Denise Walser-Kolar is an internationally-recognized botanical artist and instructor. She teaches at the Minnesota School of Botanical Art, loves to travel teach, and her workshops at the annual American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) Conference are always very popular.

Denise’s work has been exhibited at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, American Society of Botanical Artists/Horticultural Society of New York International Exhibits, and Focus on Nature. In 2011, she received a Silver-Gilt Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society in London for her paintings of Hybrid Hazelnuts. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.

Jeff Koehn is one of a few young artists that have captured the interest of gallery owners and art lovers across the country in the past two years. Born in a small Wisconsin town, his first grade teacher was prescient when she told him he would be a famous artist someday.

Jeff received his formal art education from the Art Institute of Colorado, where he graduated with honors in December of 1995. While at the Art Institute, he received extensive training in pastel, oil, and acrylic painting from world-renowned artists Doug Dawson, Lynn Kircher and Dong Long. In addition, in 1995 he was awarded 1st Place in the National Creative ‘Geanie’ Student Competition.

Jeff’s style has evolved from early emphasis on photo-realism with the use of pastels in portraits. His earlier illustrative work has appeared in numerous publications. As he shifted to oil and acrylics, he has become absorbed with the excitement of color and texture, refining his paintings with dry brush techniques that lend both complexity and subtlety to his distinctive style. His influences come from Vermeer’s use of light spilling across his paintings, and also from John Singer Sargent’s lush portraits. Jeff’s immediate and enthusiastic reception in the gallery community is undoubtedly an indication of an artist on the rise.

Steve Immerman

Although a native New Yorker, Steve Immerman has lived in the Midwest for over 40 years. Immerman has been working in glass for 36 years, the last 25 years exclusively with kilnformed glass. Immerman uses glass art as a respite from his more left brain and stressful career as a general surgeon and surgical oncologist.

He recognizes many parallels between kilnformed glass and surgery.

“They each involve technical skill and precise planning in preparation for the portion of the process where the elements are left alone to heal (in the case of surgery) or fuse (with kilnformed glass). Both processes require intense knowledge of what is expected to happen, and neither allow much margin for error. Both combine science and art.”

His journey in glass has included classes throughout the United States with recognized kinformed glass artists, as well as extensive personal study and experimentation. He has been a finalist in the ArtsWest Wisconsin show on six occasions, and has been a finalist in the Bullseye Glass Company’s eMerge (competition for emerging glass artists) in 2002, 2004 and 2008. His work has been featured on the cover of Glass Craftsman Magazine, and he has authored multiple articles for that publication. In 2005 he was chosen by the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts to be the commissioned artist to supply original art awards for their annual “Governor’s Award in Support of the Arts”.

Depending on the particular piece, the glass Immerman uses may be transparent or opalescent; textured or smooth; glossy or satiny. A common theme in Immerman’s art is his use of geometric shapes, and, as one juror described his work, his ”…clean form and patterning.” He successfully juxtaposes wild, chaotic design elements with serene backgrounds and geometric regularity.

Says Immerman, “When people look at my work I want them to be at the edge of recognizing something beyond the glass itself; I want the glass to draw them to a memory of an emotion, feeling, or place at a subliminal level.” Immerman does this with repetitions of textures, patterns, colors and shapes, in the form of vessels or sculptures.

The works on these pages were each individually created in a small studio exclusively using Bullseye glass. All of the kiln formed artwork, sculpture and designs on these pages are original, and are copyrighted to the artist.

Publications:

Glass Craftsman: 2011 Author of “Everything You Wanted to Know About Cutting Glass”, Winter, 2011.

Glass Craftsman: 2010 Author of “Volume Control and Footprint”, Summer, 2010.

Contemporary Fused Glass, by Brad Walker: 2010, Four Corners International, Photographic contributor.

Glass Craftsman: 2009 Author of “Fused Pattern Bars”, issue No. 214, June/July 2009.

The Joy of Coldworking, by Jonathan Schmuck: 2009 Four Corner’s Press, photographic contributor.

Glass Craftsman: 2009 Author of “The Tile Saw – The Kilnformer’s Friend”, article on tile saws, issue No. 212, Feb/Mar 2009.

“Glass Network, a publication of the Contemporary Glass Society in the UK, 2008 “The Work of a Surgeon’s Hands”, interview by Jon Stamford, Issue 29, Page 2.

Glass Craftsman: 2008 Author of “Sandblasting for Kilnformers 101”, article on sandblasting, issue No. 210A, Oct/Nov 2008.

Glass Craftsman: 2008 Author of “Getting an Edge”, article on coldworking, issue No. 208, June/July 2008.

e-merge 2008: “A showcase of Rising Talents in Kiln-Glass”, Bullseye Glass Co publication, showing the finalists in this competition, including my piece “Aerial”.

Glass Craftsman: 2008 Author of “Strip-Cut Construction Techniques”, Issue No. 206, Feb/Mar 2008.

“A Beginner’s Guide to Kilnformed Glass”: My work featured in this Lark Publications by Cynthia Morgan, Hardcover, Published 2007.

Ward Rounds: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine alumni quarterly, Winter 2006-2007.

AMA News: 2006 Article in the business section about my work: “Surgeon Fired up about Glass Art”.

“Glass Craftsman”: 2006 Collaborated with Judith Conway’s article “Aperture Pours: Advanced Techniques”.

“Contemporary Glass Enameling”: 2005. Several of my pieces shown in this book on fusing with powders, paints, metals, and frit, by Kay Bain Weiner.

“Glass Craftsman”: 2005 Photos of my work featured in Judith Conway’s article “BATCH: The Pot Melt Defined”. Close up photo of “La Jolla Tidepools” featured on the cover. Issue No. 188, Feb/Mar 2005.

Stoneweaver

weaving earth, spirit & flow

When I sit at my workbench, there’s always a stone that resonates. That’s where I begin. Playing until the pattern emerges, then guiding leather, black ash weavers, or waxed linen around the natural contours and colors until the stoneweaving appears. In this way, Stoneweaving has become part of my daily meditation practice, with spirit guiding each creation.

 Whether it’s the stone, the weave, the connection to spirit, or the inquiry that calls you, these stoneweavings bring beauty, peace, presence, and insight wherever you place them.

Origins

After visiting Japan in 2017, I was inspired by Mizuhiki (水引), an ancient Japanese art form using a special cord to tie intricate basketry knots to wrap gifts on special occasions, create art, and even tie up the long hair of the samurai! This 1000-year old custom symbolizes the ties of unity that bind us.

Mizuhiki’s symbolism of unity combined with my love of Lake Superior stones, knots, and black ash basketry has evolved into the art form I call “Stoneweaving”, now part of my daily meditation practice with spirit guiding each creation.

Materials

Natural materials from the Lake Superior shoreline ground this creative practice in respectful relationship with the land. The stones determine the weave, each one uniquely shaped by time and the waters of this inland sea, then woven and accented with materials native to this area including black ash, buckskin leather, birch bark, driftwood, and natural fibers.

Sometimes stones and materials gathered along my travels to other lands find their way into the weave.

Maureen Skroski is a soft pastel painter. Her career has been as an art teacher until retirement afforded more time to focus on her own art.

Influenced and encouraged by her “Uncle Billy”, William P White was an artist and Art Professor in the New York City area, Maureen knew she wanted to be an art teacher/artist since 1st grade. A scholarship to the Milwaukee Art Center Saturday and summer programs and a focus on Art in High School lead Maureen to study Art at the University of Wisconsin Madison’s Art Education program. Study at UW Madison provided exposure to a variety of mediums and influential instructors. Life Drawing and Oil Painting were of particular interest. Maureen earned an Art Purchase Award for an Oil Painting and had an etching selected by her professor Colscott for his collection while at U W Madison.

While raising a family and teaching Art, there were many opportunities for camping and exploring nature. The love of Nature and specifically trees are reflected in Maureen’s Art. As her children grew and moved away, it provided opportunities to visit and explore new areas. This travel inspired a need to produce art. Retirement provided the time.

Maureen’s Art has been shown at The Art’s West Show in Eau Claire and the Eau Claire Art Teacher’s Show at The L E Phillip’s Library.

Soft Pastels offer me a painterly quality and rich colors. I enjoy Plein Air painting and studio work from photos. For me, painting with pastels is a delicate dance of darks and lights as well as knowing when to STOP!

I learn something every day I paint. Representation of Nature is not my mission. Interpretation and expression of Nature with my love of color as my guide is my mission.

Kay Brathol-Hostvet, PSA

Artist's Statement

Nature is always hinting at us.  It hints over and over again.

And suddenly we take the hint.

---Robert Frost

            For almost three decades, my primary creative focus has been the Midwestern landscape. My works are a synthesis of the American landscape tradition and self-expression. The artists George Inness, Martin Johnson Heade, and Wolf Kahn have had a profound impact on my interest in the emotive landscape. The open expanse of a landscape can personify sincerity; it can also represent personal freedom, or embody loneliness or isolation. Dynamism in nature is intimately linked to psychological states. The landscape with its constantly changing light and shadow, weather and seasons becomes a metaphor for our moods and emotions.

            My work in soft pastel has been described as Contemporary Regionalism—a celebration of the land, but with a modern aesthetic.  I am particularly interested in the concept of quiet anticipation—an expectant stillness that one feels at certain times of the day. I work from a combination of sources: my own photographs taken on photo journeys into the local countryside, notes that I take when on those journeys, and design and value studies. The photos act as a catalyst and reminder of form. While the paintings may look photorealistic, they are carefully designed with an intent to capture that transient moment.

Link to Kay's website here

Artist Statement:

Art is meant to bring forth an emotional response. With my mosaics I want to duplicate the sensation one feels seeing a beautiful sunset, that smell of a pine forest or the moment you hear a sound and realize that a waterfall on the trail up ahead. These natural wonders often inspire my mosaic artwork.

Each mosaic is an artistic inspiration and no two are alike in the amount of time it takes to create. Although size and detail of design often dictate but so does “life” influence my creative process. I like to say I paint with glass, which has its own requirements and cautions when handling a material such as glass. Hundreds of hours can go into creating each mosaic, some are a struggle and others seem to just build themselves.

A mosaic artist creates the feeling of a subject through choice of materials, colors and elements. My work is a combination of modern and ancient materials, still using glass, stone, hammer and hardi (chisel). I am dedicated to preserving the tradition of mosaic art, along with the techniques and materials used in the past. One must study and remember the past to be informed for the future.

Artist Bio:

Debra was born, raised and currently lives in the upper Midwest. She has a BFA in Studio Art with a painting emphasis from UW-Stout. Although she has used many mediums for her creative process, her favorite is glass. She has studied with master mosaicists world-wide. Her mosaic art is featured in multiple local, regional and national exhibitions, and is in several permanent collections, including Stanford University, Penn State, Health Partners, Mayo Health System and Marshfield Clinic. Other accomplishments include, past recipient of a SEMAC Grant, recently a Creative Support for Individuals Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and awarded an artist residency in Ireland. She continues to expand her knowledge and experience with the art of mosaic.
 

A glass artist from Appleton, Wisconsin, Sara Rezin creates colorful kiln-formed glass landscapes, sculptural art and jewelry. A passion for nature, color, and heirloom shows through in her one-of-a-kind glass creations, which display a unique blend of texture and luster – and often a note or memory from a loved one. Inspired by Wisconsin’s natural beauty, her kiln-formed landscapes capture the forests and scenery of the state in glass.

After careful cutting and placement of glass pieces, powders and enamels, the colorful layers undergo multiple kiln firings to create her functional and sculptural art pieces. The texture, transparency, and shape of each piece are designed to highlight the beauty of the glass.

Her jewelry ranges from colorful glass necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, to fine silver pieces that preserve handwriting, to whimsical pieces incorporating found treasures. Her kiln-formed glass pieces are enhanced by custom fine silver or wire settings.

A life-long resident of Wisconsin, Sara’s artwork may be found in several Wisconsin galleries, as well as multiple Midwest juried art shows. She shares her enthusiasm for her art through glass and jewelry classes in the Fox Valley.

Dakota Finn’s earliest

memories involve drawing -

always drawing. His Father

still recounts in amazement

at his natural ability, even as

a young boy, to properly

render the human figure.

Since early youth, supported

by the encouragement of his

grandmother who painted

beside him, Dakota Finn has

engaged in an artistic

dialogue with his

surroundings. For Dakota, art

came naturally. It is a gift. And that gift compels him to be the best Artist

he can be. Using color, light and form, his work celebrates the beauty and

the poignancy of the seemingly commonplace. Here is an artist who

delights in color and shape, whose technique is classically based with an

fresh, impressionistic flair, and whose work virtually sings of his personal

love affair with life.

Dakota says of his process “Being an artist is doing what comes naturally.

My subjects choose me-their patterns and shapes, their sense of rhythm

and movement, inspire my creative energy.

Pastel and acrylic allow me to capture the immediacy of the experience.”

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Dakota graduated from Colorado

State University with a degree in Landscape Architecture. After college he

attended the Art Students League of Denver, Colorado. There he

studied under the tutelage of Ramon Kelly, Doug Dawson and Kim

English, who to this day considers his mentors in the fine art world.

After his upbringing in New Mexico, he has made Denver his home and

works in his quaint studio with his constant studio companion Penny, his

pint sized yorkiepoo muse.

His passion for art is ever present, his business acumen has cultivated a

strong loyal national and local following.

To better know Dakota Finn and his deepest passion, know and enjoy his

art

Professionally, Dakota finds that his artistic eye inspires him most of all.

“I never know what is going to catch my eye and love that fact as it always

keeps my art new and exciting”. Being a full time professional artist since

2006 his years of painting and perfecting his craft, trusting his eye has

taken his art to new levels of expression in areas not only in the realm of

representational art but abstract as well.

Personally, Dakota feels his attention to his ever present now inspires him

most. He allows what ever is gets his attention at that moment to be his

guide to an abundant wonderfully fulfilled and happy journey.

Dan Wiemer           
Red Wing, MN

Artist Statement

For me, the process is the product.  My work is a reflection and response of my love of the natural world. 

I want my work to reflect an energy and directness.
First and foremost I consider myself a landscape artist.  The majority of my work is created in watermedia. I paint both on location (plein air) and in the studio.  I utilize the opaque nature of acrylic and the transparent qualities of watercolor to create contrasts.  As a past president of the MN Watercolor Society, I see firsthand the endless variety of ways to handle watermedia, and this excites me.  

Trained as a Graphic Designer, (B.A. Iowa State University) I play with the shapes and textures of the landscape.  I try to find rhythms in the scene that translate into exciting motifs.  I don’t try to replicate nature, I try to distill, stylize and give the viewer my interpretation, something they can be a part of.  Currently I am a fine artist, illustrator and workshop instructor. Through an artist exchange program, I was fortunate enough to have spent three weeks in China painting and teaching. I feel I am only beginning to explore.

Thank you for taking time to share in my work.

April 18, 1945 — January 14, 2024

Ink on panel with multiple layers of finish

Growing up, I was fortunate to have lived in Japan. From my impressionable young years there, the Japanese aesthetic of blending the indoors with the outdoors comes natural to me.

"The glass leaves are individually hand cut from stained glass, shaped, painted, kiln fired and slumped to attain its organic shape. They are then carefully drilled and suspended on fine stainless steel wire with aluminum crimps. They are strung so they appear to be drifting to the ground"

I AM MOVED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE NIGHT SKY AND OTHER ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA. PHYSICS, COSMOLOGY, AND THE WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE FASCINATE ME, AS DO HIGH TEMPERATURE CHEMISTRY, POWERED FLIGHT AND ALL THINGS MECHANICAL.

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Aerial view looking south of Josh's red barn studio, with a neighbor's house to the right.

Aerial view looking south of Josh's red barn studio, with a neighbor's house to the right.

Glass has held my attention for well over 40 years now, which is pretty amazing because for better or worse, I have interests that scatter me in a hundred directions.

I can become mesmerized by color, form, contrast, iridescence, tessellating patterns and complexity. Contradiction, paradox and magic lead me to experiment and often push me far outside my comfort zone.

Every night, the last thing I do before going to bed is walk from the house to my studio to check on the furnaces. Sometimes seeing an aurora borealis, watching a thunderstorm develop down the valley, or just looking at the sky on a perfect summer night, compels me to translate some of the wonder of the universe into my glass. This process doesn’t happen in any planned way, but gradually and unpredictably. I never try to replicate what I see around me. In fact I often don't even recognize the source of inspiration until someone points it out to me later.

Glass consists of sand and metallic oxides combined with extraordinary, blinding heat. The result is a material that flows like honey. When it's hot, glass is alive. It moves gracefully and inexorably in response to gravity and centripetal force. It possesses an inner light and transcendent radiant heat that make it simultaneously one of the most rewarding and one of the most frustrating materials for an artist to work with. I try to coax and shape...the glass just wants to drip on the floor! Most of my work reflects a compromise between the molten material and me; each finished piece is a solidified moment when we both agree.

- Josh Simpson

from megaplanet.com

Carlyn Janus is a Chicago born artist and recent transplant to Brooklyn, NYC, specializing in acrylic and mixed media painting on canvas and paper. Her work is mainly abstract natural forms and scenes inspired by nature. Mixing the organic elements of urban, inland and coastal environments into surreal, dream-like textures and layers. This interpretation of nature is referred to as a “Dreamscape”. It is not a tangible setting or a recognizable place, but more of a feeling or distant memory that is translated into an abstract landscape that is interpreted differently by each viewer.

A graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Carlyn Janus has been working professionally within many art fields, including fine art restoration, graphic design, interior desing and film, for over 17 years. She has continued her career in the arts in 2012 by becoming a professional fine art painter.

Artist Statement

I paint from memory, sharing my experiences visually through contemporary landscapes. My visual voice consists of a singular brushstroke in vivid color on black canvas. Just as the light shines in the darkness, my work reveals the effects of light and darkness in the landscape, capturing the emotion of the memory while telling a story. 
Are you listening?

David Gilsvik was initiated into an art career at a young age.  He discovered drawing in his early teens, copying magazine covers and comic books.  When his father pursued a career in writing for outdoor magazines that specialized in hunting and fishing stories, David tagged along enjoying the rugged outdoor scene.  He continued to refine his drawing skills and, eventually, illustrated three of his father’s books.

During his high school years, David was encouraged to draw and paint by Nora Stevens, a devoted teacher who helped found the Midwest Watercolor Society.  Through Stevens, David had the opportunity to study under several guest artists who taught him about layout and design, value and color.  David studied at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of New Mexico.  He attended Yale University’s prestigious summer art program in Norfolk, Connecticut.  David took courses at the Grand Marais Art Colony for seven summers, studying with Birney Quick, his painting professor at Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Although David’s academic road led him to painting as a fine art, the practical subject of making a living was never addressed.  He was quite easily swayed into the commercial side of art and began working as a painter for a billboard company.  Seven years later, he started his own business, Gilsvik Signs and Murals, based in Two Harbors.

Now, almost 20 years after returning to the North Shore, David has resumed the fine art of painting and provides the viewer with his own glimpse into nature.

 Artist statement

The world of nature has always been my world of choice.  My method is to simply observe nature and pay attention, both to the nature in front of me and the nature inside of me.  I guess I have some faith that if an idea or image is interesting to me, it is probably interesting to someone else as well.

Kathy Olson is a lifelong resident of Wisconsin and grew up on a farm in Pierce County.  As a member of 4-H, she choose photography as one of her favorite projects when she was ten years old.  A camera became part of her standard equipment

and she enjoyed photographing her friends and family and routine daily life. Kathy is currently a resident of Eau Claire, WI.

When she discovered watercolor painting, she used her photographs as her studio subjects for many years.  After she

finished a degree in journalism and wrote for the St. Paul Pioneer Press as well as many regional publications, photography

was a natural fit. She traveled throughout Northwestern Wisconsin and ‘shot’ her own stories, as well as those of other

reporters. 

In recent years, she has enjoyed landscape photography with a favorite subject being the Lake Superior shores in

Wisconsin,Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
“Lake Superior is always changing, no matter the time of day or year, it’s a constant big screen movie,” she said. “The moods

and light of the big lake never get old. My photography is my way of sharing, of grabbing someone and saying, ‘hey, look at this,’ we live in a beautiful place.”

Rebecca Crowell

Since earning her MFA in painting from Arizona State University in 1985, Rebecca Crowell has led a life focused on painting. When she is not traveling for teaching or for artist residencies (in such places as the Catalonia region of Spain, northern Sweden, and coastal areas of Ireland) she works almost daily in her studio in rural western Wisconsin. She draws significant influence from these residencies and travels, as well as from her surroundings at home.

Rebecca Crowell is known for her innovative painting techniques involving cold wax medium and mixed media, and is represented by a number of fine art galleries in various locations including Dublin, Ireland; Chicago, Illinois; Telluride, Colorado; Atlanta, Georgia; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Eau Claire, WI and Columbia, Missouri. Her representation with Gormleys Fine Art in Dublin has recently led to international exposure, including several European art fairs.

I will never get over how beautiful life on earth is. I consider myself very lucky to be alive and I feel thankful every single day. Painting is my way of showing my gratitude.

I’m from Arizona. When I was young we lived in a hand-built home in the Sonoran Desert. At the time it was remote and we liked it that way. We lived without electricity for several years. Since I couldn’t watch tv or hang out with other kids I spent a lot of time outside, exploring. I began to realize that the desert was a delicate and sublime place. It appeared perfect to me, as if every rock and cactus had been placed there by a higher power with a superb sense of perspective and design. Everything was exactly where it was supposed to be. In nature I saw perfection.

We used to spend the summers in Colorado, in Crested Butte. I loved it there and decided to attend Western State College in nearby Gunnison. I was fortunate to live in that community for 10 years. I had some great adventures and met some wonderful people. I learned to ski, and I hiked and biked all over the Western Slope. Somehow I also found the time to get my degree in art.

I went on to work in the visual arts in sales and design, fine art galleries, high-end framing, and corporate art consulting. But truly all I have ever wanted to do was paint, and now I can. I hope to convey in my work at least some of that sense of perfection that I perceive in nature.

Inspired by nature, Noah's paintings sit at the edge of abstraction by creating landscapes with bold colors and a sense of movement that draw you deep into the work. His energetic compositions are rendered with vibrant color, vitality, and spontaneity. Noah's heavily textured canvases are created by layering pigments with both palette knife and brush, resulting in exciting landscapes rich in depth and vibrancy. 

     After graduating from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and receiving a BFA, Noah attended Chicago Institute of Decorative Finishing, and School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Noah Desmond has won many regional awards and scholarships, such as the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Merit Scholarship and the Blatz Foundation Scholarship. He is recognized for his painterly approach and freshness to his work, earning him a place in corporate as well as private collections.

     Artist Statement:  For me, the spirit and mystery of painting lie behind the image, below the brushstrokes, and above ones considered thoughts. A good painting is a happening; connecting the artist and viewer to a world within the soul. Using oil paint as language, I try to make my paintings evoke beauty and personaility. My inspiration comes from real life situations and mental photographs. The final result is essentially a colllage of my thoughts of reality in spirits. I work and rework the illusion of applying layers of line, form, and color. I know the painting is complete when the myriad of broken color reveals my full intentions and ideas of beauty and personality.''   -Noah

About the artist

Thomas Arvid possesses an unerring ability to refine a moment. In doing so he captures our wonder and has become an art world phenomenon. Art Business News (May 2003) credits him with "launching a major art trend . . ." with his oversized still life compositions of wine and the rituals surrounding it. Arvid astounds viewers with the intricate details of his images and with his mastery of light, depth, and reflection.

The magic of his painting is in Arvid's ability to visualize and chronicle an entire scene beyond the frame – to tell a story of enjoyment and the good life – using lush color and adroit composition. Arvid is passionate about art and wine: a collector of both, he strives to capture the pleasure of a life well-lived on each canvas. An Atlanta resident and fresh-faced father of two young sons, the self-taught artist insists that wine should be approachable; his paintings are an embodiment of the casual way that we enjoy wine today. He is an appealing role model for a lifestyle of easy elegance and unpretentious charm.

Arvid's approach to wine and painting is surprising, given his background as a Detroit native raised to parlay his inherent artistic talent into a secure job in the industrial complex. Instead, Arvid made the leap into pursuing his art as a career, and with the support of his art historian wife and inspiration garnered during a backpacking trip through Europe, he began painting full time.

Drawn to wine by his focus on the color red,  Arvid knew he had discovered something when his paintings featuring red wine were being purchased before they were finished. Arvid is awed by the response to his work, "Wine is a great subject because people are familiar with it; they really connect to it. My paintings are really the landscapes between people sharing wine – it's amazing that my collectors find personal fulfillment in my work, especially when I'm just doing what I love."

The aura surrounding Arvid's work is palpable. His international appeal has created such demand that his work is represented by over 50 elite art galleries in the US, Canada, and Japan; collectors are willing to wait years for one of his originals. Influential wineries such as Silver Oak Cellars, Far Niente, and Diamond Creek Winery collect Arvids because he translates the craftsmanship of wine to canvas. Doug Shafer, of Shafer Family Vineyards, likens Arvid's skill to that of a winemaker, "Arvid's style is big and bold, with enough selected detail and softness to create a sense of balance . . . this blend of elements is precisely what winemakers hope to bring to their top vintages."

Today, Thomas Arvid and his wife, Vanessa, head Thomas Arvid Fine Art, Inc., one of the most successful boutique art publishing companies in the country. Founded in 2000, the company distributes Arvid's limited editions and originals across the country and the world. In 2004 they released a retrospective of Arvid's work, "Arvid: Redefining the Modern Still Life," that traces the development of Arvid's style from its beginnings a decade ago to the lifestyle it is today. The book is a fitting chronicle to illustrate one of Arvid's favorite phrases, "Life without art is like dinner without wine. Why bother?" 

 Russell Chatham is a contemporary American landscape artist who spent most of his career living in Livingston, Montana. Russell is essentially a self-taught artist. His work has been exhibited in over 400 one man shows and in museums and galleries over the last five decades.

Thomas Pradzynski (29 November 1951 – 21 December 2007) was a Polish painter. Born in Lodz in 1951, he attended the Lycee Francois in Warsaw, where he received a master's degree in sociology and economics.

He and his wife, Joanna, moved to Paris in 1977, where he became known for his realistic Parisian street scenes. At the time of his death, he lived in Montmartre. He was murdered in December 2007 in a road rage incident while he was walking with his wife in Paris.

Pradzynski's work has been showcased at exhibitions around the world