|
|
|
 |
Fountain Creek Productions
1-800-433-5858 |
We have selected three highly talented artists to be our primary
contributors. They are Rudl Mergelman, Eric Westfall, and Ellen Hromyko. Each was selected for his artistic talent, skills in sculpting,
and area of interest. They all have proven records and clearly demonstrate
an expertise in his field. We are fortunate to have secured their skills
and to be able offer you their work.
In addition to our primary contributors, we supplement our collection
from selected free lance artists – only if they meet our quality
standards and subject line. These Juried
Artists are all very accomplished and bring a variety of styles to
choose form.
|
|
Rudl Mergelman
|
|
Rudl was born and raised in the Gunnison Valley of
western Colorado. He is the third generation of a pioneer family moving west. He graduated
with a fine art degree from Western State College in Gunnison and taught art in the public
schools for several years. He has since worked in commercial art and design while
producing personal work from his studio.
His sculpture and painting subjects reflect his culture and love
of the west. Always an avid outdoorsman, Rudl carefully studies and observes the nature
and character of his wildlife subjects. That keen observation is, for him, naturally
translated to his fine art in both technical accuracy and the image of the work.
Rudl says, "When I do a piece, I try to present the character
of the subject as well as the physical likeness. To me a piece is a success only of the
situation is as accurate as the animal."
|
|
|
Ellen Hromyko
|
| An Ohio native, Ellen Hromyko had a passion for art since childhood. She is a painting artist but prefers to create three dimensionally showing her full range of talents. She earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree from the renowned Cleveland Institute of Art and was selected as an outstanding student and selected to display her work in various Cleveland Institute of Art shows. Ellen has the unusual ability to listen to our general description of needed designs and present ideas and finished work well beyond expectation.
She is a busy mother of two mischievous boys who love to hunt and play out side there farm home in Ohio. As president of the school's PTO and taking her sons to all sporting events, she still finds time to create sculpture designs for us.
"Sculpture design allows me to fully present artwork. Scale and proportion in design are much more demanding than painting and knowing others can enjoy and appreciate quality drives me to excel. I want to design well knowing that the piece will be in someone's home and truly appreciate that compliment."
|
|
|
Eric Westfall
|
| Eric came to
Colorado to fulfill his passion of sculpting and to become a full
time artist. He feels that the rugged mountains, western setting,
and abundant wildlife provide him unlimited subject material. He has
trained under a nationally recognized sculptor and has won local
sculpting awards. Eric is always perfecting his sculpting skills
with the goal of making each new design better than his last, a
difficult task considering his impressive achievements. He brings to
us the skills and sensitivity to capture the human form, expression
and situations we can all relate to.
|
|
|
Juried Artists
|
In addition to our primary contributors,
we supplement our collection from selected free lance artists –
only if they meet our quality standards and subject line. These Juried
Artists are all very accomplished and bring a variety of
styles to choose form.
Bill
Babby
Bill is a self-taught artist with Sioux Indian ancestry
who's had a life-long interest in Indian and wildlife art
sculpture. For the past 20 years he has produced many
privately-helf works appreciated for their great detail and
character.
Jann L. Bach
Jann has set aside her career as a practicing
attorney to sculpt and raise a family. Primarily focusing on
equine sculptures, Jann has also designed a variety of wildlife
pieces including the bookends included in our wildlife line. She
has won numerous awards in art shows and has earned a place in
every juried show she has entered. As one can see from here work
here, Jann’s work features realism and fine detail. A demanding
educational background has transferred to an equal demand for
quality in all of Jann’s work.
Michael A. Balas
Michael Balas has found his calling as a
wildlife sculptor! His speciality is birds and fish which Michael
takes pride in sculpting each feather or scale. He has been chosen
to show at the highly selective National Wildlife Art Show in
Kansas City where he won "Best of Show" in bronze and
woodcarving catagories. His original work is shown in galleries in
New York, California, New Mexico and Colorado.
Susan Beller
Susan has derived her art skills from private
art teachers to a university BFA degree. She has been selected to
show her work in fine art galleries from Alaska to Colorado and
was the featured artist at the Lafayette Art Center in Colorado.
Her sculpting goal is to reflect realism in her pieces. She state
that, "sculpture must show movement and emotion through
detail. Design composition must be noticed from all sides of the
piece."
Diana Nicoletti
Diana continues to perfect her already proficient artistic
skills by commissioned paintings and sculpting. Her formal
training is founded through university training where she was
accepted to and completed her masters in fine art degree from
Temple University in Philadelphia.
She has been shown in juried shows from the Lincoln Center to
Walnut Creek in California. Diana is not only a professional
artist but shares her talent by teaching sculpture. Through her
work, Diana’s belief that, "the artist must simplify yet
retain the complex beauty and detail of the subject," is
evident.
Rolly
Randall
Rolly’s sculpting skills began to develop when
he was nine years old. He has used both his self-taught skills and
those acquired from his alma matter of University of Northern
Colorado. Primarily a wood carver, Rolly has transferred those
skills to Fountain Creek Productions where he is contributing to
our Western line. Rolly’s style is to show great detail and
movement his works. His final pieces are held in museums,
financial institutions and collected by private individuals who
appreciate Rolly’s demand for perfection.
Ray Shaw
Ray
is a nationally renowned wildlife artist who specializes in the very
difficult task of sculpting and painting birds. A former practicing
falconer, Ray’s love for birds and animals is reflected in his
art. His paintings are reproduced as limited edition prints and his
sculptures are available here in hydrostone and fine pewter. He was
selected to attend the Robert Bateman Masters class and his work has
toured major museums as part of the prestigious "Art in the
Parks" traveling exhibit.
Mike Spindle
Mike has over 17 years experience as a professional artist. He
has designed for such renowned companies as Walt Disney, Kenner,
Hasbro, and Hallmark Cards. Mike’s attraction for wildlife
combined with sculpting skills have resulted in several life-like
and highly desired sculptures included in our line.
Mike’s creative nature does not stop with art. He also writes
screenplays for animation and live action, but admits that it is
sculpting that is his calling. When not working in his own studio,
Mike teaches art in a private art school.
Stan Sweaney
As a native of Colorado Springs, Stan has taken
advantage of the opportunity explore the vast areas of wilderness
in Colorado and the western US. He has captured the beauty and
vastness of the west in his finely detailed paintings and
sculpture. As a fine art graduate from Colorado State University,
Stan has a wide range of skills and interest, but it is wildlife
and landscape art where his interests are and where he clearly
excels.
Being offered several athletic and art scholarships, Stan
selected CSU for his formal training. Stan continued his art
training when he was selected to attend the Robert Bateman Masters
Class in 1990. Stan’s skills are widely evidenced by his many
awards including being judged by his peers as "Best in the
World" at the World Wildlife Art Festival in Georgia.
Stan’s sculpture work is characterized by the many fine lines
he includes and showing almost hair by hair detail in his
carvings. To get this level of detail, Stan spends hours studying
his subjects and photographing them before beginning his
sculpture. He is never finished with a piece. It is only when the
foundry finally takes it away for casting is he done.
Laura VanTine
As a pre-med student turned artist, Laura is
particularly attentive to anatomy. She will go so far as to sculpt
her people figurines first without clothes then dress them with
the flair of a fashion designer. Her intricate designs are brought
to life through her research of the subject, not just their
appearance but their history and environment as well to bring an
authentic "feel" of the sculpture to life.
|
|
