Frank Gardner was born and raised in Poughkeepsie, New York. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1986 with a BFA in Painting. A desire to find true inspiration for his paintings eventually led him to relocate to Mexico in 1990. His studio is in San Miguel de Allende, where he resides.
Gardner’s painting style adeptly captures his subject’s mood, whether it be a dramatic landscape, colorful Mexican street scene or boats in a harbor. The combination of confident brushwork, dynamic compositions and lively color invokes true character in Frank’s work. Although Mexico inspires a large amount of Frank’s paintings, his diverse subject matter includes landscapes from across the United States as well as a recent series of steam locomotives, automobiles, and industrial machinery.
Gardner is represented by several fine galleries in the US and Mexico and his work is part of numerous fine collections across North America and Europe.
Artist’s Statement
My paintings are interpretations of my experiences. They come from the desire to share the beauty that I see every day by arranging bits of color and ideas to tell a story. Drawn to the colors of fleeting light effects on the landscape I try and accurately represent color I see. However, I also interpret and push color if it is useful to convey how the scene makes me feel. Color combinations and juxtapositions are a lot of what make a subject appealing to me. I look for situations that are unique to a particular place at a certain time, depending on lighting conditions, but also filtered through my mood at the time a piece is painted.
Painting in a representational style, and influenced by the impressionists, I am drawn to fleeting light effects and color while sometimes sacrificing detail. A controlled chaos or loose spontaneity is my favored look, although each color and stroke is well thought out and carefully placed. My goal is to convey to the viewer my feelings about the scene through my use of color and brushwork. I’ll let the subject and my mood determine how much detail is required to complete each painting.
Paint application is important to me. It is a very personal facet of my work. An artists brushwork and paint handling is what sets their work apart from another artist’s interpretation of the same view. It is as unique as a fingerprint. I not only brush paint on, but lift it off, or smear it with a finger or paint rag. It is often the lifting off of the paint or moving it around after it is on the canvas that gives the look I am after.
Resumé
Frank Gardner
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
email: frank@frankgardner.com
Phone in Mex. from US 011-52-415-152-6290
US mailing address
Frank Gardner
220 N. Zapata Hwy. Suite 11
PMB 102
Laredo, Texas
78043
Education
BFA Painting, Rhode Island School of Design 1986
Exhibitions
Summer Fun
Recent work by Frank Gardner and Peter Kalill
Addison Art Gallery
Aug 2013
Door County Plein Air Festival
Featured Artist
Peninsula School of Art
Fish Creek, WI
July 2013
En Plein Air
Group Show
RS Hanna Gallery
Fredericksburg, TX
June 2013
Art of the Horse
Group Show
RS Hanna Gallery
Fredericksburg, TX
May 2013
STEAM
Steam Engines of the Mexican Railroad
Galeria Gardner
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
March 2013
6″ Squared
Juried Group Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
Dec 2012
Dia de Los Muertos
Show of Day of the Dead paintings
Galeria Gardner
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Nov 2012
Door County Plein Air Festival
Featured Artist
Peninsula School of Art
Fish Creek, WI
July 2012
Oil Painter’s of America National Juried Exhibit
Evergreen Fine Art
Evergreen, CO
June 2012
Two man show
Frank Gardner and Marc Hanson
Addison Art Gallery
Orleans, MA
June 2012
En Plein Air
Group Show
RS Hanna Gallery
Fredericksburg, TX
June 2012
Fine Art Collaborative
Group Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
June 2012
6″ Squared
Juried Group Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
Dec 2011
Grand Opening Group Show
RS Hanna Gallery
Fredericksburg, TX
Oct 2011
Inspired by the National Seashore
Group Show of paintings of the Cape Cod National Seashore
Addison Art Gallery
Orleans, MA
July 2011
Door County Plein Air Festival
Featured Artist
Peninsula School of Art
Fish Creek, WI
July 2011
One Man Show and 100 Mudheads
Addison Art Gallery
Orleans, MA
June 2011
Less is More
LPAPA Juried Group Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
June 2011
6″ Squared
Juried Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
April 2011
Creative Convergence on Cape Cod
Group Show
Cape Cod Museum of Art
Dennis, MA
Feb 2011
6″ Squared
Juried Group Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
Dec 2010
One Man Show
M Gallery of Fine Art
Charleston, SC
Nov 2010
Fresh Paint from Provincetown
Group Show
Addison Art Gallery
Orleans, MA
Oct 2010
«Creative Convergence»
Group show of paintings from Mexico trip
Addison Art Gallery
Orleans, MA
Feb- Mar 2010
«Creative Convergence»
Museum show of paintings from Mexico trip
Cape Cod Museum of Art
Dennis, MA
Feb- Mar 2010
«Wet Paint»
Select paintings from 15 artists visiting San Miguel
Galeria Gardner
San Miguel de Allende, Gto., Mexico
October 2009
«Paintapalooza»
Group show of paintings from Maine trip
Addison Art Gallery
Orleans, MA
Feb 13 – Mar. 22, 2009
«Plein Air Painters»
Group show of paintings from Maine trip
Cape Cod Museum of Art
Dennis, MA
Jan. 17 – Mar. 22, 2009
«Little Treasures»
Group show of small works
Tubac Center of the Arts
Tubac, AZ
Nov. 16 – Dec 24, 2007
Preview Show
Art Auction XII
Long Beach Museum of Art
Long Beach, CA
Sept. 2007
«Catching the Light»
One Person Show
W.A.R.D. Gallery
Harbor Springs, MI
July 2005
Salon International
Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art
San Antonio, TX
May 2005
Salon International
Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art
San Antonio, TX
May 2004
Group Show
«The Landscape»
Gallery Shoal Creek
Austin, TX
Fall 2003
One Person Show
«A Taste of San Miguel de Allende»
Gallery Shoal Creek
Austin, TX
Apr 28 – May 20, 2000
«Pueblo Chico, Abierto al Mundo»
Group Show
Casa de la Cultura «Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras»
Celaya, Gto., Mexico
Fall 2000
Bibliography
Article in American Art Collector Magazine, Feb. 2009
“Maine Stay”
Article in International Artist Magazine, Apr./ May 2009
“Maine Stay”
Article in American Artist Workshop Magazine, Dec. 2007
“Frank Gardner, Using a Pre-Mixed Palette”
Awards
Artist’s Choice
6″ Squared
Juried Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
Dec. 2012
First Place
6″ Squared
Juried Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
Dec 2011
Artist’s Choice Award
Door County Plein Air Festival
Featured Artist
Peninsula School of Art
Fish Creek, WI
July 2011
Gallery Award
Less is More
LPAPA Juried Group Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
June 2011
First Place Award
6″ Squared
Juried Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
April 2011
First Place Award Shared
6″ Squared
Juried Show
Randy Higbee Gallery
Costa Mesa, CA
Dec 2010
Honorable Mention for Artistic Excellence
Salon International 2004
Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art
San Antonio , Tx
Current Gallery Representation
Addison Art Gallery, Orleans, MA
M Gallery of Fine Art, Charleston, SC
RS Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX
Galeria Gardner, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Randy Higbee Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA