Tag: Featured Artists

Internationally collected artists John and Elli Milan have a unique creative process. They create their paintings together.

John and Elli met in Hawaii when they were young. They both wanted to be artists, so attended Savannah College of Art and Design, then University of Georgia, where each received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting. Soon they were working independently, developing their personal styles, and showing their work in local galleries, but they dreamed of working together.

Today, that dream has come true. Collaborating, they create art neither could create alone. John and Elli explain, “The Spirit of God inspires our work and allows us to create together and maintain a unified vision.” The end result is aggressive and spontaneous layers of paint which create a bright and playful scenario that is interwoven with hints of narrative.

They travel often to Greece, which inspires their artwork and life. Contemporary buildings built around old ruins, and the visible layers of history, have become a metaphor for how the Milan’s see spiritual transformation within themselves and the people around them:

Like these ancient cities, our lives are complex; as we grow and progress the new slowly replaces the old, yet we are often nostalgic for our old self, rather than looking forward with great expectation to our destiny.

The Milans and their four children live in Queen Creek, Arizona, where they have a home studio that is open year round. They are exhibited in galleries and private collections in Canada, Europe, the United States, Philippines, and Dubai.

Village Frame & Gallery is proud to offer works by John and Elli Milan in our gallery. To see these works in person, visit the Gallery Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., or by appointment.

“I want to transform the beauty around me into shapes. I try to think of my work as a process of simplifying something huge into a manageable pattern.”

–Natalya Romanovsky

Technique

Natalya Romanovsky starts every painting with a sketch. Then, as each shape and object “finds it has a soul and speaks to me,” develops her vivid, energetic paintings. Inspired by both folk art and contemporary design, Romanovsky produces oil paintings of dynamic images formed by bold brushstrokes and texturized by etching the work with a wooden skewer.

Biography

Natalaya Romanovsky has a childhood memory of a chance encounter with an old man, Jorg Jonkof, who was rumored to have been lost as a child, then found in a city far away. To Romanovsky it was as if Jonkof passed something to her during that meeting. From then on, she was destined to become an artist. At 7 years old, a teacher noticed Romanovsky’s talent and told her mother, “Give her brushes and paint. The child will know what to do.”

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from Chisinau Art College in her native Moldovia. After graduation, she went to work for a popular magazine, contributed to childrens’ publications, and continued to paint. In 1993 Romanovsky immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio.

During her first three years in America, Romanovsky worked odd jobs: McDonalds, babysitting, working at an ad agency, doing art therapy with seniors. Bored, but not knowing many people, she immersed herself in painting more and more. By 1996 she was painting full time.

“I am addicted to painting and must do it every day,” she says. A night owl, she often works until 3 a.m. or later. She also loves music and cruising America’s open roads.

Romanovsky’s work is exhibited in galleries throughout North America and popular with collectors. Three of her works are currently available at Village Frame & Gallery in Portland, Oregon.

[twocol_one][/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last][/twocol_one_last]

 

Artist’s Bio

Maya Eventov was born in 1964 in Leningrad in the USSR. Her work is representative of the quite distinctive modern Russian avant-gardism style of painting. Eventov’s paintings are rich with color, light and detail and reflect expert draftsmanship, as well as a sense of artistic well-being and happiness. In the hands of this artist, ordinary interiors and still life become extraordinary. Chairs, flowers, harps and Roman pillars take on personas that are sophisticated and rich, yet whimsical and fun. Each element has its own independent existence within a unified painting.

Eventov began her training as a child in the art schools of Leningrad, where she learned painting, drawing and composition. She graduated from the Leningrad High College of Art, named for V. Muhina, in 1981 and began her career as an artist initially working in children’s book illustration and wallpaper design. She worked as a muralist for cinemas and concert halls in Leningrad, Moscow, Erevan and Komsomolsk-na-Amure, as well as many private residences in Toronto and Dundas, Ontario, where she now resides.

She primarily works in watercolors and oil paint and has developed a unique technique combining oil paint with etching. Eventov’s watercolors were published in Valencia, Spain and were introduced as prints for the first time in Europe at the Birmingham Art Show ’98 in the UK. She has had a number of exhibitions and her paintings are in private and corporate collections throughout Canada and the US.

Learn more about Maya in this episode of Inside the Studio …

Maya Eventov Works Available at Village Frame & Gallery

[twocol_one][/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last][/twocol_one_last]

Artists Statement

When it comes to perfection in art, I am a rebel in that I choose to explore originality, audacity and simplicity. When faced with a blank canvas for the first time I aim for spontaneity to allow each work to progress in its own direction. By allowing my feelings to direct the flow of the work I am able to capture the energy of the moment allowing each work to convey to the viewer a small glimpse of myself.

Technique

Marie-Claude has developed her style with the use of spontaneous, wide and loose brush strokes. She maintains a palette of primary and bold colors relying on the use of fluid brush strokes and minimal details to convey her message. This colorful and simplistic approach bears her imitable signature. She is a contemporary landscape artist with an expressionist twist. The rich colors of artists such as Marc-Aurele Fortin and Matisse deeply influence both her palette and her approach to painting.

Biography

Marie-Claude Boucher was born in Charny, Quebec in 1973. Her interest in art began at an early age when she could often be found drawing with her sister. She studied Latin, Spanish language and French literature at McGill University, graduating with a degree in Arts and Literature. After a brief teaching career, she made the decision to devote her time to her true passion, painting.

Marie-Claude draws her inspiration from the many summers spent as a child in the small villages of Quebec and later in life, her trips with her family to Europe. She loves the simplicity and the modesty of the rural life: the broken fences, the bicycle left by the tree, the clothesline and the shutters on the house. Marie Claudes ability to find joy in every moment defines her personality and at the same time her art. It becomes feel good experience just to explore textures and her colors.

Marie-Claude has worked on illustrations for the childrens book series Super Katie published by Purple Moose Publishing. Her work can be found adorning the walls of the Montreal Childrens Hospital and the Veterans Hospital in Montreal. More recently her work has been shown in fine art galleries throughout North America.