Greg Nelson Art depicts ethereal California landscapes and intimate figures through multi-media paintings with a romantic vision of nature and a classical treatment of form. View my website at http://www.gregnelsonart.com

My focus this year is Mission Bay and the ships in repair or being stored along this once-busy area for ship building and repair. My interest is in the details and composition of the elements that make this a vibrant and larger-than-life environment on its' last legs by the look of things. Another focus is my drawings inspired by this photography, bringing back a hand/analog element to my artwork.

Dimitri Kourouniotis paints boldly, exploring contrasts of visually engaging swirls and loops set against a background of broad brushstrokes. “I try to make landscape and cityscape pieces that are simultaneously energizing and soothing,” he says, "using a combination of bright colors with abstract city or plains settings." Inspired by the visual poetry of everyday life, Dimitri’s art clears the mind, as he adds momentum to intention and emotion. Loose, confident gestural forms are his vocabulary, giving the viewer a sense of immediacy and presence. “My art is about the passion of expression, living joyfully in the present.” Born in Athens, Greece, 1965, Dimitri Kourouniotis has lived in both Europe and the United States. After finishing his graduate degree in business studies in the UK he spent the next 12 years as a management consultant and computer programmer. He currently lives in California with his wife. Having decided to pursue the course to his true happiness, he became a full time artist in 2001. His influences include Diebenkorn, Da Vinci, Kline and Zen calligraphers. His paintings are created as he relates energy and momentum into color, intention and emotion. He creates art with oil & charcoal on canvas.

I was always intrigued by the idea of mixing construction or industrial materials with the fine arts to achieve a dream-like beauty and that combination is exactly what my new artwork encapsulates.

In my series of metal meshwork, I use industrial materials such as stainless steel mesh as my main material. With a blow-torch, I employ visual language to express organic-based themes with botanic, arborist, and even oceanic influences.

When it is finished, my artwork seems to be made of soft silk. But when it is touched, it is surprisingly cold and sharply metallic. I believe these kinds of illusions reflect life. And when I burn the metal screen with a flame from the blow-torch, it is all free-hand without any back drawing. This technique is similar to what my Asian ancestors did with Sumi ink over the last thousands of years, and when I work on my pieces, I feel the spirit of the ancient art coming through to me from long ago.

I would use various organic themes to accentuate this industrial element in the work: maritime elements as sea kelps, sea anemones and often abstract giant botanical forms and simplified tree lines—tangled and overlapped as if there was a permanent breeze in the air. I add colors by letting the background seep through the mesh as if you were to see the world through a magic veil.

With harsh industrial materials and tools, I am to recapture this unusual beauty, inscribing the ephemeral existence of sublime nature onto shimmering metal mesh.

My current work marks the beginning of my artistic explorations into local Bay Area landscapes. I feel drawn to water and light, and how these elements create a mood. I want you to see what I see, to experience the feeling of being there as I do. The paintings range from realistic to abstract expressions of my intentions.

The media I use are Oils,and Pastels.

Capturing the fleeting moods of cityscapes and landscapes as they are transformed by fog, rain, light and darkness is my continuing passion. Reinventing and finding beauty in our day-to-day pedestrian world . . . watching the drama unfold in atmospheric changes as day recedes into the formless abstractions of night . . . reveling in the play of reflections dancing on a rain swept pavement and contemplating the mysterious in the spaces between the objects we see . . . this is my inspiration.  Through manipulation of color, design, nuance and form, I strive to make the ordinary extraordinary.

My main interest is to paint directly from life, be it outdoors in the landscape, on the city streets or in my studio with a still life on the table. I’m inspired by the play of light and shadow on shapes and colors and by the beauty and meaning I find in “everyday” objects and scenes. I’m drawn to the juxtaposition of geometric, architectural forms against the organic shapes of the landscape, as well as by the sublime and romantic images landscapes often present. I’m also moved by the simple beauty of natural objects that are rich in color and elegant in shape and that are full of meaning in our lives. My passion is to communicate and share this beauty and magic that we are all surrounded by.

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