Editor’s Note: Diego Velez tells stories through his paintings. I got a chance to talk with him about his perspectives on art and life recently. He told me that being an artist is something that keeps him humble and grateful of what he has. There is so much beauty in the process of creating that he does not even need to drink when he’s working; the painting quenches his thirst. He believes an artist spiritually ingests coals made from different trees to get the essence of these different colors and after creating, the art is a way to let people experience these images for years to come. But his passion goes beyond art, as he tells me his thoughts on the universe and humanity, “The earth doesn’t ask permission to reshape itself.” We present to…

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Rod Stewart sang it best in song, and Charlotte Penabel’s Etsy collages take flight over Rod in image and words. Click on each image to enlarge it so you can read their titles. And for even more fun, listen to Rod sing the “Every Picture Tells A Story” as you enjoy Charlotte’s collages. ** Artist’s Statement I find a lot of visual appeal in pop culture, glamour, vintage Hollywood, femininity and anything glittery – but I don’t think I could create a feminine or aesthetically pleasing digital collage without emulating a subtle undertone of suffering and self loathing to the celebrity-crazed world we live in. I am fascinated, pained and enchanted by first-world culture and the effects, power and persuasion images can have on us as a mass consumed society. For every collage I create,…

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Photographer’s Note: In selecting these photos taken during a recent trip to Morocco, I focused on the many layers that exist in Morocco. Often what you see when you are wandering the streets is just the veneer, and what’s hidden behind it is surprising, simple, and profound. The photos range from the many different environments in Morocco: city, mountains, desert, but they all portray the many layers of life in Morocco. Please click on the photos to see a larger image. * * * * * * * * * ** Michael Calcagno is a freelance photo editor and photographer based in Brooklyn, where he explores the city with his camera in search of the unexpected. He loves finding the intersections of humanity and nature through photography. In selecting his photos, he strives to capture…

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Editor’s Note: Please welcome Belle Brett to the Café as she shares her photography, watercolor paintings and collages. Here is a little more information on her art, in her own words. “As the daughter of an artist/art teacher I have been making art my whole life, but only in the last few years, as I have cut back on my paid work, has art-making become a central occupation. After exploring many artistic media through classes, I have settled primarily on three: watercolor painting, collage, and photography. Each taps into a different creative need but in all of them, I am interested in pattern, color, shape, and the play of light, focusing on a strong composition rather than literal representation. I often choose a theme (e.g., rooftops, urban life, shoreline) and try to convey that theme in…

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Editor’s Note: We are so excited to bring you the wood sculptures of Wally Berger. You won’t want to miss a single detail! Please click on any image to enlarge. Grab a hot cuppa to sip while you ponder the cosmic quandaries Wally poses with his art. We hope you enjoy our Featured Artist for May. * * * Wallace G. Berger, Ph.D., has been an active artist since 2005, creating his work in Melbourne, FL and Saratoga Springs, NY. His art addresses themes that are theoretical, spiritual, and cosmic and cannot be seen in the real world. These themes, never the less, affect our perception of the world. He creates 2 and 3-dimensional art, as well as kinetic sculptures. The work blends impressionist, and realist elements. The medium is exotic and native solid woods…

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Editor’s Note: Roger Leege’s Photoart combines analog photography with digital artist’s tools, resulting in a blending of reality and fantasy. The images below are from a series of “portraits”, both animate and not quite, that he’s been working on during the past couple of years. Click any image to enlarge.                 * * * About Roger Leege: I am a former painter, printmaker, and analog photographer (BA and MA, Visual Arts, Goddard College) who, as an early adopter of small computer technology, has become an advocate and evangelist for digital art and artists’ tools.  I’ve been fortunate to have print, gallery, and online publication credits in the US, Canada, the UK, and Germany.  I keep a portfolio site at rogerleege.net and use roger-leege.pixels.com for custom printing and online…

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While touring Taiwan in December, 2016, I was fortunate to attend an exhibition of Lee Yuan-hai’s ink paintings at Taipei’s National Museum of History. I’d never been to this museum before and knew nothing of the painter, but learned about him quite by fortune or serendipity. Here’s how it happened. My wife and I were in Taipei to attend our niece’s wedding. Wanting to give her a and her husband a gift of art and lasting permanence, I had chosen on of the few remaining serigraphs from my mother, who was a well respected artist in her own right. I brought it rolled up in a cardboard tube and intended to have it matted and framed upon arrival. That worked out quite well. The framing shop was about four blocks from our hotel and when we…

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Editor’s Note: We hope you enjoy the sights of downtown Philadelphia. We think that the true beauty of the city can be seen through Julia’s use of black and white photography, capturing the grandeur and minutia all around her. Please click on any image to enlarge.   * * *                           * * * Julia is a freelance photographer and photo editor in Philadelphia where she explores the city with her camera and Siberian Husky. She enjoys shooting black-and-white photography to get the look of classic film photography, and she aspires to capture beauty in the every day aspects of city life with details and texture that may get overlooked in color photography. Julia is an aspiring travel photographer and dreams of being…

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From Martha Leduc: I like symmetry, I like things to feel connected. Maybe being an only child, I longed for connection. My paintings explore order and chaos, tension between shapes and colors in order to then unify them. Expressive lines and ambiguous images appeal to me. In some cases, the work looks chaotic but there is always an underlying line or shape striving to unify the elements.                     * * * Martha Leduc is an artist living in New York. You can see more of her work on her website. She’s also a friend of Fictional Café member and former Featured Writer/Artist/Musician Phil Demise Smith. She does small illustrations of New York in pen and animal paintings on paper. She really enjoys doing both realistic little…

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