A mural by artist John Zaccheo was featured on one of the Wheel of Fortune sets last week, during Wheel’s “Fabulous Food” theme week. The mural was produced by one of our licensing partners. Wheel of Fortune – created by Merv Griffin is the longest-running syndicated game show in United States television history, with over 5,000 episodes aired. This is excellent exposure for both the artist and manufacturer.

Wheel of Fortune, Fab Food Week

Talented artist, Ms. Lucie Bilodeau has a diverse portfolio of African Wildlife, photo-realistic kittens as well as florals and landscape.... Lucie’s favorite model is her companion, Max. Below are photos of Lucie at her home and studio in Massachusetts.

View her entire portfolio.

Lucie at workLucie en plain airLucie's work

Charlsie Kelly el Sur Sign

While in Costa Rica, watercolor artist Charlsie Kelly, was hired to redecorate a small hotel in San Jose. This opportunity has opened other doors for such a talented artist.

"The first wall paintings I did in Costa Rica were at the Hemingway Hotel in San Jose.  A small and charming hotel, it looked as if either hard times had hit it or maybe the management didn't visit the rooms very often.  What I discovered was that the manager was a gentleman in his early 20's from the States, and decorating wasn't a priority; besides, he was working full time at all the other necessary duties that come with running a hotel.  I suggested to him that I would be happy to dress up some of the rooms as an "inter cambio", barter in Spanish, and that I could be his Costa Rican version of Martha Stewart.  He didn't seem to pay much attention to my idea, but later in the month, when his mother came down to visit from Virginia, I got a passionate plea by e-mail asking me how fast I could make it back to the Hemingway.  It seems that his mother had come down on him hard for clearly lacking a woman's touch, oboy!"
 
"That young man became a good friend, and I was welcomed at the Hemingway anytime!"

Charlsie Kelly Rec Room Mural

Charlsie Kelly Rec Room Mural 2

Charlsie Kelly Bedroom Mural

Charlsie Kelly Bedroom Mural 2

Charlsie Kelly with Volunteers

"While painting at the Hemingway I met a wonderful woman who was working with a multi-national volunteer organization, and she invited me to a tiny mountain village to mentor young people and paint murals.  So cool, the community of el Sur de Turrubares has only 57 people, most of them related in some way, and it's only accessable by horse or major 4 wheel drive, still easy to be stuck in the mud for hours.  A beautiful, beautiful village with a clear and cold river, wild orchids, mangos, frogs, you name it.  Total paradise.  I've been there many times to paint in the volunteer quarters, the towns only business  (the general store owned by the "mayor"),  worked with the kids on paper mache projects, and even painted a life-sized crucifixion scene in the church."
 
"Another friend I met at the hotel invited me to her vacation home in a small village on the Caribean, and after that first trip I made sure to bring my paints with me each time I visit.  I've painted the front of the house with a jungle scene and done faux bamboo in a rental apartment that's there as well."
 
"The Hemingway then had a new manager and I continued to paint for him, and when he moved on to a position at a Spanish language academy he asked me to meet the owners there and paint some murals.  Inter cambio for Spanish lessons, and a bit of money too.  So now with my Spanish improving I felt easier in presenting myself to other hotels, restaurants, etc."
 

Charlsie Kelly Dining Room Mural

"One thing leads to another, and right now I've got 4 jobs lined up in Manuel Antonio and Quepos, beautiful beach towns on the Pacific.  And when I return to California at the end of the month I'll continue with murals in a great seafood restaurant in Moss Landing.  I  approached the own

er of Phil's Fish Market and Eatery after seeing Phil win the throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network after getting my first television in Costa Rica.  I turned on the set and saw faces I recognized from my home town area, and thought it must be some kind of sign - and I've been painting there for almost a year.  Too much fun, for sure!"
 
"The folks working at these hotels and restaurants have become extended family for me, and I am so lucky to be surrounded by wonderful people wherever I go.  I think it's all about making people smile and be happy, and I am the happiest of all."

Clark Hulings Ob photoClark Hulings, an Artist who Pursued Timeless Beauty, Dies at Age 88 Clark Hulings, whose paintings are prized by art collectors worldwide, died on Wednesday, February 2, 2011, in Santa Fe, N.M., where he lived. He was 88. As one of the leading American realist painters, Mr. Hulings traveled the world looking for rural and urban landscapes and genre scenes that became the subjects of paintings reflecting the vibrancy of the human spirit. Mr. Hulings' subject matter was gathered throughout North America and Europe, notably France, Italy, and Spain, where he lived as a child and frequently visited as an adult. Among his signature subjects are complex Mexican and European market scenes and donkeys - his trademark. Throughout his career Mr. Hulings maintained a personal profile far lower than his national acclaim. Born in Florida, November 20, 1922, Mr. Hulings was raised in Westfield, N.J. Over his lifetime, he resided in New York, Louisiana, and throughout Europe before settling in Santa Fe in 1972. His art training began as a teenager with Sigismund Ivanowsky and George Bridgman and continued at The Art Students League with Frank Reilly. With a degree in physics from Haverford College, Pa., Hulings pursued an initial career as a portraitist in Louisiana, followed by freelance illustration in New York, notably paperback book covers, during the 1950s. By the early 1960s, Mr. Hulings devoted himself to easel paintings. In 1965 he debuted in New York, N.Y., at The Grand Central Art Galleries. In 1976 he was the subject of a solo exhibition at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Center, Oklahoma City, Ok., which was documented in the book HulingsA Collection of Oil Paintings (Lowell Press), followed in 1978 by a retrospective at the Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX, and a 1981 exhibition at the C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Mt. Most recently, Mr. Hulings' work was the subject of a 2007 one-man exhibition at J.N. Bartfield Galleries, New York, and Morris & Whiteside Galleries, Hilton Head, S.C. His scheduled exhibition of paintings at the Forbes Galleries, New York, takes place March 23 through June 18, 2011. In 1986, Mr. Hulings authored the book A Gallery of Paintings by Clark Hulings (White Burro Publishing). The book was updated and reissued in soft cover in 2006. His paintings have been included in countless articles and surveys such as The Majesty of the Grand Canyon: 150 Years of Art (Pomegranate Press) and Landscapes of New Mexico: Paintings of the Land of Enchantment (Fresco Fine Art Publishing). He is the recipient of awards from organizations such as The Allied Artists of America, The Salmagundi Club and The Hudson Valley Art Association. In 1973 he received the Prix de West award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, where his painting Grand Canyon, Kaibab Trail is in the permanent collection. In his adopted state, Mr. Hulings was recognized with his first one-man show in 1945 at the New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe. In 1985, the museum installed a Hulings plaque on its artist walk of fame; and in 2004, he received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. Mr. Hulings is survived by his wife Mary Belfi Hulings, daughter Elizabeth Hulings Diamond, son-in-law Patrick Diamond, grandson Nicolas Diamond, one sister, Susan Ottinger, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Arrangements are under the direction of Berardinelli Family Funeral Service 1399 Luisa Street Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 984-8600 Please sign our guestbook for the family at: www.berardinellifuneralhome.com

Clark Hulings is featured at The Forbes Collection March 23 - June 18, 2011. The Forbes Galleries, located in Forbes Magazine’s headquarters in New York City, will present a rare glimpse into the remarkable career of the American Master, Clark Hulings (1922-2011) March 22nd through June 18, 2011. The collection will encompass twelve countries and five decades, including figurative, still life, landscape and architectural subjects.Twenty-one oils and drawings will be available by minimum bid silent auction through Morris & Whiteside Galleries, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. For information on these paintings and drawings please contact the gallery via email or call 843.842.34433. The selection will also include an unprecedented group of twenty-two paintings from the artist’s personal collection, (not for sale) many never before seen publicly.  Paintings from selected private collections in Connecticut, Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico and Texas will also be featured.