american artists

ginny p. worsley: winsome, warm and welcoming

~ jama ~ 4 Comments

Why, hello! You’re just in time for Sunday Brunch. Take a seat and help yourself to pancakes and milk. Thanks to Ginny P. Worsley’s charming painting, everyone’s welcome to linger for a leisurely meal and friendly conversation.

This piece immediately caught my eye as it speaks to my love of naive art and my special interest in interiors (especially kitchens and dining rooms). If there’s a table set with cute crockery, or vintage textiles and furnishings in a cozy room, I’m all in. I like the calm and comfort of quiet, domestic spaces and appreciate the joys of common experiences depicted with just the right touch of nostalgia.

Tennessee artist Ginny P. Worsley in her home studio.

Imagine my delight when discovering that “Pancakes and Milk” wasn’t a stand alone painting, but a piece from Worsley’s Sunday Brunch Collection! Whether “Cereal & Bananas,” “Oatmeal & Honey,” or “Toast & Tea,” I could just imagine myself stepping into each scene and becoming part of the story. Yes, I have a weakness for floral wallpaper. 🙂

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Paige Spearin: of bunnies, bars and beds

~ jama ~ 12 Comments

Basket of apples, please. Or maybe a baguette from the local bakery. Then we can settle in for a relaxing game of backgammon, cozy up with a book, or putter in the garden.

(I like your long ears and whiskers, btw.) 🐰🐰🐰

Fun, whimsical, playful: when you step into a Paige Spearin painting, you know you’re going to have a good time. Inspired by things she truly enjoys (travel, tennis, skiing, interior design, parties, flowers, bike riding), Paige works her magic with India ink, watercolor, gouache, and sometimes acrylic and oil.

Paige Spearin in her home studio.

An artist and surface designer based in Winnetka, Illinois, Paige specializes in creating fine art, illustration, textile design and custom stationery. After earning a BFA in Fibers from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2008, she began working with Lilly Pulitzer, where she was a print designer for over 16 years. She’s now self-employed, having established Paige Spearin Studio in 2019.

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feasting on noah verrier’s food paintings

~ jama ~ 7 Comments

“For me every painting is like a prayer to God, I can be still, look closely, and interpret the colors, shapes, and emotion before me.” ~ Noah Verrier

Hungry? If you’re craving a little comfort food, whether fast or slow, you’ve come to the right place. Florida artist Noah Verrier’s realistic depictions of classic favorites hit the spot every time.

Feasting on one of Verrier’s mouthwatering, calorie-free still lifes comes with an added benefit: zero guilt. So go ahead and lick off that cupcake frosting to your heart’s content, polish off a syrupy stack of fluffy pancakes, or wolf down a cheesy Big Mac with fries. You’ll feel satisfied and have fun doing it.

Though now based in Tallahassee, Verrier was born in Salem, Oregon, and moved to Florida with his parents when he was six. He loved art as a child and began drawing and painting in watercolors by the age of ten in order to emulate what he saw.

photo of Noah Verrier in his studio by Chasity Maynard/Tallahassee Democrat.

He was fully immersed in art in high school, inspired by Impressionism. Van Gogh and Monet were big influences. He then studied art at Florida State University, taking an interest in 19th century painters Manet, Sargent and Sorolla, as well as 20th century artist Wayne Thiebaud, admiring them for their realistic imagery and brush stroke styles. He also taught painting at FSU, first as a graduate student and then as a professor after earning his MFA. In 2017, he took a leap of faith and quit teaching to become a full-time artist.

Noah specializes in oils and always paints from real-life subjects. He typically begins by sketching an image, then setting up a composition in his home studio. He uses a wet-on-wet painting technique, also known as alla prima painting. This allows him to apply a layer of wet paint on top of another wet layer, all in one setting. Using unique brush strokes and blends of color, he’s able to complete a painting in one day.

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Eric Joyner’s Fantastical Robots and Donuts

~ jama ~ 5 Comments

Hungry for a donut? This friendly blue robot is ready to take your order. Thanks to San Francisco artist Eric Joyner, they’re all baked to perfection fresh on the premises.

Pre-Joyner, I was pretty ho hum about robots. They seemed cold, mechanical, and well . . . robotic. Nothing warm and fuzzy there.

But the more I looked at Eric’s playfully surreal, uber imaginative, sometimes bizarre paintings, the more fascinated I became with his pop/sci-fi/nostalgic world showing robots and donuts interacting in all kinds of fascinating scenarios.

So why robots and donuts, and how did they become his signature motif?

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twice as mice: Stuart Dunkel’s classical whimsy

~ jama ~ 7 Comments

“My life has been dedicated to the pursuit of beauty. It is an exciting, never ending challenge with prismatic possibilities.” ~ Stuart Dunkel

Mouse in the house! Actually many mousies, thanks to Boston artist Stuart Dunkel. Recently, I was minding my own business browsing the internet when I heard a distinctive “squeak” and could sense the animated twitching of tiny whiskers.

Oho!! There he was, my new little friend, raising a single raspberry in glorious triumph:

I have been obsessed with him ever since.

Who is he, and how did he become Dunkel’s muse?

Artist and oboist Stuart Dunkel.

Art is actually Stuart Dunkel’s second career. Born in New Jersey (1952), he’s also a classically trained oboist (Juilliard School of Music) who’s performed with top orchestras in Boston, New York, and Hong Kong. After retiring from his three-decade musical career in 2002 at age 42, he transitioned to fine art.

Up until then, he’d been painting in his spare time and had started a small company to produce reeds for the oboe. Just as he had with music, he took a disciplined approach to his craft, receiving formal training (The Boston Museum School, The Academy of Realist Art, Seattle, WA, and private study with other realist painters).

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