ROYO - PAINTER OF THE LIGHT OF THE SOUTH

Born in 1945 in Valencia, Spain, Royo began demonstrating his artistic talent early. At the age of 9 his father, a prominent physician and avid art enthusiast, employed private tutors to instruct Royo in drawing, painting, and sculpture. When Royo turned 14 he entered the San Carlos Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia. Upon turning 18 Royo continued his artistic studies privately with Aldolfo Ferrer Amblat, Chairman of Art Studies at the San Carlos Academy. He also visited the major museums in Europe at this time to study the famous masters-Velasquez, Goya, Renoir, Monet, and Sorolla among others.

Mirame
36x31
Serigraph on paper
AVAILABLE

During the mid-60's-early 70's Royo added more dimensions to his skills creating theatre sets and doing graphic illustration and restoration work. He also participated in prestigious competitions gaining major distinctions. In 1968 he began to exhibit in Spain, specifically Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona.

Bailarina
18x11
Original oil on canvas
AVAILABLE

With positive reception of his works in Madrid, Royo received commissions to paint the royal portraits of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. He received subsequent commissions to paint the Judges of the High Magistrature and the Court of Justice, as well as prominent political and society figures. 

Sentimiento
36x29
Serigraph on panel
AVAILABLE

At the age of 25 Royo began feeling a growing desire to paint the land of his birth; to convey the light, the color and the intensity of Valencia and the Mediterranean. This meant a new focus and change of style in his work; he needed to perfect new ways to capture the light, the shadow and to work on classical composition styles.

Cala en Mallorca
40x40
Serigraph on panel
AVAILABLE

Through the 1980's Royo perfected his style of painting the Mediterranean and exhibited abroad, notably in London, Brussels, Copenhagen and Paris. He also participated in the International Geneva Art Fair. 

Espiritual
24x15
Original oil on canvas
AVAILABLE

Beginning in 1989 and continuing until today we see the development of Royo's "matured" style. His dramatic use of color and "texturing" capture his subject matter with unique flair. Parallels can be drawn to the work of the European masters; for example, with Royo's "homage to the female form," we see the distinct influence of Renoir. It is the similar, almost portrait-like treatment of the female model, caught in a serene, contemplative moment, with the surrounding "bursts" of color from the floral landscapes where we see the "Renoir" in Royo's work. In fact, critics have concluded, "If the artwork of Renoir were blended with that of the 'Valencian painters' you would arrive at the canvasses approaching the uniqueness of the impressive work of Royo." 

Al Sol
36x28
Original oil on canvas
AVAILABLE

Impressive parallels can also be drawn between Royo's work and that of the Spanish master, Joaquin Sorolla. Both were born in Valencia, both were classically trained, both "matured" into styles of painting capturing the dramatic visual essence of their homeland-Valencia and the Mediterranean Sea. They have both been described as "painters of the Light"; some have said, "of the Light of the South," that is, the southern coast of Spain. It is the overwhelming influence of Sorolla blended with his own style that make Royo's masterful treatment of the Mediterranean subjects both haunting and mysterious, yet full of raw power at the same time.

Instante de Luz
25x20
Serigraph on panel
AVAILABLE

The sweeping brush strokes, bold swaths of color, and heavy impasto capture the eye and draws one inward until that final absolute moment of awareness that one is actually there in the scene feeling the light and heat of the sun, the salt and sea spray, and hearing the crashing surf. Royo conveys not merely image, but mood and atmosphere as well. This is rare in today's art world, hence the connoisseur is compelled to compare with the old masters. Thus, the appeal of Royo's work for today's collector becomes obvious. With pride we offer the art work of today's Spanish master painter, Royo, to the art connoisseurs of the world.

View more of Royo's work here.

We will be hosting Royo with a show this May.
RSVP's can be made in advance by e-mailing me.

Contact me with inquiries.

anniec@ecgallery.com

CHRISTOPHER M. ORIGINALS

In preparation for our Christopher M. show this weekend, we pulled several original works into the gallery early this morning. The event takes place February 18th through the 20th at our Seaport Village location. RSVP via e-mail.

It's All in the Sauce
24x36
Original oil on canvas
AVAILABLE

Choosing the Vintage
12x12
Original oil on canvas
SOLD

Chef's Choice
24x12
Original oil on canvas
AVAILABLE

After Hours
12x16
Original oil on canvas
AVAILABLE

The Art of Cooking
24x36
Original oil on canvas
AVAILABLE

View more of Christopher M.'s work here.

Contact me with inquiries.
anniec@ecgallery.com

CHRISTOPHER M. "THE PAINTER OF CHEFS"

“I believe that art should be an extension and expression of the artist’s personality. I also want to create paintings that address things that are important in my life – not just paint pretty pictures. My work is a celebration of food, life and relationships - it feeds me spiritually.”

Savor the Moment
36 x 25
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

Born in 1975 in Oakland, California, as a child Chris always had a penchant for drawing and painting. But he never considered being an artist a viable vocation until he entered a contest in his senior year of high school to win a semester scholarship to an art school. His portfolio prevailed and was awarded the scholarship and Christopher M has never looked back.

“Once I got to art school and began studying painting and drawing from life, I was hooked. Since then I have never wanted to do anything else.”

Some Like it Hot
18 x 24
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

Educated at the noted Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Christopher M. graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration in 2000. He earned awards and honors from the Academy for his sketchbook, figure painting, landscapes and still life works. He also earned accolades from the San Francisco Society of Illustrators of which he is a member.

Chef's Table
22 x 30
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

“Generally speaking, I would like my paintings to communicate my own sense of morality, my sense of what is true and honest and what is really of value in life.”

“My motives matter a lot to me as an artist. Whatever kind of work I do, as long as I know I’m trying hard to make it good work is fine with me”

Cooking with Wine
30 x 22
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

“Like a Master Chef striving to create culinary excellence, he needs the same proper tools, training and passion as any fine artist to create a thing of beauty for someone else’s consumption.”

Christopher M.’s superior technique has garnered much attention. He was named the official Poster Artist of the 2008 International Artexpo Las Vegas after having painted “Savor the Moment,” a clever depiction of a chef enjoying the fruits of his labor. He has also been honored as the Celebrity Artist & Poster Artist for the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, Poster Artist for the Oregon Food & Wine Festival, among other honors.

A la Flambe
20 x 30
Original oil on canvas
SOLD

“My paintings of food transformed into an admiration and respect for the chefs who create ‘masterpieces’ on a plate, and the process started revealing other truths; I saw the parallels between the art of making food and painting, and it became an amazing celebration of both crafts.”

“Chefs work like artists to create an experience that will hopefully affect someone’s life in a positive way. They have a passion for their craft just as I do.”

The Pairing
18 x 14
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

To date, Christopher M. has worked with an impressive roster of chefs including: “Iron Chef” Kevin Rathbun of Blue Plate Kitchen in Atlanta, Gavin Kaysen of Café Boulud in New York City, Chef Ludo Lefebvre of LudoBites, a variety of Kimpton Hotel Executive Chefs and “Bravo’s Top Chef Finalists” Kevin Gillespie and Brian Malarkey.

As an extension beyond his chef paintings, the artist recently embarked on a tour of the Napa Valley, where he had the honor of working with a selection of legendary winemakers.

View more of Christopher M.'s work here.

Contact me with inquiries.
anniec@ecgallery.com

HENRY ASENCIO

“Painting for me is very cathartic and is the most articulate way for me to express my passion and internal dialogues.”

Transition
30 x 20

Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

Avant-garde in execution, his work blends the classical ideals of figurative painting with a unique, contemporary style revered in his art. Merging introspection and visual spectacle, Asencio’s personal investigations of feminity, spirituality and abstraction possess the power to transform today’s ideals of elegance and contemporary sensuality.

Tranquil Dreams
12 x 24
Original oil on canvas
AVAILABLE

In 1996, Asencio was sponsored by art supply company, Thayer and Chandler, which resulted in exposure in exhibitions as far as Germany and Paris. In 1998, Asencio’s work was recognized in an art competition in Amsterdam, where he earned the prestige of being a first-time artist dually awarded with gold and silver medals in two separate divisions: self-portraiture in oils and work in acrylic medium. Excellent in his chosen discipline, Asencio graduated with honors from the San Francisco Art Academy in 1999. He was even a chosen finalist in The Artist’s Magazine competion that same year, again for his work in portraiture.

Azure
36 x 24
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

Although Asencio earned a living as a portrait artist early in his career, today he is “more concerned with creating a mood and pushing the aesthetic rather than achieving a true likeness as the ultimate end.” Asencio refers to the current content of his work as “sublime figures with aggressive application.”

Eternity
40 x 30
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

He is naturally drawn to paint the human figure for its “timeless sensitivity” and, he adds, “nothing inspires me more intensely than the female form.”

Mistral
23 x 30
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

His artwork is noted for its sensual vitality that is striking and simple; it is art that “sustains its integrity through the subtleties.” In the end, it is Asencio’s impulsive approach to his art and the passion expressed in each one of his paintings that has the power to move the viewer and take on an identitly all its own.

Beholding
36 x 30
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

A native of California, today the artist lives and works in his studio near San Jose, north of his birthplace of Los Angeles.

View more of Henry Asencio's work here.

Contact me with inquiries.
anniec@ecgallery.com

DANIEL MERRIAM

"My family spent summers at a little cottage on Mousam Lake. I remember neighborhood games, rowboating, fishing, building sandcastles, and making campfires on the beach at night. We ran about the woods barefoot playing hide-­and-seek, and didn't put on a pair of shoes until school began in the fall. Our cellar was filled with aquariums and buckets filled with pollywogs, sea monkeys and turtles collected from a nearby cranberry bog."

Tickle Your Fancy
14 x 11
Fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"My favorite escape was climbing trees. I'd search for the tallest tree' could find, pull myself up into its branches, and begin to climb. I pushed upward from limb to limb until the voices of children playing below faded into the rustling of leaves. I ventured higher and higher, testing my faith as the branches grew progressively thinner. Once near the top, I perched precariously on a limb, braced against the trunk as it swayed in the wind. This was my own world, and from here I could see forever."

Tippy Toes
24 x 18
Original acrylic on board
AVAILABLE

"At the age of twelve, I was working in the woods with my father, building a log cabin - hewing logs with an axe, draw blade, and chain saw. Our family moved to a new home in the heart of the Sebago Lakes region. Majestic cathedral pines towered over the large Dutch Colonial house that faced northwest over eleven miles of lake, with a view of Mount Washington in the distance. This lonesome house had no foundation and no septic system, and it was not insulated for the long Maine winters. We dug the foundation by hand, crawling on our hands and knees, chipping bedrock from narrow trenches. My father had grown up on a farm and believed in the virtues of good, hard work. I continued to work for him in my early teens, but I found myself spending more and more time in the sanctuary of my bedroom."

Lazy Days
17 x 14
Original acrylic on board
AVAILABLE

"I felt I had led a rather sheltered life in the rural climate of Maine, and the reality of attending a college for the arts seemed out of reach. Perhaps I lacked confidence, or perhaps I lacked encouragement. In any case, I never went to a formal art school. I studied for two years at the Central Maine Vocational Technical Institute for mechanical and architectural design, and I then began working for architects and builders."

Role Model
24 x 18
Original acrylic on board
AVAILABLE

"Although I did not inherit my father's mathematical proficiency, my eye for perspective and my knack for illustrating architecture proved very helpful during my first few years of working with architects and developers. After I had proved my abilities, my father invited me to work in his company. I gladly accepted his offer, as working in the family business seemed to promise greater rewards."

"As the business grew, I found myself burdened with more and more responsibilities. In time I became depressed, and my senses began to numb. Eventually I reached a point where I became overwhelmed and riddled with guilt. Realizing that I was never going to achieve excellence in the construction business, I decided that I should do what I had most desired. My father had a heart-to-heart talk with me and revealed a side of him I'd never seen before. He said he felt he was letting my talents go to waste. It felt strange hearing this strong, burly man suggest I pursue a career in the arts. This began what was to become a lifelong vision quest, one that gave my life a whole new meaning."

Seeing is Believing
24 x 18
Original acrylic on board
AVAILABLE

"I determined to cultivate my art and learn to survive from it. Taking on any other type of work would certainly have been a distraction, as I had not kept up my painting during my previous employment. I worked in my studio day and night, seven days a week, stopping only to sleep for a couple of hours atop my homemade drawing board. I rented out my house because I could not afford the mortgage payment and was never home, anyway. Home was in my head, and my head was in my studio. Taking no time off for leisure, I diligently kept up this pace for two years."

The Promise
16 x 13
Fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"When I was twenty-three I moved to the harbor city of Portland, Maine. Working for an art gallery, I was able to arrange a rent/trade agreement for the vacant basement below. It was dark and musty, and the furnace seemed to use up most of the oxygen. The walls were made of crumbling brick and fieldstone. The mortar had turned to dust, and calcium deposits lined the cracks. I found some old French doors, built them into partitions, and hung drop lights from the ceiling. It was home for a while, but eventually the furnace exploded and the basement was flooded with black, sooty water. I found myself out on the street on a cold winter night walking through a snowstorm, too proud to go home to my parents and needing a floor on which to sleep."

"There were times when I felt like giving up, but eventually I turned things around by perfecting my artistic talent. If it had not been for my weaknesses, I never would have discovered my strengths. As my body of work grew, so did my place in the art community."

Up and Away
36 x 24
Original acrylic on board
SOLD

View more of Daniel Merriam's work here.

Contact me with inquiries.

anniec@ecgallery.com

MICHAEL FLOHR

"All I do is paint every day. It is an obsession, I can't stop."

Streets of Gold
36 x 48
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"I enjoy painting restaurants, cityscapes, and high-contrast night scenes because these are places that show where people let down their guards and enjoy their time. These subjects tell stories of people, places, mood and life. Those are the things that I observe, and they strike me."

Crystal Cafe
22 x 30
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"I am the guy in a cafe," he says, "noticing a beautiful, warm, orange-violet light chipping on people's faces across the room, and immediately thinking of ways to combine color and capture that moment in my next painting."

Red Dress
24 x 24
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
SOLD OUT EDITION - FEW LEFT AVAILABLE

"There is a flow that I try to keep in my painting that evolves into a story of colors and movement that breathe together. A coronation of small, square strokes of premeditated color creates a rhythm throughout a piece. Then I combine them with broad brush strokes that serve to ‘marry’ the elements together"

Timeless Moment
36 x 48
Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"I want to show that a painting doesn't have to be challenging. It can just be something that pleases your eye. It doesn't have to have a meaning. You don't have to dissect it. Enjoy its beauty and what it brings to you."

Friday Night

24 x 40

Hand-embellished fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

In 1999 during his final year at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, Michael was accepted into New York's Society of Illustrators, following the likes of Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, and N.C. Wyeth. The following year, the Society awarded him the prestigious Herman Lambert scholarship and the Academy honored him with Best of Show at the spring exhibition for his painting "Irish Coffee." That piece along with two others was later selected for exhibition at San Francisco's de Young Museum. Today, he is living and working in his home city of San Diego and is published by our very own Crown Thorn Publishing company.

View more of Michael Flohr's work here.

Contact me with inquiries.

anniec@ecgallery.com

VLADIMIR KUSH

"My career as an artist began when I was a child of 3 or 4.

My father was a scientist, but everyone on his side of the family used to draw all the time. I remember, how in the long winter evenings I used to sit on my father's lap finishing his drawings: boy running on skis, an old man walking by with the cane...

Just then came to me the sensation of huge open spaces - I knew that beyond the nearby wood the snow-covered great Russian plain stretched on, unimpeded, for thousands of kilometers. And I conceived a dream to absorb the space into myself, to reach the edge of the earth..."

Walnut of Eden
15 x 19
Fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"When I was 18, I entered into a mandatory two-year stint of military service. After six months of infantry training, the commander of my unit decided that better use could be made of me painting murals and big canvases. Of course, I had to include military elements in these romantic or even fantastic landscapes. In one of those paintings, a radio transmitter was put on top of iceberg in the middle of an ocean."

Measure of Greatness

27 x 21

Fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"In 1987, I began selling my paintings and exhibiting with the Union of Artists. At that time, I was invited to paint a series of portraits for the U.S. Embassy staff. I eventually had to curtail my work on these portraits after the KGB became suspicious of my involvement with Americans."

Red Purse
11 x 14
Fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"My father's influence at that time was enormous. He said that in ancient Greece, art and math were considered alike. A mathematician, my father taught me that the plot of a painting must be like a code for solving a task, and as such, must crystal clear to capture the essence of a subject."

Moonlight Sonata
16 x 20
Fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"I had a successful show in Germany in 1990 with two other Russian Artists. I then flew to Los Angeles, where I had sent 20 of my recent works for a showing. This was a beginning of my American odyssey."

Millenium Watchman
31 x 36
Fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

"The dream about the wanderings across the wide open spaces, eventually brought me to the Hawaiian island of Maui - the World Navel, there the infinity of Great Ocean merges into the infinity of bottomless Cosmos. The "umbilical cord" connecting these open spaces, could be seen from windows of my house - it is a super-telescope through which the mankind for the first time saw the most ancient spots of our universe - places where drops of space condensing, turn into drops of time..."

Orchid Family Rollercoaster
21 x 28
Fine art limited edition
AVAILABLE

View more of Vladimir Kush's work here.

Contact me with inquiries.
anniec@ecgallery.com