rudimentarily capture with the reference photos that I was able to shoot quickly before it disappeared.”
Elena Eros’ Snow White Expressions depicts a white Arabian horse in all of its moods. “Horses are so impressive in their movements, that it’s not enough to paint a head or even a body of this creature to show its full glory,” Eros shares. “In order to express its magnificent essence, I’ve come with an idea to animate a horse in the same painting, showing the same horse in motion from different angles. I painted on transparently primed linen without background to draw all attention of the viewer to this beautiful animal.”
Also showing an artist’s love of wildlife is Cindy Sorley-Keichinger’s painting Sunning. “Painting is a form of communication. I wanted the majesty of the tiger to come through loud and clear,” she says.
facial expression in the middle of a surgery where there is no room for mistakes. But I hope the viewer can see the benevolent side of him through his gray hair and wrinkles.”
In her juried painting Dream Beyond, Judy Jing Pang says, “I wanted to express the concept of an infinite plane of solitude and tranquility, using the form of a human figure against the backdrop of space as a visual allegory.”
Take Time to Smell the Roses by Marianna Foster shows a young woman holding a rose in her hands. “I feel lucky to live in Phoenix and be able to enjoy the roses on their bushes almost all year-around,” she says. “The rose in my painting is a fragile and thorny beauty. It made me stop and take a moment to simply breathe, enjoy the beauty of life, enjoy those little things in the present moment and not to worry about the future or being stressed about what just happened in a past.”
Patricia McMahon Rice’s oil on copper painting Blue River Dream is included in the show. “My model, Sheba, glanced over her shoulder with this fleeting, dreamy smile that really caught my eye. Her business is Blue River Dream, hence the title,” she says. “I underpainted this first in burnt umber and white on a copper plate, later glazing on the color using a modified glazing technique. The highly smooth surface of copper was perfect for her porcelain skin.”
Priscilla Nelson loves to show the interaction between the human figure, water and light. In the case of her juried painting Making Waves, the figure’s “powerful swim [is] creating a wave on a calm day out at sea.”
In Pink Flowers, Salvatore Graci combines the figure with nature. “I liked the flowers in this courtyard inside this famous building and the woman’s photo,” the artist