Charles Kello: In His Own Words

Oil Painting of Norfolk Docks by Charles Kello

 

As dictated by Charles Kello

Oil Painting by Charles Kello

 

Charles W. Kello was born in the Ghent section of Norfolk on August 19th, 1942. The son of a terrific commercial artist, Charles W. Kello Jr. and “Myrt” his mother. He is the first child among five children, introduced to art at the age of nine. His dad stated that young Kello “Just never stopped painting”. Since then, he began to receive awards as early as age twelve and even now at age seventy-one. As a teenager, he was an illustrator for several printing companies, before photography was what it is now. In order to reproduce ships and buildings, they had to be painted in detail, the reduced before printing. This gave him a firm foundation for his painting.

Charles is proficient in drawing, watercoloring, oil and acrylic. He has devoted his later years exclusively to oils. He has mastered landscape, seascape, still-life, florals, and portraiture. Charles states that this is a “Feat rarely seen in any artist”. This statement was also made by Vincent Price who bought several paintings from Kello in 1963. The following year Kello had a one-man-show in New York on Madison Avenue, which was a total sell-out. Kello has paintings in collections around the world. He commented, “From South Africa to Alaska, I have been quite prolific and painted over 5,000 pictures”. As one collector said “I have been looking at one of the landscapes I purchased three years ago and I still have not found everything in it”. “Last Flight”, a painting by Kello, was acquired by the Norfolk Museum, now known as the Chrysler. Kello teaches classes in oil at his studio in Norfolk. That is my “little painting factory”. Richard Stravitz Gallery on 30th Avenue and Pacific Street is the exclusive agent for Mr. Kello’s work.

Anne–Marie Savino at our Stravitz 30th Street Gallery

“Virginia Beach in a Dolphin” by Anne-Marie Savino. The piece won 2 awards at The Old Coast Guard Station and Museum: “Best in Show” by Director of Exhibitions, MOCA- Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, and The People’s Choice Award.

Anne–Marie Savino is an award winning artist from Virginia Beach. She has been passionate about drawing since she was a little girl. Looking at her work you would never guess that she was self-taught. Her work captures her emotions, mood, thoughts, and her feelings as well as the wide variety of experiences she has lived.

Her preferred medium is pen and ink.

Ms. Savino has quite a background! She is on of ten children/ Her childhood and youth were spent traveling all over the world with her family. She has lived in over 10 different countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where she experienced a wide range of cultures and languages.

We are proud to feature her work at our 30th Street Gallery in, Virginia Beach VA.

30th Street Burnell/McLauchlin Event

This past Saturday (January 17^th, 2015) our 30^th Street gallery held an event in honor of two local artists of the Hampton Roads, Virginia area, Robert Burnell and Thomas McLauchlin. It was such a pleasure getting to know both of these gentlemen and learning a little of their history.

Thomas McLauclin (left) Robert Burnell (right)

Both are Portsmouth, VA natives. To learn more about Robert Burnell and see more of his work Go Here. Also to learn more about Thomas McLauclin and see more of his work Go Here. This will give you an idea as to what you will find at our 30th Street gallery in Virginia Beach if you are ever in the area and would like to stop by.

There was a huge turn out for this event! So many people were impressed with the various art works and jewelry we have to offer. I love going to these events and watching peoples reactions to the various sculptures and artwork. I’ve always felt that our 30th Street gallery is the perfect place to start for any first time art collector.

The Raku Ladies

So this is a post from a different blog that we have used, and I really think it’s something that is worth be blogging about here. It’s certainly a unique medium that I’ve never heard of until about a couple of months ago. One of our very own, Nathalie Graham from the 30th Street gallery at Virginia Beach.

These are so fun looking!

Here’s what she wrote:

“Our 30th Street Gallery has just received delightful new pieces: Martha Hayes’ “Raku Ladies”.  These original works are truly one of a kind, as the raku firing process never creates the same result twice. Martha explains how this works:

“The raku firing process began in Japan about 400 years ago. In this process the pots are taken from a red hot kiln (about 1800 degrees) and placed in a combustible material in a closed container, creating an oxygen-free atmosphere which sparks a chemical reaction called reduction. This reduction process creates metallic effects on the surface of the pots. During the reduction all of the available oxygen molecules in the atmosphere, clay and glazes are used to create combustion. Therefore the carbon left in the atmosphere seeps into the unglazed areas on the pot turning the clay black.

“The raku process is affected by many variables – changes in the atmosphere during the firing, speed of reduction and the type of combustible material used, to name a few. The effects are spontaneous and immediate and never the same”.”

So Many Projects, So Little Time!

So, I wanted to post what’s been going on in the studio at our Laskin Road gallery in Virginia Beach. Here’s a picture I took yesterday of a commissioned piece of wrestlers called “Souplay”…. for now… that name is likely to change.

Here is another piece that is currently in the works of two NFL football players Bruce Smith from the Bills and John Elway from the Broncos. No name as of yet so stay tuned.

This is a picture I took early this morning with a helmet and shoulder pads on Bruce Smith. The little elves in Richards studio have really working hard to help him make things come together.

Last but certainly not least we have the lady on the bench. Eventually we plan to have two children on the bench with the lady. The concept is suppose to be of a mother that falls asleep reading a book and her children are next to her trying to tickle her nose with a flower.

This lady is actually modeled after the lovely Joy Thompson who is the daughter-in-law of Kathy Thompson. Kathy is the mother of a son who suffers from ALS, therefore making her a fervent advocate for ALS research. Learn more about her charity, Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS. People from all over the world donate they’re beautiful quilts to help support research for ALS.

Surreal Paintings by Micha Arkhipoff

Oil on wood
by Micha Arkhipoff

This is one of the great oil paintings on wood by Micha Arkhipoff, that we have at our Laskin Road gallery in Virginia Beach. He is one of our newest artists to have work displayed. The little tag that you see below the rose says “Maison de Bonmeur” which translates to “House of Happiness”. Arkhipoff’s style is quite similar to that of Salvator Dali’s. Very three-dimensional, mystical, and definitely surreal.

On the shores of time lost Oil on wood by Micha Arkhipoff

Ok, so I have to show you one more example of his work. Just look at all of the symbolism and how detailed it all is. You can’t help but feel that the artist is trying to send some sort of message to his audience.

We do have one more painting by him at our Laskin Road gallery in Virginia Beach, VA, but you’ll have to come in to see that for yourself. I do realize that some of you may live no where close to Virginia Beach so instead you can click here to see the other painting. And feel free to browse around the rest of the site!

Capturing Movement

Written by Jennifer Przadka

“Jitterbug” bronze sculpture by Richard Stravitz

When someone mentions the word “Jitterbug” I think back to 1989 when the Wizard of Oz first came out on VHS. I remember watching that movie over and over in its entirety. At the very end you get to see edited scenes. One of the scenes was about a song that was recorded specifically for the movie “The Jitterbug”. I watched Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion all dance in a frenzy as if running from a literal bug. They all sing about watching out for this bug that will give you the “jitters”. The producers decided not to add it into the movie claiming that it would make the movie too long.

Come to find out “jitterbug” was a term used that described alcoholics when suffering from the “jitters”. This term became correlated with swing dancers who dance beyond any discipline or know-how of the dance. In pop-culture, it developed to mean swing dancers or a sort of swing dance.

We have a sculpture at our Laskin Road gallery that was recently created and unveiled by Richard Stravitz entitled “The Jitterbug”. If you were to come in it would be the first thing that you would see resting on a rotating potium. Which is quite appropriate considering the movement that the artist captivates in his work. It is such a lively piece and you can almost feel the excitement when you look at the expression that is permanently sculpted in both of the dancers faces. The detail doesn’t end there. Looking at the clothes gives away the era the sculpture conveys. The female is wearing the typical bobby soxer outfit, the close fitted sweater, the poodle shirt with a petticoat underneath, saddle shoes and bobby socks. The male wears rolled up slacks, penny loafers, a cool blazer with a buttoned up shirt underneath, and a neck tie. The movement of the piece is incredible with the guy pulling the girl underneath him as he jumps over her. The gentleman’s cap rests besides the sculpture as if to imply that it had flown off of his head due to the dance of a fast rhythm. It is certainly no wonder why Richard Stravitz is an award winning Master Sculptor.

 Please visit our website at http://www.sculpture-bronze.com to view the beautiful art work we have in both of our galleries!

Something to Consider For First Time Art Collectors

Oil Painting by Chuck Larivey

Article by Jennifer Przadka

Only in a perfect world would buying art be as easy as walking into an art gallery and paying for the first piece of artwork you like. You’re going to want to purchase a piece you will enjoy seeing everyday without getting gouged.

How much money are you comfortable spending? If you find a piece you “love” then you should allow yourself to splurge— but you certainly don’t want to go through buyer’s remorse. At an auction it is easy to get caught up in the moment with all that energy buzzing around.

However daunting, art collecting doesn’t have to be a difficult task. It’s all about educating yourself, setting your budget and sticking to it. Figure out what you like by visiting museums and galleries. Speak with art consultants or other art collectors. Attend gallery events and speak with other people involved in the art community. You will learn about different periods, styles, values, and most importantly, what you like.

If you plan to spend a lot of money be sure it will be something you love. And you may also want it to be an investment piece. According to Forbes the typical expected budget for an investment piece is between $1000 to $10,000 for a rising artist’s work. Look for young, emerging art because these pieces are inexpensive in price and are likely to increase in value and lead to future gains.

To figure out what art best suits you the internet is the best place to start looking. One website called artsy.net, based out of New York, is considered the “Pandora of the art world”. This site allows users to find artwork they like and similar works. The internet is also a great place to explore prices. Sites such as Artinfo and Artnet can offer input regarding auction prices of comparable works. It’s good to see what works have sold at auction, and what kind of prices they produced.

You may want to see the artwork of interest in person. What you see online doesn’t necessarily mean it will look the same in person. You may find that you have more of an appreciation of the piece in person (or not).

Find out the reputation of the artist in question, by speaking with dealers who typically  know about the artist who is exhibiting his or her work. What awards has he/she won? Have they been featured in major art shows? How long have they been well known?

 

Some questions to ask yourself before you make your big art purchase (from http://www.artbusiness.com/collectpro.html):

– Why do I like the kind of art I’m buying?

– What about it satisfies me?

– Do I like the subject matter, what it represents, the colors, the historical aspects, the lives of the artists?

– Does it take me to a special place?

– Does it make me feel a special way?

– Do I admire it’s technical aspects the most?

– Does it make me see life differently?

 

Above all have fun viewing and shopping for art you enjoy the most. Don’t let the task intimidate you in anyway. Great art comes with a price but in the end it is well worth it. 

Art That Evokes the Imagination

This gallery contains 1 photo.

“Evening Mermaid”- oil painting by Victor Nizovtsev Article written by- Jennifer Przadka     Albert Einstein once said, “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” I couldn’t agree more. Victor Nizovtsev has certainly drawn freely upon his imagination and […]

Vigor

Oil Painting by Denis Ribas

Article written by Delores Kosciuszko

International athlete, Denis Ribas of France, creates each painting outdoors in one sitting. His vigorous brushstrokes and lively compositions cause the oil paintings to sway with rhythms that are reminiscent of Vincent Van Gogh. Forty-two countries now hail Ribas as a highly collected artist. The Stravitz gallery on Laskin Road is honored to be the debut gallery for Denis Ribas work in the USA, with an exhibition in April. Several of his pieces have arrived and are now available for eager collectors.