Charles Thysell

Charles Thysell and Angela King have had a long and great relationship in the art world. He began showing with her in 1990 and together they had many exhibitions, built many collections and shared his wonderful art with the world. Sadly Charlie left this plane of consciousness this past April after a long struggle with cancer. We will miss our old friend. Just before Charlie died, Angela went to Minneapolis to visit him and together they chose a body of work not seen before by his collectors. Enjoy this group of nudes and erotic paintings created between 1994-2001. They are large scale and acrylic and ink on paper.

Charlie grew up in Hawley, Minnesota, a small town of some 1,400 people. His father was a country doctor and his mother an accomplished singer and housewife who nourished his interest in a life of art. His hometown helped shape his appreciation for nature and the basic values people hold dear.

After studying art in Minneapolis, he concluded that school was not for him. He struck out as a song writer-performer in the turbulent seventies, and when that ran its course, dedicated ten years to working with non-profit artist organizations as a widely recognized advocate and teacher. All the while he continued to draw and paint. His work – ranging from still lifes to landscapes to “Heads” – inevitably found its way to museum exhibits and gallery shows. Its warm-hearted, unpretentious style and quiet integrity has won a national following.


RETROSPECTIVE DIGITAL EXHIBITION CATALOG

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"These works—my tribe—these heads, are tangible proofs of my existence in this world, how I assert myself into it, relate to it and live for it. As an artist, I affirm life one painting at a time. I use my eyes, yet endeavor to create from my heart as much as possible, use my hands to make faith with each piece, To mark my work with a re-confirmation of hope, as a sign to myself that I am willing to believe in the future, willing to live beautifully."

—C. Thysell


Artwork

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Heads


Nudes


Landscapes & narrative


 
 

Charlie & Margarita Collaboration

Margarita Sikorskaia was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. She grew up a free-spirited tomboy, climbing trees, zooming on a bike, getting dirty, communing with forest spirits, and getting into trouble. But most of all she could sit quietly and draw for hours on end, watching ants build their intricate home, or small clouds gather to create a storm, or waiting for the Baltic Sea waters to draw all the sand out from in between her toes until she sunk ever so deeply into the earth. Nature was her guide and inspiration.

Margarita was trained in classical art at the Hertzen Pedagogical University of St. Petersburg. She moved to the United States in 1990, and settled in Minneapolis. There she encountered Charles Thysell, an outstanding talented artist, who became her mentor and her partner for seven years. They collaborated on the same canvases and produced successful shows combining their different styles into a unique form of storytelling.

Sikorskaia’s canvases open a world revealing the interconnectedness of all beings, inviting you to a world of relationship and connection, of stillness and revelation. These paintings are meditative exchanges, evoking subtle but deep emotions, absorbing you into their state of being as you absorb them into yours.

In 2004 she gave birth to a child, inspiring her to turn her attention to illustration. Since 2009 she has published over a dozen children’s books, winning multiple awards. She takes much pride and pleasure in bringing children's books to life.

 A prolific and passionate artist, Margarita has exhibited her paintings throughout the US.


Thysell & Sikorskaia collaborative ARTWORK

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Sikorskaia ARTWORK

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