Ravi Varma paintings were most remembered for their portraits of sari-clad women portrayed as shapely and graceful. They became an important motif at the time, with reproductions found in almost every middle class home. Ravi is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.

The earliest striking Ravi Varma paintings were pictures of animals and illustrations from everyday life drawn on the walls of Ravi's house, at the tender age of five. It was his artist uncle, Raja Varma, who first recognized his talent and gave him elementary art lessons. At the age of fourteen, he was taken to Thiruvananthapuram to stay in the royal palace.

Ravi Varma paintings are considered modern among the traditionalists and rational among the moderns. They provided the vital link between what is traditional Indian art and what is contemporary between the Thanjavoor School and Western Academic realism. They brought attention to Indian painting from the larger world.

Instrumental to the development of Jon McNaughton paintings was Jon's deep love for the land of his pioneer heritage. These roots traces back to the small town of Grafton, Utah. The great promise that Jon showed at an early age led to a full scholarship to the Brigham Young University.

The works of the artists from the French Barbizon School of painting provided the inspiration for Jon McNaughton paintings. These consist of softly painted landscapes depicting genre scenes around the French countryside. They contained subtle tones of color and light. They became the springboard for the creativity found in Jon McNaughton paintings.

Jon McNaughton paintings are products of a belief that only the basic elements of a beautiful painting exist in nature. What actually creates the highest beauty of a landscape painting lies in the sentiment and feeling that flows from the mind and heart of an artist.