Archives: Artists

Roy Fairchild brings together his professional training in graphic design and illustration with a deep appreciation for Renaissance art to create his widely collected etchings and serigraphs. Born in Surrey, England in 1953, he showed artistic talent from childhood and began studying technical illustration at age 16, eventually earning his degree in graphic design.

After completing his studies, Fairchild established his own studio and worked as a freelance illustrator to support his family while continuing to develop his artistic voice. During this period, he illustrated a diverse range of projects including books, record sleeves, advertisements, and graphic works, signing them under the name “Woodard.”

By the 1980s, Fairchild had achieved enough financial stability to dedicate himself to creating art full-time. This marked an important transition in his career, as he began signing his works under his own name. His technical expertise combined with his artistic sensibility has made his work popular among collectors. Roy Fairchild is represented by Park West Gallery.

Shkelqim Dani, who signs his work simply as Dani, was born in Tirana, Albania, where he completed his studies at the School of Fine Arts at the Academy of Arts. He graduated from the Tirana Art Academy in 1977 and quickly made his mark on the Albanian art scene. At just 28, he participated in a group exhibition at Albania’s National Museum in 1980, followed by winning second prize in painting at the same venue in 1983. From 1985 until his emigration, Dani worked as a large set and screen painter for the Albanian Film Studio Company, refining his technical abilities.

In 1991, Dani left Albania for Hungary, Austria, and Germany, where he had previously exhibited. Two years later, in 1993, he and his family immigrated to the United States, settling in Michigan where he continues to live and work today. He has been awarded at the Meadowbrook Art Festival and has built a devoted collector base across the country.

Dani’s paintings showcase his exceptional craftsmanship and feature a rich, vibrant color palette. His diverse subjects range from metaphorical figures in symbolic compositions to lush landscapes and cityscapes celebrating natural beauty. More recently, he has explored a minimalist approach, combining saturated color planes with crisp geometric shapes. His work is represented by Park West Gallery.

The short animated film “Destino” represents a historic collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí that began at a party in 1945 at Jack Warner’s house. The two artists, who admired each other’s surrealist work, decided to create a film together. Disney was eager to collaborate with great artists, wanting to keep breaking new trails as he had with the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence in “Fantasia.”

Dalí began work on “Destino” in 1946, creating 22 paintings and over 135 storyboards, drawings, and sketches. He envisioned it as “a magical exposition on the problem of life in the labyrinth of time.” However, the project was shelved after just eight months due to low funds and concerns about marketing the film after World War II.

The dream was finally realized decades later when Roy E. Disney, Walt’s nephew and Director of Animation, decided to complete the project while working on “Fantasia 2000.” A team of twenty-five artists at the Paris-based Disney animation studio, directed by Dominique Monfery, worked to fulfill the original vision. The completed six-minute-and-forty-second film was released on June 2, 2003 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

“Destino” earned numerous accolades, including an Oscar nomination for Best Short Film, Animated in 2004. The graphic works and original artwork from this collaboration are now represented by Park West Gallery.

Jim Collins has been painting professionally for over 15 years, bringing a unique blend of artistic talent and marketing expertise to his work. He earned his Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing from the Vancouver School of Art, which has informed his successful career as a professional artist. Collins works in multiple media including oil, watercolor and acrylic, creating everything from intimate small paintings to impressive large-scale murals.

His artwork has found homes in private and corporate collections around the world. Collins has received commissions from prestigious clients including Price Waterhouse Coopers, TD Bank, Bank of Montreal, Carleton Cards, Teleflex Canada, Digital Equipment, and Cypress Ski Mountain. His published works include self-published limited edition prints, a children’s book illustration, and a biblical calendar.

Collins is represented by Park West Gallery and has exhibited his work at notable venues including Art Image Gallery in Vancouver, BC, the Hong Kong Bank Atrium Royal Center in the Royal Bank Tower, and Plaza Galleries in Whistler, BC. His ability to work across different scales and media has made him a versatile and sought-after artist whose work resonates with collectors internationally.

William Crighton studied at Jordanstone College and St. Martins School of Art, developing into one of the most compelling Post-Impressionist painters of recent years. His distinctive treatment of light and shade caught the attention of galleries throughout Europe, establishing him as an artist of considerable merit.

Crighton captures the dappled effect of sunlight, the ease of resting figures, and the glistening surfaces of water with broad, sketch-like brushstrokes. His preferred subjects include the enchantment of casual groupings, figures in light dresses, and tables bathed in sunlight. For him, art is a craft to be practiced joyfully.

The artist is represented by Park West Gallery, where collectors appreciate his luminous, life-affirming approach to painting. Echoing Renoir’s philosophy, Crighton seeks to create works that bring pleasure and beauty to viewers, believing that joy is an essential quality of a masterpiece.

Slava Brodinsky was born in 1955 in Birobidzhan in the Soviet Union, now part of eastern Russia. Showing remarkable artistic talent from an early age, he attended a fine-arts-focused high school and, after serving in the Soviet Army, continued his education at the Fine Art Academy of Birobidzhan, graduating with distinction in 1979. Throughout the 1980s, he created primarily large-scale works and participated in solo and group exhibitions across the U.S.S.R.

In 1991, Brodinsky moved to Israel with his wife and son. The transition proved challenging as he adjusted to the unfamiliar light and colors of his new home. When he returned to painting, his surroundings dramatically transformed his style, bringing brighter, earthier tones with a broader sense of light and shadow. Inspired by travels through Israel’s Galilee region and Europe, he developed a distinctive technique of brushing a mixture of sand, paint, and plaster on canvas. His landscapes capture the rolling hills of Tuscany, Umbria, and southern France, with the changing seasons providing a rich spectrum for his vibrant color palette.

Brodinsky, who is represented by Park West Gallery, has exhibited as a solo artist and in group shows throughout America, Russia, Canada, France, England, the Netherlands, and Japan. His work is collected worldwide.

French surrealist painter, sculptor and printmaker François Boucheix was born in 1940 in the small mountain village of Monts d’Auvergne. After his father’s death when he was 15, Boucheix moved to Paris to work in the hotel business, though he never abandoned his passion for art and often painted late into the night. By age 17, he was studying with Jean de Rocca Serra, and in 1960 he earned his first exhibition in Tunisia before showing in the south of France.

His first major exhibition came in 1964 at the Sevres Gallery in Paris, where he exhibited for several years alongside internationally renowned artists including Lebasque, Freiz and Marie Laurencin. During this period, he met the Japanese-French master Foujita, who encouraged him and traded paintings with him. He also met Salvador Dali, who praised his work. The two exhibited together in a show called “Dali to Boucheix,” which included works by the master historical painter Meisonnier. This experience convinced Boucheix to pursue a surrealist path, choosing to paint positive surrealistic imagery rather than the disturbing subjects typically found in surrealist painting.

Boucheix gained critical acceptance, with one prominent art writer from the newspaper “l’Aurore” claiming that with Boucheix, “Dali and Chagall’s successor had been found.” In 2002, he celebrated his 42nd anniversary as an artist by introducing sculpture, which has since become an important part of his work. His prizes include Le prix Lutetia at the Severes Gallery, a Leonardo da Vinci Gold Medal and a Palette d’Or Award at the International Festival of Arts. Boucheix is represented by Park West Gallery.

Russell Baker honed his artistic talents through studies in Leeds and New York before attending the prestigious Slade School of Art, where he gained recognition for his skill and imagination in developing innovative etching and monoprint techniques. His creative journey led him to New York in the early 1980s, where he achieved worldwide acclaim for his distinctive approach of blending intricate figurative imagery with abstract elements.

Baker’s work stands out for its exceptional technical mastery. He creates his visions of beauty through an elaborate process involving plates to which he applies genuine gold leaf, inks, and varnishes. This meticulous craftsmanship results in pieces that captivate collectors across the globe, with his art now held in collections spanning more than 20 countries.

Represented by Park West Gallery, Russell Baker continues to be celebrated for the unique combination of technical excellence and artistic vision that defines his etchings and monoprints.

Holland Berkley has devoted her life to the journey of making images, whether working on paper, canvas, or metal plates. She strives to draw honest and intriguing lines while investigating both the beautiful and the odd, illuminating the common moments of life. Her goal is to convey a sense of mystery and awe through human forms that are abstracted rather than literal, placed within environments of graphic symbols and universal patterns derived from primitive cultures.

Her distinctive images emerge through many layers of glazes, washes, and textural compounds, along with the incorporation of elements such as sand and newspaper. Through this painstaking method, she achieves the age-worn patina of old paintings or the weathered surface of stone, wood, metals, and fabric. The materials she uses are extensive and ever changing, including raw pigments, charcoal, glazes, varnishes, and metallic leaf.

Berkley received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Art Education from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1972 and taught art in the elementary public school system before pursuing a full-time career as an artist. Over the years, she has received numerous awards and exhibited in galleries and museums across the country. Her work is represented by Park West Gallery and can be found in notable collections including Disney Corporation, Exxon Corporation, Universal Studios, Federal Express, Larson Juhl, Inc, and the Ritz Carlton Corporation.

David Najar views nature as a subject in perfect harmony, full of beauty and near God. His artwork captures this balance through a serene combination of movement and color, mixing imagination with reality. Born in 1962 in Israel, Najar’s early artistic talents went largely unsupported by his family, leading him to pursue other paths. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences from Bar-Ilan University from 1987 to 1990, and spent 20 years teaching Krav Maga, the hand-to-hand combat system used by Israeli defense and security forces. His mentor, Krav Maga creator Imi Lichtenfeld, prophetically told him he would be surprised by what he’d find inside himself.

In his 30s, after viewing a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in a museum, Najar’s passion for art reawakened. He began painting classes while still teaching Krav Maga, though his independent style eventually led his instructor to ask him to leave. Undeterred, Najar found mentorship with renowned Israeli artist Itzchak Tarkay in 2003, painting together until Tarkay’s passing in 2012. He also learned from Lithuanian artist Moshe Rosenthalis.

Najar calls his vivid portrayals “Contemporary Expressionism,” characterized by coiled brushstrokes, rippling patterns, and saturated hues. Using impasto and rubber brushes, he creates landscapes, figures, and still lifes that explore light, shadow, and reflection. His paintings are sold worldwide and have been featured in exhibitions throughout Israel, Canada, and the United States. Represented by Park West Gallery, Najar continues painting at his studio in Israel.