Below is my research about contemporary artists of figurative painting genre.

Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1922)

Edmund Blair Leighton was a British painter of historical genre, Victorian Romanticism. He was born on the 21st of September 1853 in the family of artist Charles Blair Leighton. He received his education at University College School and later on studied at at the Royal Academy Schools. Edmund Blair Leighton is famous with his “highly finished, beautifully  painted, decorative paintings” and his efforts of  “aiding the public mind to an appreciation of  the romance attaching to antiquity”.  To me also he is a great master of little detail, colours and  atmosphere . He was one of the best masters  of delivering with his brushstrokes a very  true, delicate, subtle and profound  human emotions in his paintings. Below are some of my favorite paintings of him.

“The wedding register”, 1920, oil on canvas; image via artuk.org; below

”The Accolade”, 1901, oil on canvas; image via Christies.com; Below

”God speed”, 1900, oil on canvas, image via christies.com;  below

 

Jeanette Jarville, Vancouver, Canada

Jeanette Jarville is a contemporary artist who created abstract and representational figurative  paintings using bold lines and colour. Her artworks are considered as contemporary abstract expressionism.  She describes her technique in her interview for artsyshark.com as “…. I consider myself as intuitive figurative painter, … I have developed a style that combines classical techniques with contemporary elements that resonate with me. …I start with bold, fluid lines, often with a quick gesture charcoal drawing. then I layer transparent, vibrant colours- balancing thin to thick paint – and finish with jewel tone glazes…. For me, the creative process is an expressive energy; a playful, mindful, exploration and discovery”. She  started to paint early and sold her first psi tings at age 11. She received her  artistic education at Emily Carr University of Art and Design and at Weissensee Fine Art Academy of Berlin, Germany. She has received numerous awards in Canada and regularly  exhibits her works.

 

1) ”3 Graces” , acrylic on canvas; 2) ”Me Too”, oil on canvas; 3) “Reading  between the lines”, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas;

Pilar Lopez Baez (1981-), Aranjuenz, Spain

Pilar Lopez Baez  is Spanish figurative drawing artist, she was born in Madrid, 1981. She  has got two degrees in Art: she graduated in History of Arts at Complutense University of Madrid  and holds her Master  degree in  Graphic Design at Cice Advanced Studies Centre, Madrid . I personally like her works for catching the mood of her subjects, many of which are children. She paints human figures in move and she is able to bring a sense of joyful dynamism.She has participated in galleries all around Spain and made several solo exhibitions. She also has got many awards in national competitions in Spain. Currently she works and lives in Aranjuez, Spain.

In her artist statement  on her website she says: “….My paintings are reflection on memory, identity and oblivion. I hope my artworks awake the  memories of the viewer. So that,  I paint everyday situations. I choose important life moments such as childhood or Christmas holidays….I am looking for the empathy of the viewer and therefore my paintings are realistic. But realism is not something photographic. The mixed techniques allow me to explore new types of representation”.

I picked some of her works below, please, from right to left.

“Juego de ninos” mixed media on panel, 2018;

“La alegria de vivir”, mixed media on panel, 2017;

“El Ultim salto”; “El mundo es bello”; “El tempo suspendido”;

all images via pilarlopezbaez.com;

Lauren Brevner (living artist, could not find her date of birth)

Lauren Brevner is a contemporary artists with a strong focus on figurative drawing and painting of female portraits and figures. She was born and raised in Vancouver, canada in  the multicultural family what de her being exposed to a very diverse art culture from young age. In 2009 she moved to Osaka where she studied traditional Japanese art under a mentorship of a renowned artist Sin Nakayamal. Lauren Brevner creates mixed media portraits of women that also  resemble artworks of Gustav Klimt. She is also inspired by  traditional Japanese craft and is using wooden panels and combination of materials such as oils, acrylic, paint, resin, wood,  gold leaf and traditional Japanese paper. Some art critics name her as  a “Queen of mixed media”. Her painting technique and creative process  is very intricate because her art pieces are at least 2 inches thick.  It is described quite in a detail in the article on  camila-art-world.com: “First she draws a female character directly on the wood panel, then layers the figure`s underpaiting in acrylic, however the portraits  are always painted  with oil. Once this has dried she applies up to five layers of transparent resin, adding intricate details of each layer and blow torching it to achieve her signature smooth surfaces. Still her process is far from being over. Subsequently, she applies gold; silver, and/or copper leaves on to the distance layers of resin and then design an intricate collage of Japanese/Chinese paper to dress up “her girls”. I also can not resist not to bring here another comment from the author of this article: “ depicting powerful and ethically diverse zones while blending ancient and modern art techniques defines the jaw dropping aesthetic mastered by Lauren Brevner and surely inspired,  just a bit, by Mr Gustav Klimt”;

Below are some of her artworks named from left to right;  all images are   via @laurenbrevner  page in Instagram

”Amlaranth”, 2014,  Oil, acrylic, mixed media and resin on wood panel;

“New Blood”, 2017; Oil, acrylic, mixed media and resin on wood panel;

”Toshi No Seishin”, 2015, Oil, acrylic, mixed media and resin on wood panel;

 

Aleh Chapin (1986-)

Aleh Chaplin is a contemporary American artist. She was born on an island of north Seattle, Washington. She received her BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in 2009 and did her MFA at New York Academy of Art in 2012. She has been a recipient of  art scholarships and grants, and won  the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery  in London.  Her models for her paintings are, as she says it on her web site “the individuals  I paint come  from my life. They are my aunties, my mother, my friends; old and new. They are mothers, writers, dancers, singers, entrepreneurs, musicians, photographers, activists, painters, sculptors, scientists, biologists, funeral directors, goat farmers, coders, doulas, landscape designers, astrologists, fashion designers, actors and guild makers.” Aleh paints mostly female figures and forms with a focus on aging process and later phase of life. In her interview for she-explores.com the artists says: “ .. I am drawn to the human form because of its universality and the way it unifies us. I want to a paint every details because through those details, we can see the stories of our lives”. She puts her subjects in to nature surroundings and explains this as follows: “… I realized it was actually the relationship between our bodies and the landscape that fascinated me. I wanted to be in the mountains and forests because of the way it made my body and would feel. I became interested in how the outer landscape mirrored and affected the inner one”.

Aleh Chapin “And It Caught Fire”, oil on canvas, 2019; image via artsy.net;

Aleh Chapin “Auntie”, oil on canvas, 2011; image via artsy.net

Aleh Chaplin “Splitting in Silence”, Oil on canvas, 2019; image via alehchapin.com;

 

Reference list:

1) “34 figurative artists” http://www.figuratuiveartist.com;

2) “Edmund Blair Leighton: A collection of 92 paintings”, YouTube, LearnFromMasters channel;

3) “The Art of Edmund Blair Leighton”, YouTube, Medieval Review;

4) “Leighton, Edmund Blair, 1853-1922”, allartclassic.com;

5) “Featured Artist Jeanette Jarville”; interview on  artsyshark.com;

6) “Jeanette Jarville Fine Art. Contemporary abstract Expressionism”; http://www.jjarville.com;

7) “Pilar Lopez Baez”, http://www.saatchiart.com;

8) http://www.pilarlopezbaez.com;

9) “These Female Artists Are pushing  Figurative Painting Forward”, artsy editorial by Casey Lesser; June 10th; 2016,www.artsy.net

10) “8 Contemporary Portrait Artists Who Are Reinventing One of Art `s Oldest Subjects”, by Emma Taggart, September, 2018 on  www.mymodernmet.com; 

11) “Lauren Brevner” Camila-art-world-com; 

12) “Alex Chapin” featured on artsy.net;

13) Aleh Chapin, models, alehchapin.com;

14) “Aleh Chapin. Within Wilds, Painter”  on she-explores.com;