Art Kaleidoscope

Blowing soap bubbles. Felted toys by Natalia Fadeeva

Felted toys by Natalia Fadeeva
Textile art, and creating felted toys in particular, has become a natural extension of the creative path that Natalia follows from early childhood to adult career. Russian artist of applied art Natalia Fadeeva is the author of these wonderful toys made of felt or mohair.

The artist creates her works by hand, and each of them is unique, presented in a single copy. All the little creatures have a special character, and even facial expressions. It seems that a cat is just about to jump off the shelf, or a mouse family sitting at the breakfast table are going to run away on their business.

According to Natalia, she has been making stuffed animals for more than 20 years now. Started by her small toy making business has become a family business, in which other members of the family participate – her husband and their son. Noteworthy, Natalia Fadeeva sells her works worldwide. In addition to textile art, she is fond of creating video games, photography, and painting.
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The first in a series dedicated to the most popular Latvian fairy tales – Five cats collectible coins

Five cats collectible coins
The Bank of Latvia issued a cute coin series with fabulous cats based on the fairy tale of the Latvian author Albert Cronenberg “Five cats.” Noteworthy, made by illustrator Anita Paegle, the 5 cats have names – Murici, Nyuris, Intsis, Mintsis and Puntsis.

This is the first coin of the “fairy-tale series”. The circulation of the issued coins – 10 thousand copies, and the cost of each reaches 39 euros in the Latvian banks. Those wishing to purchase for a “cat” coin of 925 silver weighing 31.47 grams and a diameter of 38.61 mm will have to pay € 39. Hardly anyone is going to use these coins as payment, and they have become the collectors’ item.

According to the Bank of Latvia, the following year they plan to issue commemorative coins with the image of a cow and stork. Previously, these characters for a long time decorated the Latvian lats. In particular, a lot of atypical creatures, such as an ant, a rooster, a toad, hedgehog, mushroom, and a fairy-tale hero Spriditis. Also, pretzel, oak wreath, cones, snowman, water lily, chimney sweep, harp and even a beer mug.

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Decorative panno. Miniature painting by Gracemere Woods (artists Kimera Wachna and Yuichi Watanabe)

Miniature painting by Gracemere Woods

The creative duo of artists Kimera Wachna and Yuichi Watanabe work in their art studio “Gracemere Woods”, in Tarrytown, New York, USA. All their hand crafted art objects – home decor, illustrations, wood burned ornaments, necklaces, and jewelry are inspired by the beauty of nature and spirit of the forest.

The artists work with such materials as Wood, Quartz, Amethyst, Maple, Pine, Cedar and Acrylic Paint. Each miniature painting on a cut down tree is one-of-a-kind, the product of harmony between a man and nature, intimate experience between the artist and the natural world.

“For years I worked long monotonous hours in the city, in front of a computer, and felt like I was contradicting my very existence”, says the artist. According to the artists, not long ago, they left their boring office work to start creating home decorations. Noteworthy, their first works were miniature ink paintings and wood-burned pieces.

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Red and white cat. Christmas eve in painting by Richard Macneil

Christmas eve in painting by Richard Macneil
Born in 1958 in Worcester (England), self-taught artist Richard Macneil started at Worcester Royal Porcelain factory, where he was engaged in sculpture, ceramics and graphics. Later he moved to the USA to work in a Fine Art company, which produced exclusive sculptures. Noteworthy, one of his artworks was displayed in the Oval office of The White House.

Richard Macneil, his wife Judi and sons Daniel and Kyle travel a lot, enjoying the European architecture and traditions. Currently the artist is living in his native England, working as a freelance artist in Worcestershire, UK. Richard has created a surprising number of stunning works, mostly cityscapes, depicting London and other European cities – Paris, and Venice.

The style, in which the artist works – using wide free strokes, it is impossible, for example, to depict small details of face. But he perfectly conveys the outline of the human figure and clothes.
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Hyper realistic painting by Australian artist Michael Zavros

Australian artist Michael Zavros
Born in Brisbane in 1974, Michael Zavros graduated from Queensland College of Art in the 1990s. Michael works in various genres: portrait, fantasy and animalistic, drawing floral and still life paintings. In a short time his work has become widely known thanks to his technique.
Michael paints with watercolors or oil on canvas, working through the details of the image with a fine brush, thereby achieving stunning photographic hyper-realism and accuracy.
For his incredible talent in hyper realistic direction, Zavros has become a many awarded artist. His awards include The Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award (2002), The Robert Jacks Drawing Prize (2005), the Kedumba Prize (2007), Primavera Collex award (2004), Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2010), annual Archibald Prize (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2013), and more.
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Winter road. Oil on canvas. Painting winter Dmitry Kolpashnikov

Painting winter Dmitry Kolpashnikov
Born in 1964 in the old Russian city of Tver, Dmitry Kolpashnikov is a talented landscape painter. In 1983, he graduated from the Tver Art College named after Venetsianov.
According to the artist, his favorite genre of painting – Russian landscapes, winter scenery, seasons and rural life. His landscapes are very calm and majestic, deep and vibrant – snow-covered trees, water mills and endless fields.
Dmitry Kolpashnikov participated in art exhibitions in his native Tver, Moscow, aas well as abroad.
The art works of internationally recognized artist are in private galleries in Russia, Germany, Belgium, France and China.
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Dance with butterfly. Oil on canvas. Vladimir Pronin decorative neo symbolism

Vladimir Pronin decorative neo symbolism
Born in 1955 in a Moscow suburb, Russian artist Vladimir Pronin graduated from legendary Fedoskino Art School of miniature painting in 1974. Then, Vladimir entered The Moscow Textile Academy, Faculty of Applied Art, from which he successfully graduated in 1982.
The painting style of Russian artist Vladimir Pronin can be determined as decorative neo symbolism. Indeed, in the modern art it’s very doubtful to find works similar to his. Most of his colorful paintings consist of emblems or symbols painted in wonderful decorative style, called by his admirers “Pronin style”.
Vladimir Pronin began participating in group and solo art exhibitions in 1991, in Moscow. Then followed a number of exhibitions in Russia and abroad.
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