In my work in contemporary realism I try to capture the meaning of the Latin phrase, finitum capax infiniti, “the finite is capable of the infinite,” which means that there is no access to the infinite except through the finite. It is an apt description of how I feel about our connection to the material world.

In some respects, I have become a chronicler of empty spaces. I don’t believe that a place ever loses its human presence. People live, die, or move on, but their spirit remains. We leave something of ourselves behind in the spaces we inhabit, either in the physical changes we make, or because of the dings and dents of time. Therefore, in a sense, there are no real empty spaces.

Presently, my quest is to try to capture this in two-dimensional form, and the technique of glazing in oil paint seems to suit the subject matter and my temperament. This slow layering of color seems to correspond to the patina of living that inexorably descends upon a particular place. Glazing is a painting method that allows me time for careful thought and introspection.

Compositionally, the way material things have been left behind is of key importance to me. The way a piece of furniture sits in a room, the way an empty shelf protrudes from a wall, these things bear testimony to the people who have moved on. The mute objects are not really silent.

I have taken a circuitous route to art. I grew up around artistic uncles, aunts, and cousins in the New York/New Jersey area. My high school art teacher, Lawrence Schroth, was a wonderful teacher and artist and an encouraging mentor. Traveling out west to Flagstaff, Arizona I majored in commercial art, but soon switched to the study of English and history. With the gentle encouragement of my wife I finally found my way back to drawing and painting after a fifteen-year hiatus.

At first, I was attracted to the color and directness of pastels, and I immediately took to the medium. After my initial exposure to pastels with Tony Ortega at the Art Students League of Denver, I took workshops with Bruce Gomez, Molly Davis, and Mark Nelson. Now painting in oil, I concentrate on interior scenes and more symbolic urban and rural landscapes.

Currently, my work can be viewed at Whitney-Evans Limited (www.whitneyevansltd.com) in the Denver Design District at 595 S. Broadway. Also, please visit me at my working studio in the Bella Building at 3950 Wynkoop St. #2E in Denver’s RiNo district, but please call ahead.

For a good explanation of my artistic thought process, please read this interview in The Denver Dart:

http://www.denverdart.com/2012/03/10/10q-ron-zito

Exhibitions

2018
Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, National Western Stock Show Expo Hall – Denver
Open Space: The Finite Frontier – Curtis Center for the Arts, Greenwood Village, CO
Greeley Stampede Western Invitational, Island Grove Event Center – Greeley, CO

2017
Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, National Western Stock Show
Expo Hall – Denver
Greeley Stampede Western Invitational, Island Grove Event Center – Greeley, CO
3-Person Show with Joyce Coco & Tom Mazzullo, Spark Gallery – Denver
Own an Original Arts Exhibition, Littleton Museum – Littleton, CO

2016
FOPAS Art Auction for the Denver Art Museum
Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, National Western Stock Show
Expo Hall – Denver
Governor’s Art Show, Loveland Museum – Loveland, CO

2015
Wild Things: animal portraits, with Katy Charles, Cake Crumbs – Denver
Art & Soul, Space Gallery – Denver
Governor’s Art Show, Loveland Museum – Loveland, CO

2014

Holy Moly: Religious Commentary in Contemporary Art, Niza Knoll Gallery – Denver
Beauty Amidst the Madness, Backstage Coffee at the Denver Performing Arts  Complex – Denver

2013
Art & Soul, McNichols Civic Center Building – Denver
All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Arts Center, Greenwood Village, CO
Art & Artifacts Benefit for Project Education Sudan,  Arthaus Gallery – Denver

2012
The Mask Project Benefit for The Denver Hospice – Denver

2011
The Digital & Darkroom Print Event – Denver
19th Annual Summer Art Market – Denver
3-Man Show with Leo Franco & Frederic Pichon, Spark Gallery – Denver
A Portrait of the Artist, Loveland Museum/Gallery – Loveland, CO
Spark Open Show, Spark Gallery – Denver

2010
20th Annual Cherry Creek Arts Festival – Denver
18th Annual Summer Art Market – Denver
The Mask Project Benefit for The Denver Hospice – Denver

2009
17th Annual Summer Art Market – Denver
Art & Artifacts Benefit for Project Education Sudan – Cherry Hills, CO
Lone Tree Art Exhibition – Lone Tree, CO
Lone Tree Photographic Show – Lone Tree, CO

2008
Salon du Musée, Gallery 1261 – Denver
St. Charles Capital Art Show – Denver
16th Annual Summer Art Market – Denver
Fifth Annual Colorado Drawing Exhibition, Gallery 821 – Denver
“Shutterworks,” Square Deal Framing & Gallery – Denver
Voices, Gallery 821 – Denver
Mind/Full Photography Show, Flash Gallery – Lakewood, CO

2007
“Four Expressions,” Square Deal Framing & Gallery – Denver
Lone Tree Art Exhibition – Lone Tree, CO
Gateway to the Rockies Art Exhibit (photography category) – Aurora, CO
Photography Open, Spark Gallery – Denver
“The Eternal Landscape” Invitational, Remmi Fine Art – Denver
Portrait of Self-Expression, Evergreen Arts Center – Evergreen, CO
15th Annual Summer Art Market – Denver

2006
Lone Tree Art Exhibition – Lone Tree, CO
“Scapes,” Art Students League of Denver
Paint, Sculpt, Shoot Evergreen – Evergreen, CO
14th Annual Summer Art Market – Denver

2005
13th Annual Summer Art Market – Denver

2004
Sand Dollar Gallery Holiday Show – Denver
Castle Rock Art Fest – Castle Rock, CO
“The Wide Open Spaces,” Joan Hanley Gallery – La Veta, CO
Crested Butte Festival of the Arts – Crested Butte, CO
Littleton Fine Art Festival – Littleton, CO
12th Annual Summer Art Market – Denver

2003
Crested Butte Festival of the Arts – Crested Butte, CO
Castle Rock Art Fest – Castle Rock, CO
Trinidad National Fine Art Exhibition – A.R. Mitchell Museum -Trinidad, CO
Englewood Arts National Art Show – Museum of Outdoor Arts – Englewood, CO
11th Annual Summer Art Market – Denver

Awards
Merit Award, 2015 Governor’s Show – Loveland, CO
1st Place, Oil Painting, 2009 Lone Tree Art Exhibition – Lone Tree, CO
Mastery of Media Award, 2008 Summer Art Market – Denver
Best in Show, 2007 Lone Tree Art Exhibition – Lone Tree, CO
2nd Place, Works on Canvas, 2006 Lone Tree Art Exhibition – Lone Tree, CO
City of Castle Rock purchased painting for their collection, September, 2004
1st Place Fine Art, 2003 Crested Butte Festival of the Arts – Crested Butte, CO
Honorable Mention, 2003 Pastel Journal “Pastel 100”
Purchase Award, 2003 Englewood Arts National Fine Art Exhibition – Englewood, CO
Best Pastel Painting, 2002 Fall Art Festival – Glenwood Springs, CO
Best Non-Figurative Drawing, 2002 Linear Simplicity Show, Zwolf Gallery – Denver
Finalist, 2002 Delta Dental Holiday Card Competition – Denver
Honorable Mention, 2001 NCAA National Art Exhibition
People’s Choice Award, 2000 Artists of Colorado V – Denver
1st & 3rd Place Pastels, 2000 Artists of Colorado V – Denver
Holbein Award, 2000 National Pastel Painting Exhibition – Albuquerque, NM
Honorable Mention, TVAL 2000 Regional Art Show – Loveland, CO

It is with great passion that artist, Ardith Starostka, has a desire to create works of art that capture the likeness and emotion of the human face and form. Primarily working in oils, many of Ardith’s current paintings combine the realistic figure with a touch of surrealism to add another dimension to her work.

The artist has exhibited and won awards in an extensive list of international as well as national competitions which include; the Art Renewal Center International Juried Show, the Portrait Society of America’s International Portrait & Figurative Competition, the International Guild of Realism Juried Competition and the National Arts for The Parks Juried Competition, Oil Painters of America International Annual Exhibition, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society National Exhibition and the Nebraska Biennial. The artist has also been more recently featured in publications such as the International Artist magazine, Epoch Times, American Art Collector magazine, Southwest Art magazine, Plein Air magazine, Omaha Magazine and the Art & Freedom publication sponsored by the MEAM museum in Barcelona, Spain.

Ardith has produced paintings that now grace the walls of collectors, corporations and museums across the United States.

In addition to her editorial, curatorial and design work, Vanessa Françoise Rothe is a fine artist exhibiting the last 15 years alongside the Nation’s top artists in galleries, art clubs, as well as Fine Art Museums. She is proud to be an official Artist Member of the famed Salmagundi Art Club in New York, a Signature member of the American Impressionist Society as well as its Educational Advisor, and an Artist member of the California Art Club. 

Vanessa had her classical fine art training at Laguna College of Art and Design with honors throughout. She was named one of the “Artists for a New Century” from the Bennington Center of the Arts in 2012. Rothe began her art career with three successful solo exhibitions at Wendt Gallery in Laguna Beach, along with an impressive list of group shows including: Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction, The Laguna Beach Art Museum, the Annual American Impressionist Society Exhibitions, The California Museum of Fine Art, The Bennington Center for the Arts, Galerie DDG in Paris, France, Galerie L Oeil de Prince, The Salmagundi Club New York, J. Willott Gallery, and California Art Club exhibitions. After exhibiting at Wendt Gallery for 4 years, she currently owns Vanessa Rothe Fine Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, exhibiting top International artists and at many exhibitions and events worldwide. 

Vanessa grew up in the artists’ colony of Laguna Beach, CA, the daughter to a well-known German clothing designer to the Stars, Detlev Rothe, and her French mother Jacqueline Ricaud. She received scholarships to study Business/Marketing and French Literature at the University of San Diego, University of CA, Irvine, and later studied Fine Art at the Laguna College of Art and Design. In addition to traditional schooling, she has had the opportunity to study at fine art ateliers in France and Italy as well as directly with many professional contemporary painters. 

Influenced by a blend of classical traditional representational art and Impressionist works by masters such as Sargent, Sorolla, Wendt, Payne, Manet, Cassatt, Repin, as well as modern master friends such as Scott Burdick, Susan Lyon, Jeremy Lipking, Michelle Dunaway, and Ray Roberts she takes the essence of a subject and captures its charm with the use of color, shadows, and light. The natural simplicity of her work, her visible brush strokes and pleasing color combinations form a realist yet slightly impressionistic style which her collectors admire. Her subjects include the beautiful landscapes of France, Switzerland and Italy, the allure of historic cities such as Paris and Venice, classic California seascapes with still life as well as new figurative work. 

Rothe is proud to be sponsored by Savoir Faire, Sennelier, Isabey, Artfix, Raphael with Pierre Yann Guidetti.

Carol Jenkins lives in Ward, Colorado, a small town in the Rocky Mountains  and has been a professional painter of oils for many years. She currently shows in galleries in Colorado, California and Connecticut.  Specializing in oils, her formal training took place at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and her style has been refined through studies with acclaimed artists  throughout the west.

Her work has been included in  multiple national juried and invitational shows and she has been honored to  receive many awards for her paintings.

Some of her recent awards include:

2017 Best of Show, Plein Air Painters Colorado, Mary Williams Fine Art, Boulder, Co.
2017 PleinAir Salon, August-September National Contest, Third Place Overall Award
2016 Artists Choice Award, 29^th Annual Womens history Month Exhibition, Estes Park,Co
2015 Award of Excellence, Oil painters of America Western Regional Show, Wild Horse Gallery, Steamboat Springs