Charles Thysell
Charles Thysell, born February 28, 1950, passed away April 6, 2020 after a long struggle with cancer. He was 70 years old. During his long career as an artist Charlie painted in oil and acrylic, on canvas and paper, pencil and pen drawings. His "heads" dominated his oeuvre, but he painted many more subjects. Landscapes, abstracts & narratives, erotic art & nudes, trees & still lifes, from miniature to large scale. His work spanned from the late 70's to 2020. Widely collected, his paintings grace the walls and enhance the lives of countless collectors.
Charlie Thysell and Angela King have had a long relationship and friendship in the art world. He began showing with her in 1990 and together they had many exhibitions, built collections and shared his wonderful art with the world. His art inevitably has found its way to museum exhibits.
Charlie grew up in the midwest 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. Its warm-hearted, unpretentious style and quiet integrity has won a national following.
RETROSPECTIVE DIGITAL EXHIBITION CATALOG
Click here to view digital catalog
"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
Please click on a thumbnail below to view full image.
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
Please click on a thumbnail below to view full image.
Sikorskaia ARTWORK
Please click on a thumbnail below to view full image.
