A Breath of Fresh Air

Cerulean Arts celebrates spring with the exhibition A Breath of Fresh Air, featuring landscape-inspired artworks by Ruslan Khais, Laura Maze, Benjamin Passione and Julie Zahn.  For Ruslan Khais, the physicality of paint, color, and gesture are of paramount importance in his works.  Straddling representation and abstraction, his paintings are inspired by the atmosphere of a particular location at a moment in time.  Based in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Laura Maze creates fanciful landscapes, real and imagined, in acrylic paint and shimmering metallic leaf.  Her background in printmaking and painting allows for a rich and layered range of color and expression.  Painter Benjamin Passione’s search for the present and attempt at capturing a feeling results in the exuberant display of color, composition, and gesture of his paintings.  He describes his work as a curious attempt at sincerity, a rendered quality describing a condition rather than a representation.  Painter and printmaker Julie Zahn uses watercolor, collage and the Japanese stencil method of Katazome in her mixed media works.  Tied to locations with personal resonance, her work celebrates not only the richness and beauty of the landscape, but of life itself. 

Benjamin Passione, Canoeing Through Molasses, oil and acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"  

Ruslan Khais, March, oil on illustration board, 18.5" x 12" 


Julie Zahn, View from Porch #2, mixed media on paper, 5" x 6"  


Julie Zahn, View from Porch #4, mixed media on paper, 5.5" x 6.25"  


Laura Maze, Copper Country, acrylic and metallic leaf, 24" x 18"  SOLD 


Benjamin Passione, Untitled Landscape, oil and acrylic on canvas, 40" x 30"  


Laura Maze, Torn Pages, acrylic and metallic leaf, 20" x 16"  Available 


Julie Zahn, Assateague View, mixed media on paper, 5" x 5.25"  


Julie Zahn, Assateague View with Yellow Sky, mixed media on paper, 4.25" x 5"  Available 


Ruslan Khais, Lake, oil on canvas, 18" x 24"  


Benjamin Passione, The Furrow, oil and acrylic on canvas, 8" x 10"  


Laura Maze, Orange Poppies, acrylic and metallic leaf, 12" x 12"  Available 


Julie Zahn, Assateague View with Yellow Sky, mixed media on panel, 24" x 24"  


Ruslan Khais, Breath of Wind, oil on canvas, 36" x 24"  Available 


Ruslan Khais, Sunset Impression, oil on illustration board, 20" x 22" 


Julie Zahn, Wild Ocean, mixed media on paper, 6" x 6"  Available 


Benjamin Passione, Born Under a Bright Star, oil and acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"  


Laura Maze, Half Moon, acrylic, 18" x 24"  Available 


Ruslan Khais, Canadian Daydream, oil on canvas, 24" x 36"  


Julie Zahn, Blue Trawler, mixed media on paper, 5.5" x 5"  


Julie Zahn, Island and Below, mixed media on paper, 6" x 6"  


Laura Maze, Trees of Gold, acrylic and metallic leaf, 20" x 16"  Available 


Benjamin Passione, Sunrise, Sunset, oil and acrylic on canvas, 30" x 24"  


Julie Zahn, Frenchboro Sunset, mixed media on paper, 6" x 6"  


Julie Zahn, Summer Painting, mixed media on paper, 6" x 6"  Available 


Laura Maze, Eyes in the Sky, acrylic and metallic leaf, 20" x 24.5"  SOLD 


Ruslan Khais, Blue Sky over Mountain, oil on canvas, 24" x 20"  


Julie Zahn, Purple Islands, Red Rocks, mixed media on paper, 6" x 6"  


Julie Zahn, Deep Waters, mixed media on paper, 6" x 6"