UGallery releases new art and welcomes new artists to our community every week. We love seeing what each new week will bring. This week’s newest artist are Debbie Angell, Claudia Davis, Karin Johanneson, Ziling Wang and Ying Zheng! Read on below to learn a little bit more about her work.

Debbie Angell. Battle Creek, Michigan.

Neon Fresco II
Debbie Angell began her artistic career as a graphic artist living and working in a host of places from Germany to the Pacific Northwest. Debbie culls inspiration from her travels as well as the cultural institutions she frequents. Debbie currently resides in Western Michigan with her 16-year-old dog loyally by her side.

Claudia Davis. Granbury, Texas.

Sailing on Flat Head Lake

Claudia Davis is passionate about Montana’s landscapes. With oils in hand, Claudia paints en plain air to capture the true essence of the environment. She is inspired by Katherine Stats and Jill Carver.

Karin Johanneson. Waterloo, Ontario.

Irises

Karin Johanneson is a self-taught artist from Ontario who specializes in contemporary watercolor paintings. Karin enjoys expanding the conventions of this traditional medium with her use of vibrant colors and spontaneous brushstrokes. While she enjoys to paint flowers most, she is expanding her art to encompass the alluring portrait.

Ziling Wang. London, United Kingdom.

Kingfisher

Ziling Wang completed her MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts London) and had great success in the art and design world. She participated in Alexander McQueen’s 2011 global retail collection. She says, “My watercolor drawings give the traditional Chinese watercolor paintings a contemporary edge by adding a textile and flat graphical element to the feathers and branches. It also incorporates subtle color changes which provides a more artistic, rather than realistic, interpretation.”

Ying Zheng. Bellingham, Washington

Lotus Pond No. 1

Ying Zheng is inspired by poetry and prose and references the beauty of the written word  in her powerful abstract paintings. She organizes color and shape to create a melody and rhythm similar to music. Her play with harmonic colors and literary thoughts results in stunning paintings.

If you’re loving these artists, let them know by leaving a comment on their UGallery profile page. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.

You may recall Piero Manrique’s video from way back! Since then, Piero has been painting away. Even though the video from the previous post is amazing, I thought it would be nice to get Piero to answer a few of UGallery’s traditional Artist in Focus questions. Here’s what he had to say.

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Have you stumbled upon gray figures while browsing UGallery? Regal, ghost-like people sipping on coffee, reading a newspaper, or listening to music? You most likely discovered the work of Royal Jarmon, one of UGallery’s Art Deco dynamos. His portraits are caught in daily rituals. Each character captures the facet of individualism that become apparent when a person goes from one task to the next. His intuitive work is firmly rooted in aesthetics. Royal knows people as well as he knows art (and that’s pretty well). We caught up with him one he returned from a trip to South East Asia to talk about his artwork. Here is what he had to say.

portrait of moses

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Our artist this week is Maria Dimanshtein. Timing couldn’t be more perfect. She is having a show next week. If you like what she has to say and what she has to paint, stop by! She will be wearing one of her pieces. What does that mean? She told me, but I can’t say. It’s a secret. I guess you’ll have to stop by if you’re in the area.

If you’re not in the area, there’s no need to fret. Check out the work she has displayed with us. It’s equally as awesome. Let’s get started.

What’s your earliest art memory?

I remember doing the drawings with color pencils where the grass was a green stripe at the bottom and the sky was a blue stripe at the top of the sheet. I was big on drawing Pinocchio, so there would usually be a Pinocchio in the middle. 

What inspires you?

I get my inspiration from paying close attention to what’s around me as well as my own feelings and emotions. I am inspired by my dreams: magical and mysterious places, environments and experiences. 

What is your favorite piece from your UGallery portfolio?

“Thinking About Space 1” is currently my favorite piece. I think it’s really neat with many subtle colors in the background and a variety of colorful dots sprinkled overall. It has a weird mood.

What’s one word to describe your art?

Mysterious

What advice would you offer for other emerging artists?

Live a full and interesting life - stay curious. You have to have something to share with the world, something to say. If your life is rich, you will find not only inspiration, but also content for your artwork. 

For fun, what’s your favorite city?

I am lucky. I happen to live in my favorite city – Chicago. My close seconds are San Francisco and New York. 

Here’s the invite to Maria’s show. She made her invites by hand and spent a couple hours dipping 100 cards into “silver” water. Perfect for the theme. You can see and read more on her blog. 

Who are the AAF 12? They are the dozen artists joining us at the Affordable Art Fair 2012.

On the tenth day leading up to AAF, my UGal gave to me: Christine Soccio

Rays

High Tide

Verdant

Audacious

Elated

Luscious

Tempest

We are tackling a doozy of a topic today: abstract art! This sort of thing requires more than just table talk! We recruited Jenny Gray, UGallery’s abstract aficionado, to help us define this artistic style. We got right to the point… 

Me: What is abstract art? 

Jenny Gray: Non representational, not trying to clearly reproduce the true look of an object or scene. Even though you might recognize the object, the artist was adding or subtracting and not trying to truly represent what the eye sees.

Jenny Gray’s paintings are a perfect example of adding and subtracting. Check out her painting Test Strip above. Even though her abstractions have recognizable shapes, her paintings are more than meets the eye. What Jenny says reiterates what Pablo Picasso said, ”There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.” So I asked Jenny and the team what they thought about Picasso’s definition.

Me: Do you agree with Pablo Picasso?

Jenny Gray: I agree that I usually start with something, it might be an emotion, a memory or a landscape. But I am not sure that is true for all artists and I don’t think you have to remove all traces of reality.

Samantha: Abstract art is really difficult to define. I agree with Picasso in the sense that every artist has to begin with something, and then abstract upon it. I think that constitutes part of the definition of abstract art.

Hmm…

Me: What are the important things to know about abstract art?

Jenny Gray: When looking at abstract art, go with your gut. Try to pick up on the emotions that you might feel from it. Trying to figure out “what it is” can be fun, but try to feel it, too. I like my paintings to keep giving more information the more you look at them. There are layers of marks and meaning.

No wonder abstract art is so popular. It’s like the gift that keeps on giving! And it takes a leap of courage and commitment to contemplate it. If you like abstract art, you are not alone:

Annie: I feel that abstract art is one of the most unique forms of art as it taps into an individual’s soul and can be transcribed in an infinite number of ways.

Stephen: Abstract art really allows the viewer’s imagination to be set free.  Many abstract works can derive different meanings for each individual. It’s fun to view and discuss various works.

Maybe we should worry less about defining abstract art and just feel it! I’m going with Alex on the final “definition” of abstract art.

Alex:Drips, scribbles, strokes, spills, lines, blobs, splotches, shapes, expression, meditation, personal interpretation, and a few other things.

Noteworthy Abstract Artists:

• Jackson Pollock
• Richard Deibenkorn
• Mark Rothko
• Robert Motherwell

Painting Collage #1 by Jenny Gray

Pastel Beams by Lee Clark

Now is the Time by Alan Taylor Jeffries

Who are the AAF 12? They are the dozen artists joining us at the Affordable Art Fair 2012.

On the second day leading up to AAF, my UGal gave to me: Rebecca Rousseau 

1. Have you been to New York City? Many times! I grew up 35 miles west of NYC in Morristown, NJ.

2. Have you been in an art show before? Lots and lots of wonderful times.

3. Have you shown at AAF in previous years? I had paintings in the AAF in 2011. I had other obligations and couldn’t go, but you can’t keep me away this year!

4. Do you plan on attending AAF? It’ll be whirlwind, but I’ll start with the Preview Party on Wednesday and then volunteer there on Thursday night, back home Friday.

5. How many pieces do you have going to the fair? Four

6. What is one word to describe your art? Think Salsa dancing.

7. What piece of art will be the hardest to part with if it is sold? I love selling every one of them. As soon as one of my paintings finds a home I get to start another one. I love the process.

8. What’s your favorite NYC museum? The one with the exhibit I can’t wait to see.

9. Do you have a favorite NYC restaurant? No, I eat on the run. Too much to see to sit down that long!

10. Upper East Side or Financial District? Upper East Side

11. What’s your favorite NYC tourist destination? I like to go through the art magazines and pick the shows I want to see. This year I’m going to the West 20th street area in Chelsea to check out the off-the-path galleries, then to the Chelsea Marketplace for some great food. If I have time I’ll go check out the Cindy Sherman show at MOMA.

12. Manhattan or Brooklyn? Well, okay, if forced to say, I’ll go with Manhattan, but it could just as easily be Brooklyn.

Browse the Affordable Art Fair 2012 collection and you can snag Rebecca Rousseau’s beautiful abstractions before they are picked up at the fair.

Who are the AAF 12? They are the dozen artists joining us at the Affordable Art Fair 2012. All the artists on our site are crème de la crème, but these twelve artists are standouts. Some are the most popular artists on our site while others are the most active. Regardless, this group of artists are bound to entertain. So, we decided to introduce them to you on the twelve days leading up to the fair. It’s like the twelve days of Christmas…only with paintings instead of pear trees.

On the first day of AAF, my Ugal gave to me: Iris Scott

1. Have you been to New York City?  Yes

2. Have you been in an art show before?  Yes

3. Have you shown at AAF in previous years?  Yes

4. Do you plan on attending AAF?  Yes, Saturday night and all day Sunday.

5. How many pieces do you have going to the fair?  4-5

6. What is one word to describe your art?  FINGERPAINTED

7. What piece of art will be the hardest to part with if it is sold?  Porcelain orbit

8. What’s your favorite NYC museum?  Guggenheim

9. Do you have a favorite NYC restaurant?  No, please suggest one!

10. Upper East Side or Financial District?  Upper

11. What’s your favorite NYC tourist destination?  Aafnyc

12. Manhattan or Brooklyn?  Brooklyn

And if you haven’t seen this Ugallery favorite yet, just wait until you see her in action:

Browse the Affordable Art Fair 2012 collection and you can snag Iris Scott’s lovely finger-paintings before they are picked up at the fair.