Don Sahli is an extraordinary American painter whose artistic talent was recognized early in his life and nurtured by the legendary Russian master, Sergei Bongart. Bongart, one of the foremost Russian colorists studied at the Academy of Art in Kiev under Peter Kotov who was taught by the famed Nicolai Fechin.  Fleeing Stalin’s regime, Bongart came to the United States and became one of the most renowned art instructors of the Russian method in this country. While many artists of today studied with Bongart, only a few were invited to be his apprentice.  A year after Sahli began his formal art education at the University of Texas in Austin, his talent was recognized by Bongart who invited him to study with him at the prestigious Bongart School of Art in Los Angeles.  Sahli then became Bongart’s last apprentice for three years before his death in 1985.

Having painted professionally since the age of 17, Sahli decided to carry on Bongart’s legacy by establishing the Sahli School of Art.  Continuing in the teaching tradition of the Russian School of Painting, Sahli has mentored and taught more than 500 students.  As a master artist, Sahli is best known for his vibrant and colorful American landscapes and still life which resonate with echoes of the Russian Impressionists as evidenced by his enlivened brushstrokes and uninhibited use of brilliant color.

As a plein air painter, Sahli explains that “outdoors things change quickly; the outside world is in constant motion-the Divine at work.  Quickly the scene will change as it did when painting this work in Crested Butte when I experienced fall one day and winter the next-within 24 hours.  To capture the “snow on the aspen” was a wonderful experience for me.”

David W. Mayer is a member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA) and the California Art Club (CAC). He has won major national and regional awards and has been featured in “Art of the West”, “Western Art Collector”, and “Southwest Art” magazines. David’s work appears in national art shows such as The Russell, Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Settlers West American Miniatures, OPA national and regional shows, Western Masters, and others. He is represented by fine art galleries around the country, and his paintings are held in private and corporate collections worldwide.

Clive Tyler, of Ft. Collins, Colorado and now Santa Fe, calls himself an ‘environment painter’ due to his realistic depictions of the plein air settings in which he paints. Clive often finds himself thrown into painting a subject when a wild animal crosses his path to graze. To Clive, his painting is an opportunity to relay his experience in nature to his viewers:

“I’m trying to recreate the experience I had, personally, when I was outside. It’s more about the emotional state, or something that seemed new to me even though I’ve probably seen it all my life.”

His work has consistently won many honors and awards, including 3rd place (out of 3000) in Best of Show at the international South Eastern Wildlife Expo (Feb. 2011), Best of Show & First Place, 2010 Windows to the Divine Paint Out, Honorable Mention, 10th Annual Pastel Journal Contest (2009), Best of Show Plein Air Artists Colorado 12th Annual Exhibition (2008), Multiple Awards, Pastel Journal Magazine (2008 & 2007), People’s Choice Award, Rocky Mountain Plein Air National (2007 & 2005), and Best of Show, Museum of Outdoor Arts (2003). He’s an elected member of the Pastel Society of America and a signature member of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters.

Kelli Folsom is an academically trained artist working exclusively from life in oils. She creates museum quality paintings combining an old master feel with rich color and painterly brushstrokes. When collecting her work you will be bringing a layer of refined beauty of the highest quality into your collection that uplifts the soul.

Kelli is an award winning artist who at a young age is already exhibiting in museum shows and garnering attention and inclusion in some of the highest organizations in contemporary representational art like Oil Painters of America, American Women Artists, American Impressionists Society and Women Artists of the West.

She received a B.F.A. from Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, CT ,the first impressionist colony in the U.S. established in 1899. It is here that she studied traditional life drawing, painting and sculpture with great emphasis on in depth study and classical techniques and the joy of working in a direct impressionist style in nature. Every still life arrangement is set up in her north light studio and painted directly from life in a matter of one or two sittings. She paints directly so that her relationship to the subject is heightened in the moment in order to pass on that perception and experience to the viewer resulting in a painting that looks like a painting and not a photograph. Kelli chooses objects and arrangements to create the most aesthetically beautiful design and a feeling of abundance and intimacy. These arrangements are influenced by centuries of traditional still life painting from the Dutch Masters of the 1600s to French Academics of the 1900s.