World Art Dubai 🌍, Wildlife Hyperrealists 🐆, Thumbnail Sketch Challenge ✏️
And other stories from this week in the realism art movement
🌟 Mainstream
Amirata Winter: The Road to World Art Dubai 2025
World Art Dubai (WAD) is an upcoming four-day art fair, taking place from April 17 to 20, 2025, which aims to connect artists, galleries, and art enthusiasts, alleviating the isolation often felt by creatives. With over 10,000 artworks from more than 400 participants, the event serves as a significant platform for artists like Amirata Winter, who will present his contemporary realist works, including new pieces and established favorites. Winter emphasizes the importance of cultural exchange and storytelling in his art, viewing WAD as an opportunity to engage with diverse audiences and explore new influences.
👩🎨 Artist Features
Deeksha Chauhan- A Self-Taught Wildlife Artist
Deeksha Chauhan, a self-taught wildlife artist, uses hyper-realistic paintings to advocate for animal welfare and conservation. Inspired by personal loss and the cruelty towards animals, she turned to art as a powerful voice for the voiceless, selling her works to fund animal welfare initiatives. With a focus on educating children about wildlife, Deeksha aims to foster empathy and responsibility towards nature, envisioning her art as a catalyst for change in conservation efforts.
Swapnil Nevgi Surrealist Painter: Interview
Artist Swapnil Nevgi shares insights into his journey as a realist painter, emphasizing his deep connection to nature and its role in inspiring his work. He discusses how stepping away to reconnect with the outdoors and experimenting with different techniques help him overcome creative blocks. Nevgi relies on high-quality materials, including oil paints and linen canvases, to capture the beauty of wildlife, aiming to instill a sense of peace in viewers through his art.
Artist Directory: Tom Christophersen
Tom Christophersen is a non-binary Queer artist whose work explores themes of beauty, death, and identity through surrealistic portraits and films. Their mixed media pieces often incorporate fairytale elements and Queer narratives, aiming to provoke discussions on self-representation and community. Christophersen's art not only reflects personal experiences but also documents LGBTQIA+ issues, blending cultural references to challenge the norms of celebrity and identity.
Tristan Elwell: Creating Stories without Words
Tristan Elwell's artistic journey began with strong familial support, which led him to become an accomplished illustrator whose work appears on numerous book and magazine covers. He creates dreamlike and surreal illustrations that often take years to develop, with his winning piece, "Inversion," exemplifying his unique style and narrative depth. In addition to his personal projects, Elwell teaches illustration, emphasizing the importance of finding and cultivating one's artistic voice in an evolving industry.
🎨 Learn
Starting a Painting with Design and Values - Realism Today
Jim Wodark demonstrates landscape painting techniques in a recent tutorial, beginning with a thumbnail sketch and progressing through various stages of color application and value establishment. He emphasizes the importance of using contrasting colors to draw attention to key elements in the composition. Artists of all skill levels can learn from Wodark in person at the Plein Air Convention & Expo in Lake Tahoe and Reno, scheduled for May 19-23, 2025.
10-Minute Thumbnail Sketch Challenge: Birds - Realism Today
Realism Today presents a 10-minute video montage featuring various Florida birds to help artists practice drawing thumbnail sketches. The video displays three reference photos for three minutes each, encouraging viewers to share their sketches on Instagram. The challenge is made possible through the wildlife photography of Don Schroder.
📚 History
Coded: J. C. Leyendecker Documentary | Muddy Colors
The documentary "Coded: The Hidden Love of J. C. Leyendecker" is now available for streaming on Paramount Plus and can also be viewed on Delta flights. This 29-minute film, which was shortlisted for an Oscar, explores Leyendecker's impact on illustration and the transition of his role to Norman Rockwell. Viewers can also check out a YouTube documentary by Kaz Rowe for a deeper dive into Leyendecker's life and work, which complements the insights gained from "Coded."
Was Rembrandt Inspired by the Story of Queen Esther?
The Jewish Museum’s exhibition, "The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt," explores the biblical story of Esther as a symbol of resilience during the Dutch fight for independence. The show presents artworks from Rembrandt and his contemporaries, linking the Purim narrative to Dutch identity and Jewish history, though some connections feel tenuous and may oversimplify the artistic tradition.
💼 Opportunities
Show us what you’ve got! 2025 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize entries
Entries for the 2025 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize are now open, inviting artists to submit their best work across six award categories, including Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Digital Art, Photography, and the Emerging Artist Award. The Grand Prize winner will receive $10,000 USD, and all shortlisted finalists will gain significant international promotion through Beautiful Bizarre Magazine. A special Seibert-Collection Honourable Mention will also be awarded, and public voting for the People’s Choice Award will open on August 22, 2025.
💰 Auction House
Sotheby's recently held its Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in Paris, featuring prominent European artists, primarily French. The auction took place on April 10 and achieved nearly €19 million in sales, with a sell-through rate of 94.6%. Leading the sale was Henri Matisse's "Nu sur la chaise longue," which sold for €1.7 million, reflecting Matisse's evolution in style and influence from contemporaries like Renoir.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of The Classical Realist.
Best regards,
Fletcher Graham