All posts tagged with painting

July 5, 2024

Mario Loprete: Urban Paintings on Concrete Pt.2

Posted by Malik White in Featured Posts, Fine Art, Member Writing & Art

We are happy to feature the talented Mario Loprete once again on our website. Mario shares even more of his paintings and sculptures with us, showcasing his unique and captivating style. Artist Statement: Painting is my first love. An important, pure love. The base of my paintings starts from the spasmodic research of a concept and transforms into a message that I want to send to the viewer. The sculpture is my lover, my artistic betrayal of the painting. That voluptuous and sensual lover that gives me different emotions, that touches prohibited cords . . . I worked exclusively on my concrete sculptures in the last few years. I use my personal clothing for my concrete sculptures. Through my artistic process, in which I use plaster, resin and cement, I transform them into artworks to…

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May 1, 2024

The New FC Anthology is Now Published!

Posted by Jack B. Rochester in Member Writing & Art, The Fictional Café Anthology, Writing

The Strong Stuff, Volume 2, presents the best creative work we published from 2018-2020 500 full-color pages of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and art from our members This is one handsome book, and it’s big – 8″ wide by 10″ tall, just a few pages shy of 500 pages of stimulating writing and art. The cover art is an original design by one of our former baristas, Amanda Grafe. Using Amanda’s original painting, Barista Melanie Marston prepared the book’s front and back covers. The interior design and page layout was designed by Sophie Hanks, who has worked with us on several books now. FC Partner Antony Woooten guided it through publishing and printing with Ingram/Spark. The back cover. Each contributor’s color photo and bio appear in the book. This contributor’s poetry, accompanied by their art….

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June 1, 2022

Aislinn Feldberg — “Dream World”

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art

Artist Statement: I enjoy experimenting and creating art with a dark, bizarre flair in order to create a dreamy scene or landscape. My work demonstrates conflicting natures of human nature or of materials (flowing delicacy or brutal strokes). I attempt to include sarcastic or whimsical humor in my art whenever I can. I draw inspiration from my surroundings and artists that I admire, such as Gaugin, Max Ernst, Frida Kahlo, Banksy, Vincent van Gogh and Yayoi Kusama. *** Aislinn Feldberg is a writer and visual artist from Queens, New York. She is currently a Junior with a major in Studio Arts at Bard College. Her work interweaves with prior dreams and gothic influences. You can find her on Wrongdoing Mag or her website: www.oddityplayground.com.

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April 1, 2022

Eva Shaw — Whimsy Meets Reality in Art

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art

Artist’s Statement: In my art, I attempt to share how the world conveys its impressions on me, whether in whimsy or reality. I love to study the complexities of nature, the swirls and hearts and mysterious shapes and then transfer them into how the brush meets the canvas. Sometimes that’s silly; other times it takes a few “edits,” as I can tweaking the objects and designs. There are even times when I return to a painting a month or more later knowing that a detail or a entire image needs to be changed. I enjoy painting as I do when writing books. It consumes me. *** Eva Shaw began painting a decade ago, after a year-long battle with breast cancer. She credits her late husband Joe’s comment that got her started. He said, “The shed…

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February 28, 2022

“Painting for Personal Joy,” by Hume Baugh

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art

Artist’s Statement: I’ve been painting for five years. I am mostly self-taught. When I started painting, I decided right away that I was going to paint for my own joy, not to please other people. I wasn’t going to worry about whether the paintings were thought to be good or bad but was going to celebrate whenever someone found something in them. I have worked in other artistic contexts and there is always pressure to do well, to excel. But what this resolution regarding painting did for me was free me to simply play. Like when I was a child and I had paints. Sheer playing. This has been my method of operation since. I learn all the time, I am always experimenting, facing challenges, correcting mistakes, following unexpected paths – that is part of…

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December 31, 2021

“Painting with Morris,” Visual Art by Morris Wiener

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art

Artist’s Statement: My seventh grade teacher, Miss Steinberg, told us that since we would be graduating into high school the following year, we should all have some idea of what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives. She informed us that the following day, each one of us would be asked to come up to the front of the classroom and briefly explain what we wanted to become and why. Well, I don’t believe that anyone was too pleased with that . . . I certainly wasn’t. Not because I didn’t know “what,” but rather, I didn’t know “how.” How am I going to explain to a group of pretty tough guys and girls (most of them played baseball, badminton or basketball) that I wanted to be an artist? Somehow, I got…

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September 23, 2021

“Souls of Their Feet,” A Short Story by John E. Caulton

Posted by Mike Rochester in Writing

So as not to be overheard, I stoop a little and whisper into the youth’s ear, “What’s with the mucky feet again, eh? It’s all right depicting the hoi polloi in such a way, I suppose, but the Virgin? I mean, c’mon!” The youth, not feeling the need to lower his own voice, is not very forthcoming. Half smiling, half sneering, he curtly replies, “With respect sir, my master already explained it to you, on your last visit, if you remember.” Indeed, he had, and rather bluntly too. In fact, I almost wish I hadn’t asked at all, but I simply needed to know about the feet business. We all did. I change tack. “Has he forgiven me, yet?” I ask the youth. He answers, “For asking too many questions, maybe. But for the figurine,…

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August 31, 2021

Peter Jarvis: Realism, Art and Process

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art

Artist’s Statement: My inspiration lies in the topographical drawings and watercolours of the 18th and 19th centuries. My work is objective and realistic and true to the Italian term, veduta esatta meaning “exact view.” My passion for and belief in the sketchbook as a means of understanding subject matter is central to the success of my watercolours. The very nature of the sketchbook in its portability and mobility on location means it is innately suitable in this pursuit and as a precursor to more finished work: it is immediate and intimate and requires the minimum of materials. The activity of drawing on location plays an integral part in my understanding and appreciation of the notion of place: placing oneself as the central reference point during location drawing. This knowledge and experience also enables me to work from photographs alone when it is…

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June 1, 2021

Rebecca Hosking — Multitalented Creative

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art, Writing

Photo above: Elephant Camp, Chang Mai, Thailand Editor’s Note: This month’s featured artist is also a very talented musician and poet. Check out Rebecca Hosking’s diverse creative endeavors below. Not All Witches Belong to a Coven Not all witches belong to a coven. Put aside the stereotypes. Expand your mind and think outside of the box. Mother nature lives inside all of us. She is the mother of the earth. Her medicine lives in the plants that feed off the dirt. Get your feet wet, dabble, and expand your mind. Not all witches wear black clothing or dance naked in the garden just before dawn. This woman lives alone. She lives among her dreams, works hard like a graceful wave carrying life to the shore. She warms her skin with the sun and finds energy…

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April 1, 2021

Ann Privateer — Photography from Near and Far

Posted by Mike Rochester in Fine Art

Artist Statement: I took these photographs because they caught my eye. The vivid colors and my closeup technique make me stop and take a second look: blood orange, surprise clover–searching for a four leaf, shoes that sparkle, a fetal pistachio nut, and a pink pansy. From pin-hole cameras in elementary school to my very own Brownie camera for Christmas, I have been fascinated with taking photographs practically my entire life. So many cameras later, I now most often shoot with my Sony phone. Some of these photographs were taken in Paris, France and one in my kitchen after cracking open a pistachio nut which, to me, resembled a fetus. *** Ann Privateer is a poet, artist, and photographer. She grew up in the Midwest and now resides in California. Some of her recent work has…

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