Irene Tobias Rodriguez is a great example of someone who is genuine in the detail of her landscapes, seascapes and naturalist scenes.

[slide]

It is in the maritime art that we find Irene’s details fully disclosed. In Off Shore and Three Astern, we see her characteristically complex definition, but we also see the nature of the water. The careful chaos and calamity are conveyed fastidiously.

There’s also a wonderful softness to her Bumblebee as he gathers pollen, but the details on his anatomy are meticulous.

Irene’s long career in the arts, both as a teacher and as a practitioner, has granted her an artist’s skill. It’s her willingness to experiment and to let the work speak in its own voice that has granted her greatness.

Check out more of Irene’s work on her website, or click over to her permanent Hearted-Artist gallery.

Please let us know what YOU think about Irene’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating her portfolio. Come back in two weeks – to check out our next hearted artist!

[ratings]

P.S. You’ll never be cool like Irene if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist in two weeks – it might just be you!

On behalf of rogue spray enamel artist Steven Ehret, bite your tongue.

[slide]

Despite the lonely, esoteric and languishing spirit that infects much of his work, Steve’s work is infectious. And even when he’s painting on walls, I’m left thinking thank god for this “debasement.”

When Steve says that he draws inspiration from the people and places he encounters each day, one can hardly believe him. At first. But somewhere among the dilapidated, dingy hovels and the frenzied fiends that populate his pieces, it doesn’t take too much imagination to connect the hyperbolic dots.

Steve’s work imbibes the feeling of a merry riot. His isn’t a style that leaves you at the canvas edge. It’s an entire existence, happy in its gritty, sinister promenade. The creatures he creates, ones he lovingly calls “phontasmal,” are sometimes beleaguered, always beguiling, and often belligerent, but each surges with its own life – without moving an inch they are animated, stirring and memorable, to say the least.

If you’re looking for Steve’s work, you can look online at his site or blog, at the William Rupnik Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio, or you can look around the city. He exhibited at the recent Stark Naked Salon exhibit at Massillon Museum of Art, and got rave reviews.

Whether with a can of spray paint or the more refined tools of the trade – with Steve, it’s not his work that is obscene, but his talent.

For more about Steve, be sure to click over to his permanent Hearted-Artist gallery.

Please let us know what YOU think about Steve’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating his portfolio. Come back next week – same time, same place – to check out our next hearted artist!

[ratings]

P.S. You’ll never be cool like Steve if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist next week – it might just be you!

North Canton artist Renie Britenbucher packs a powerful palette of whimsy, quirk and euphoria into all she brushes.

[slide]

Renie’s work has charm and charisma, a soul all its own. She thinks of it as “modern whimsical folk art.” I think of it as a harmonious alternate universe of contentment.

She brings her dreams into being with series like “Peace On Earth” and her thoughtful “Diva” collection. With Renie, one minute you’re “Sailing, Sailing,” and the next you’re taking in her take on the resounding energy of life in her landscapes and cityscapes.

Like what you see? Her substantive portfolio can be viewed at a variety of sites, including her own website (where the site itself takes whimsy to extremes!), as well a variety of sites where you can purchase her work on canvas, on mug, on apparel, and more.

Check out more of Renie’s work over at her permanent Hearted-Artist gallery.

Please let us know what YOU think about Renie’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating her portfolio. Come back next week – same time, same place – to check out our next hearted artist!
[ratings]

P.S. You’ll never be cool like Lynn if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist next week – it might just be you!

Color beats like a heart robbed of chest in the work of North Canton artist, Christopher Triner.

[slide]

We open on a city bursting with an emphatic pulse. Grit and beauty thrumming together, mesmerizing in the dark…

The scene changes, exposes a richly dappled valley, with limbs reaching, no, tearing toward the sky with unknown urgency…

The scene changes, reveals a windswept field at autumn’s ascent. Blades rustling cautiously in unison…

The scene changes, unveils soft spoken blossoms, lolling in the hazy morning rays, just now waking.

Christopher’s work is a series of scenes – eager, desperate, anxious, and wistful moving pictures. Scenes locked in time with all the theatrics of a good long story.

Christopher teaches visual art for Hoover High School in North Canton. I think you’ll agree – our students are in good hands.

For more about Christopher, click over to his permanent Hearted-Artist gallery.

Please let us know what YOU think about Christopher’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating his portfolio. Come back next week – same time, same place – to check out our next hearted artist!

[ratings]

P.S. You’ll never be cool like Christopher if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist next week – it might just be you!

[slide]

The clean lines of these architectural conquests are clearly captured by steady hand and triumphant heart.

Diane’s innate grasp of the fundamentals – specifically her mastery of the temperate elements, light and shadow – are something to marvel at. Though her work is vastly literal, she calls forth the conceptual, intangible components underlying each of her subjects, bringing to life aspects of history unseen by others.

Diane has an incredible career resume: she’s exhibited in more than 150 shows, has pieces in the permanent collection of Itchiku Kubota Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, National First Ladies’ Library here in Canton, dozens of corporate offices and private collectors, and most recently, she had the honor of being selected for the permanent collection of the Butler Museum of American Art.

She’s also an incredibly precise, patient instructor of the arts, having taught at schools throughout the area. Currently, she’s an adjunct professor at Walsh University, my alma mater, where I was fortunate enough to learn under her watchful eye.

This week marks our fifth hearted artist – five times that we’ve recognized the incredible artistic talent right here in Stark County, Ohio. We’ve seen all manner creativity in all variety of media, and the best news is that we’re just getting started.

Check out more of Diane’s work on her website, or click over to her permanent Hearted-Artist gallery.

Please let us know what YOU think about Diane’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating her portfolio. Come back next week – same time, same place – to check out our next hearted artist!

[ratings]

P.S. You’ll never be cool like Diane if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist next week – it might just be you!