Artists Blog

Impressionism is the kind of painting that has most interested me my entire life. I suppose it is the color aspect which intrigues me and its effect on the human mind. I consider myself a colorist above all else. I am constantly experimenting with color and color relationships.

Born in 1946, Sharon Burkett Kaiser was a world traveler by the age of six. Her father, a psychiatrist in the Army Medical Corps, moved his family halfway around the world from San Francisco to Germany. Her fondest memories are of the German and Austrian countrysides and her desire to paint them.

Kaiser graduated from California State University at San Diego in 1969. She continued her art studies at the California Institute of Art, Brandes Art School, and California State University at Northridge. Kaiser became intensely challenged under the tutelage of Russian-born master painter, Sergei Bongart. Kaiser studied with Bongart for two years, feverishly exploring her talent.

Kaiser has received tremendous critical acclaim for her floral still life paintings. Beyond her successful one-woman shows, she was chosen as the featured artist at the Tokyo International Art Show and Artexpo Los Angeles. Kaiser’s original canvases are found in extensive public and private collections throughout the world. Reflections of Color and Light by Matthew Fabris is a hardbound volume which traces Kaiser’s career and affirms her success as one of America’s foremost women artists. Sharon Burkett Kaiser paints in her studio and near her home in Southern California.

Yi Kai was born in 1955 in Changsha, China. When he was 11 his father, a government official, was sent to work on a farm as part of China’s Cultural. His mother, a teacher, was also sent away, leaving Yi and his ten-year old brother to fend for themselves for over three years. He finished middle school in 1970 and at 15 he was drafted into the army where he spent the next 14 years.

While driving around to the small village showing propaganda movies to PLA soldiers, Yi Kai studied books and magazine and taught himself to draw and paint. In 1979, the Art Institute of the PLA in Beijing reopened with 4,000 applicants vying for a limited number of spots. Mr. Kai gained entrance with the honor of being the only applicant to receive acceptance votes from all judges.

He studied traditional Chinese ink painting and Western-style drawing and painting, earning at BA and a MA. He was even allowed to show and sell his paintings in Taiwan. The boldly colorful acrylic abstracts, which are his signature, are a world away from the duller figurative paintings of ethnic minorities hew of his past. But those served their purpose. First of all they informed Mr. Kai’s sense of how blocks of color work on canvas, and secondly — and most importantly – they were his ticket out of China.

In 1990 Yi Kai received an invitation to visit from an arts and humanitarian organization in Minnesota. He managed to get an exit visa to what has, in the past 10 years, become his home.

His real artistic thrill since arriving in the US has been learning different ways of using color – and having newer and better materials to work with. “In China, the tradition is all about ink and black and white. I have been so excited to learn about color in the US,” he says. Twenty-five years later, he is still obsessed with the notion of blatant symbolism that transcends nationalism or politics. His work has become very abstract, which he says is rather like the natural progression of Chinese calligraphy. His work includes hints of flags, tiny parts of Chinese writing, English words and scientific and mystical symbols. “I like to mix together symbols to show that differences don’t have to mean war. If you know each other there will be no fighting,” he says.

JoSon (jo-shon) was born in the Philippines in 1970 to a Filipino-Chinese mother and an African- American father. At the age of nine he was sent to live with his mother’s side of the family in Vietnam (Ho Chi Mihn City) where he was educated in a Buddhist temple through most of his teen years. After spending a few summers in the United States, JoSon found himself in a new home in Lake Tahoe. Here he began a life behind the camera, which was influenced by his mother’s love of photography. He later moved to San Francisco where he received his Master of Fine Arts Degree in photo- illustration from the Academy of Art College. Today JoSon lives and works between New York and San Francisco.

Influenced by the world of botanical illustration in the 14th and 15th centuries, JoSon creates his images using a digital camera, a flatbed scanner, and computer software. Because of his techniques, the final artwork does not have the conventional look and feel of a photograph … it is more of a cross between an illustration and a photograph. In addition to using colors and forms to create a sense of harmony in the design of each flower image, JoSon shows the unique personalities and individual characteristics of his subjects that can surprise the viewer. He lends insight into the beauty and diversity of other life forms that share the planet.

JoSon’s work has appeared in books, calendars, greeting cards, as well as in media advertising. One of his images was recently selected, from an international call for entries, for the cover of the Graphis Photo Annual 2004. More than 250 photographs are reproduced in this outstanding collection of the best contemporary photographs from around the world.

His collectors recognize his botanical imagery for it’s elegant and brilliant color. His use of empty white spaces around the flowers creates a sense of mystery, balance, and provides a surreal treatment of form and space. His botanical images, which reveal the bold colors of nature, strange forms, and unique textures of flowers from backyards around the world, have become his signature. As he puts it, “I do not like to simply document my subject, but rather bring it to life in my photography… and Mother Nature has the best subjects to inspire my passion.”

Robert A. Johnson was born in Hopewell, Virginia in 1942. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University in 1964, and his J.D. from Duke University Law School in 1967. He has instructed for the Art Students League of New York; the Scottsdale Artists School; Drawing and Anatomy Workshop; and private painting workshops.

His earliest art influence was his older brother Ben, who was a fine painter, connoisseur and conservator of art. Ben was Director of Conservation at the Los Angeles Museum of Art. Johnson’s mother is also a painter. Johnson drew and painted from his earliest days, reveling in “the magic of creating illusions and beauty with a brush.

He paints every day first thing in the morning. His painting days are usually 8-9 hours, and he generally paints only in natural North light when indoors. He hopes to create an excitement in the viewer similar to the excitement he experienced in creating the work.

Johnson has been featured in several magazine articles and appears in a book entitled The Best of Flower Painting (North Light Books, 1999).

His work has appeared in numerous one-man shows at the Turner Gallery in Middleburg, VA; the Gilpin Gallery in Washington, D.C.; The Meyer Gallery in Santa Fe, NM; and the Atlantic Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Group shows include the Allied Artists of New York; Oil Painters of America; Washington Society of Portrait Artists in the U.S. Senate Office Building; Arts for the Parks in Jackson, WY; National Watercolor Society in NY; and many more.

Johnson’s work appears in the collections of the Alabama Museum of Fine Arts; the Art Students League of New York; the Food Distribution Institute in Washington, D.C.; and numerous private collections throughout the United States, Europe and the Far East.

Born in Munich, Germany, Jan Johnson spent her early years growing up in Oceans Springs, on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Travel has been an important part of her life, providing her with both artistic and spiritual inspiration. Her travels have taken her throughout Europe and Mexico - exploring the Mayan sites of the Yucatan and Qunitana Roo States - and the American Southwest. She has lived in Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, and currently resides in Florida with her husband and daughter.

I enjoy working in the monotype process because I find the uniqueness of each image appealing. It exists somewhere between printmaking and painting and has allowed me great freedom. The challenge, of course, is to push what comes naturally beyond expected limits towards a personal, meaningful way of working. I invite the process to help determine my imagery, which is often inspired from my travels and observations with an interest in the art and symbols of ancient cultures. Formally, my work is about color, the fracturing of the picture plane into interacting shapes and symbols and their dialogue within the space they occupy. The power of the works lies in the number of levels available for interpretation. At times I incorporate a birds-eye view within my work to convey a sense of the spiritual.

As a self-taught artist, Juliann Johnson paints in watercolors, acrylics, and oils. By focusing on landscapes and botanicals as central motifs, she connects with a world of nature. She is an enthusiastic hiker and enjoys searching for beautiful landscapes to paint. Her travels have taken her all over California, the Hawaiian Islands, as well as Europe.

Studies in botany and bird watching have led Johnson into an appreciation of natural history and helped refine her visual vocabulary in floral botanical and bird illustration. Incorporating various drawing and painting skills as well as other mediums have segued into collage works, and her keen sense of design and balance translate well into the process. By cropping images, attention is given to details, and each element takes on abstract qualities. She also enjoys the challenge of plein-air painting and often hikes long distances to capture a desired location.

Landscape artist influences include Russell Chatham, William Wendt, Percy Gray, and Giuseppe Cadenasso. She is also inspired by the detailed botanicals and bird paintings of Pierre-Joseph Redoute, Mark Gatesby, John Livingston, and James Audubon, as well as the Japanese prints by Hiroshige.

Born in Munich, Germany, Jan Johnson spent her early years growing up in Oceans Springs, on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Travel has been an important part of her life, providing her with both artistic and spiritual inspiration. Her travels have taken her throughout Europe and Mexico - exploring the Mayan sites of the Yucatan and Qunitana Roo States - and the American Southwest. She has lived in Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, and currently resides in Florida with her husband and daughter.

I enjoy working in the monotype process because I find the uniqueness of each image appealing. It exists somewhere between printmaking and painting and has allowed me great freedom. The challenge, of course, is to push what comes naturally beyond expected limits towards a personal, meaningful way of working. I invite the process to help determine my imagery, which is often inspired from my travels and observations with an interest in the art and symbols of ancient cultures. Formally, my work is about color, the fracturing of the picture plane into interacting shapes and symbols and their dialogue within the space they occupy. The power of the works lies in the number of levels available for interpretation. At times I incorporate a birds-eye view within my work to convey a sense of the spiritual.

The variety of styles present in Liz Jardine’s artwork speaks volumes of this artist’s natural curiosity and dynamic perspective. As a child, Jardine was raised on and artistically shaped by the sights and sounds of New York City. Jardine would journey to a different museum every Sunday with her father, who is also a painter. In an engrossed effort to study and learn from the master painters, Jardine would blur her eyes one at a time in order to change her perspective and fully appreciate the compositions and the brushstrokes. Broadway shows also heightened young Jardine’s senses to the endless combinations of color and light, fantasy and whimsy that would eventually be incorporated into her work.

Jardine gravitated toward the tactile and, as an undergraduate student at the State University of New York in Buffalo, she concentrated on textile design and clay forms. There she developed an interest in incorporating fibers into porcelain wall pieces. The resulting series was displayed in an exceptional solo exhibition granted her before graduation by the University.

Upon graduation, Jardine began apprenticeship at various textile and design studios in the New York City area. Many of her raw silk garment designs were sold through Horton Studio at several designer boutiques including Henri Bendel.

In a conscientious effort to return to more traditional media, Jardine began an apprenticeship with a graphic design studio and developed skills in various advertising art and production techniques. Eventually, she began working free-lance and built a strong reputation as a skilled concept illustrator and art director. This work paved her return to watercolors in various genre as florals, landscapes, still life and abstracts. Today, Jardine flourishes in varied media but especially favors acrylics for their texturing and form-building abilities.

A self-professed coffee-holic, Jardine’s tastes run the gamut from the cool, blue sounds of Joni Mitchell to the manic, wacky humor of the movie Beetlejuice. Gustav Klimt is her idol; the master artist’s style and flavor is preeminent in Jardine’s work, especially in the gilded palette, rich patterns, and exotic textures. Jardine’s art is at once uncomplicated, vibrant, powerful but capricious.

Although Jardine credits much of her inspiration to her fascination with fashion and the 1920’s, her love of travel unquestionably fuels her creativity and stimulates her artwork. Wanderlust has swept her to exotic countries both near and far. She has toured extensively throughout Asia and been on safari in Kenya. Ultimately, her travel has revealed itself in many of her pieces in the primitive patterning and Serengeti-inspired colors. At one memorable moment on a visit to a Masai village, all the women came out to greet Jardine and her traveling party with a tribal welcoming song, an especially lasting and touching experience for the artist.

“Painting to me is like a springtime stroll through a garden. My palette expresses the beauty, elegance and fragrance of the flowers.”

Sissi Janku was born in Munich, Germany. She studied graphic arts at the Academy of Arts in Munich and worked as a graphic designer for a German magazine.

In 1984 she fulfilled a childhood dream to visit the Hawaiian Islands. The tropical beauty inspired her artistic passions and she traded places to make Hawaii her home as an artist.

Watercolors allowed Sissi to capture the vibrant colors and gentle moods of her surroundings. She developed a unique watercolor technique combining strong colors, light and engaging patterns.

Sissi has earned the appreciation of art lovers everywhere. Her paintings have been commissioned by the Mauna Lani Hotel in Hawaii, the Dai-ichi Hotel in Tokyo, the Plantation Inn in Maui, the Player’s Island in Nevada and by numerous other collectors around the world.

“As an artist, you have complete power over your creations. You compose a scene with as much or as little drama as you like. You choose your media like musical instruments and make it happen. You tell the painting what it should be and in return it reveals everything about you.”

After a trip to Greece, Emily James began painting architectural pieces inspired by her sketches and photographs made while touring that country. These watercolors are subtly shaded, intricately detailed and offset with a refined marbleizing technique. James began drawing at an early age; in fact, her earliest childhood memory is searching for more paper on which to draw. By the time she finished high school, she had won first place in many state-wide competitions in her native Florida. After receiving her degree, she moved to Atlanta, teaching watercolor technique and working with individual clients and corporations, creating for specific collections and becoming one of Atlanta’s premier artists.

An extremely versatile and talented artist, her work includes seascapes, landscapes, florals, and abstracts as well as in oil, acrylic and watercolor, utilizing a medium appropriate to her subject matter. James has had numerous one-woman shows including one which sold out before the show officially opened. Honors include five Best-In-Show awards, selection to exhibit in the Watercolor Show at the High Museum in Atlanta, selection as the Outstanding Young Woman in America in Arts and, most recently, the Suncoast Watercolor Society Award for 1993. Living and working in her seaside studio in Ft. Myers Beach, FL, James actively supports the AIDS Foundation and American Cancer Society. Aware and grateful for her artistic skill, the artist works every day, fondly quoting John Lubbock: “As the sun colors the flowers, so does art color life.”

Her works are included in the collections of numerous private and corporate collections, including Sheraton Hotels, IBM, RJR/Nabisco, Contel, Bell South, Crown-Pacific in Hong Kong, Hull University, Great Britain and Hellas Communications, Athens, Greece.