Maple Ranch collection

Pietro Adamo

 The paintings of Pietro Adamo are an abstract celebration of the artist’s admiration for the “unpredictable and inexhaustible record of life. Adamo abandons the monotony of conventional rendering of geometric forms through his textured surfaces and rough contours. In his passion to convey emotion, Adamo intimately works his canvases to emerge and recede within the canvas. This juxtaposition of presence is what gives Adamo’s work its mood and sensational quality. Adamo clearly delights in the unbridled, intuitive nature of his forms that enable him to evoke sensations and emotions. Adamo emphasizes his art’s liberation quality: “I have to paint…to speak without words, to express myself without restrictions…never relenting.” One can find optimism and strength in his work as he combines sophisticated geometric spatial relationships with raw, emotional use of color. Born in Toronto, Canada in 1955, Adamo currently resides with his family in the town of Kleinburg, Ontario. After graduation from the Fine Art and Art History programs at University of Toronto and Sheridan College in Oakville, Adamo went on to become an art professor at Chaminade College School in Toronto. There he established a strong Visual Arts department, and some of his students later became prominent architects, designers, illustrators and fine artists. Within two decades, not only did Adamo gain status as an effectual teacher; he also executed several private and public commissions of his work. By 1997, Adamo’s work commanded his full time dedication. Today, Pietro Adamo continues to create original works from his home studio, continually exploring the potentialities of self-expression though his abstract works. His work can be found in private and public collections thought out the North America, Europe, and Asia.

steve alpert

Steve Alpert says "Art is the ultimate mirror of our lives. Funny how art seems to take a back seat to so many other things in daily life, yet it is art that subsequent generations use to look into the past. Art tells all the stories.

Painting landscapes has been a powerful force in my life, a compelling adventure into the world of beauty, power and romance. Landscape paintings produce emotional memory, they are storytellers. The good landscape painting has a touch of mystery in it. Every time we gaze at it, it seems to shift slightly, telling a different story. 

More often than not, I begin a landscape painting without any notion of what the final image will be. I am always surprised by what appears on the canvas as the image develops. This is the adventure, recognizing what is happening, finding that image in the paint. Then comes the enhancing, shaping, filling in, and most importantly -- knowing when to stop. 

I ache to paint the wide-open spaces, the vast prairies, the desert lands and the naked sea and sky. These are the places that have given me serenity in my life, the gift given to me and my way of passing it along."

patrick atkinson

Patrick Atkinson was born in Charlotte, N.C. in November of 1978. Though Patrick was always responsive to the arts, it had yet to evolve into something serious until his high school years when his art teacher challenged Patrick to pursue art with passion and discipline.

After graduating from high school, Patrick studied fine art at East Carolina University, as well as Queens College in N.C. Shortly thereafter, he met and apprenticed under the late great artist T.L. Lange (1966-2002). Over the next five years, Patrick refined the tone and virtuosity of his work.

According to Patrick, his paintings are derived from an inherent need to generate an impression that will remain long after he is gone. This is evident in his work. He constructs images that are perpetually organic, yet they coexist with personal ideas and are influenced by society. This insures that Patrick’s work will always remain timeless.

By age 24 Patrick's paintings had been exhibited in numerous, prominent galleries including: Hidell Brooks (NC), Mary Martin (SC), Hawthorne Gallery (AL), Mary Bell (IL) and Art Dallas (TX). Patrick also completed an artist in residency at the McColl Center for Visual Arts. His work can also be found in many private and corporate collections, including the Davidson Art Museum and The Charlotte Bobcats.

Patrick Wright Atkinson passed away on October 10, 2012 in Wilmington NC at the age of 33. He is survived by his wife, artist Sarah Atkinson and two children.

sara atkinson

Steve Alpert says "Art is the ultimate mirror of our lives. Funny how art seems to take a back seat to so many other things in daily life, yet it is art that subsequent generations use to look into the past. Art tells all the stories.

Painting landscapes has been a powerful force in my life, a compelling adventure into the world of beauty, power and romance. Landscape paintings produce emotional memory, they are storytellers. The good landscape painting has a touch of mystery in it. Every time we gaze at it, it seems to shift slightly, telling a different story. 

More often than not, I begin a landscape painting without any notion of what the final image will be. I am always surprised by what appears on the canvas as the image develops. This is the adventure, recognizing what is happening, finding that image in the paint. Then comes the enhancing, shaping, filling in, and most importantly -- knowing when to stop. 

I ache to paint the wide-open spaces, the vast prairies, the desert lands and the naked sea and sky. These are the places that have given me serenity in my life, the gift given to me and my way of passing it along."

pam brant

Born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1956, Pam moved to "the country" in sixth grade.  It was there she developed a love for the beauty of rural landscapes:  country roads, peaceful hayfields, changing seasonal colors, and the shadows of crops in the fields.  The Ozark area has always been another inspiration with its sparkling streams and colorful foliage.  Pam’s recent trips to the Flint Hills have inspired a feeling for the light glowing on far away hills and beautiful skies.

 She always loved to draw but expanded her interest in high school and college classes at CMSU.  In 1986, in a watercolor class given by Dennis Yates, she developed her technique for using color and free flowing use of paint.  Pam is known mostly now for her landscapes of the Flint Hills, the Ozarks, and rural scenes.  

 Pam lives with her husband, Donnie, near Warrensburg, Missouri.  Her paintings are on exhibit in galleries throughout the Midwest

renee dineaur

The sculpture, Coffee Twist, is a free-form, steam-bent piece of white ash, which is used for its resiliency and lighter color. It was then dyed and finished in coats of clear gloss lacquer. 

Renee Dinauer has been creating a plethora of unique, freeform, wall, and free-hanging sculpture formed of steam-bent hardwoods since 1990. She custom colors the lightweight, contemporary artform from subtle naturals to intense, vibrant colors. Renee has a great interest in constructivism of all kinds; as sculpture, or even architecture; challenging, and exploring traditional material bounds and form Her greatest interest involves the study of surfaces, especially those alluding to a four-dimensional topological source. Renee creates sculpture for public, corporate, hotel/resort spaces, and numerous private residences, specializing in personal service - teaming with owners, architects, designers and consultants to achieve a symbiosis with the architecture, and interior design. Renee's unique use of bentwood as sculpture often becoming a compelling icon identifying its edifice in a lasting impression. Renee received her undergraduate degree at The University of California - Los Angeles - a truly life-changing experience. Her art career really began at UCLA, strolling through its sculpture gardens, inspiring her many ubiquitous creative interests. Her interest in creating larger projects has led to the public, corporate, and hospitality field where she thrives in a variety of, often, large scale, challenging, yet rewarding creative projects. Renee's work resides in private residential collections, corporate, and public sites in the US and abroad.

brenna harvey

Brenna Harvey received her BFA in fine arts from Cornish College of the Arts in 2006, majoring in painting, printing and drawing.  She spent her time since living and learning in the cultural hubs of Brooklyn and Portland, Oregon and traveling abroad before returning to her hometown of Seattle, WA.  During the last few years, she has primarily worked as a chalk and sign artist. Brenna focuses her personal work around her naturalist pursuits and the organic flora and fauna she likes to surround herself in; usually working in pen and ink, watercolors and oils.  ­­

erica hopper

Erica Hopper was born in Kansas City, Missouri, studied graphic and industrial design at San Diego State University, and continued her art education at the University of The Americas in Puebla, Mexico. During the ’70s and ’80s, she was a successful illustrator with many published works in national periodicals. Today Hopper concentrates on oil media and textile design. It is clear one influences the other by the rhythm and texture found in her paintings.  Hopper’s paintings are compelling and abstractly interpretive. She creates delicately modulated surfaces with subtle imagery. Her color use is strong, yet positioned to create a quiet contemplation and colorful vivaciousness. While she develops figurative images with color washes and markings that are clearly defined, the edges leave an openness for imaginative completion. “I illustrate my media into fragments of shape symbolizing ideas of landscape figurative and nature’s essentials.” says the artist.

Hopper’s extensive travels have built her admiration and respect for ethnic origin and wildlife that have become a constant in her compositions. This consciousness along with imagination all comes together on the canvas to tell a story.  Hopper says her paintings are “metaphorical interpretations of nature and the stuff of dreams in which the viewer can envision the complete scene as the imagination takes over.”

liz jardine

Liz Jardine creates superb custom commissions for art consultants and interior designers in her San Diego loft studio. She was schooled in New York at the State University of New York Buffalo with a design degree in 2-Dimensional painting. But she says that everything she knows about art she actually learned by painting professionally for the Arizona-based atelier; The Phoenix Art Group where she was the Art Director for 10 years.

 In 2001 she decided she was ready to set up her own studio; first in a loft in Little Italy and now in Downtown San Diego. Visiting her studio is a delight for patrons and interior designers alike! High ceiling easels and paint-splattered cement floors set the tone. Here she and her assistants create everything from Tuscan-inspired tapestries to large, abstract canvases.

 Liz’s creations are published by a Seattle-based publisher and her work is seen all over the planet. Creating custom canvases for interior designers across the country keeps Liz very busy. Her deep love and appreciation for natures beauty serve as constant inspiration for her artwork.

jeff koehn

Artist Jeff Koehn received his formal art education from the Art Institute of Colorado, where he graduated with honors in December of 1995. While at the Art Institute, he received extensive training in Pastel, Oil and Acrylic Paintings from world-renowned artists. In 1995 he was awarded 1st Place in the national Creative “Genie” Student Competition. His illustration work has appeared in Echo, Vox, Light and Life, and The University of Denver Journal Magazines.

Koehn’s painting style is versatile enough to be described as both soft and bold simultaneously.  The bright, rich colors and strength of form bring boldness to his delicate forest scenes.  The trees seem unnaturally tall with dappled leaves traversing their height.  Koehn has an ability to render the light in his artwork in an incredibly realistic way.  As the eye moves from bottom to top of each painting, the sky becomes brighter and the light seems to slowly absorb the leaves.

Jeff’s style has evolved from an early emphasis on photo-realism with the use of pastels in portraits.  His earlier illustrative work has appeared in numerous publications.  As he shifted to oil and acrylics, he has become absorbed with the excitement of color and texture, refining his paintings with dry brush techniques that lend both complexity and subtlety to his distinctive style.  His influences come from Vermeer’s use of light spilling across his paintings and from John Singer Sergeant’s lush portraits.

doug landreth

Doug Landreth has been a major force in the Pacific Northwest commercial photography scene for the past 20 years and is owner and principal photographer of Landreth Studios. He is well known for his complex, conceptual photo-illustrations and his large-scale production, lifestyle and transportation campaigns, for which he has received numerous national award.

lisa ridgers

   Lisa Ridgers was born on the South Coast of England in September of 1968. She moved to America when she was 22 and spent 20 years there where she worked as a full-time, professional artist since 2000. She spent the majority of her time in the USA, in Arizona, where she learned to paint. The last ten years have been very transitional; living between the UK, Spain, and her home in the US. 

Since her early days studying with two prominent contemporary artists (R.Clearwater and S Jacobs), she has continued on as a, primarily, self- taught artist; developing her own unique methods and process for her paintings. She still finds that the rich colours and drastic scenery of the desert influence her work and now finds a harmonious balance brought about by her new surroundings in the countryside. She works predominantly with acrylics accented with a range of mediums and techniques that in their contradiction create a complimentary, uniquely fresh look.


Lisa’s multi- media works have been described as a fusion of organic palette, natural elements and inner meditations. Her art can be found in both corporate and private collections around the world. The subject matter of her paintings range from her bold minimalist representations to vivid and earthy abstracted landscapes.

peter skidd

Peter and Sarah Skidd, a husband and wife team, have been creating art for some pretty amazing homes and public spaces for over a decade. They specialize in large-scale original metal artwork.

ben stielow

Born in St. Paul, MN, we moved to Summit County, Colorado when I was 2 or 3. Growing up in such a place taught me two things, how to always taking time to appreciate the beauty that you're living within, then balancing that with hard work, the old saying 'you've gotta make hay when the sun shines.'  

I always had a love of building things, especially things out of metal. But it wasn't until I took a summer job building snowcat tracks at Copper Mountain when I could hang out some in a welding shop, which started my journey that I'm on now creating my metal wall art, and the journey into the fine arts.