Featured Artists
Scott Cantrell:
Give a brief description of your upcoming show. And what might have inspired it.
I am a teacher first and foremost in my life, and so this work is meant to teach the viewer. This show developed from a series I called the Visual Learner and are paintings about painting. This work is a celebration and an exploration of understanding the referential nature in the history of art. Artists like Sargent, Rembrandt and Ingres were chosen because of their ability to realize the cooperation of the paint and the subject. The studies include explorations in the application of paint, the viscosity differences in accents and passages, color isolators, magnifications of detailed areas, alla prima versus multiple sittings, and simultaneous contrast in color.
How have you expanded existing themes/ideas for which you are best known/or if this body of work is a great deviation from your norm, what inspired this new approach?
This is probably the body of work I am most remembered for and the third time I will be showing altered reproductions. The shows back in 2006 and 2007 were well-received reinterpretations of master works. The main difference with this show is that it is concentrating even more on the painting process rather then the content/subject of the painting.
Stylistically and/or technically, what do you hope collectors notice in your new work?
My progression in seeing the subtle variation of the colors in color has taken this work to a more technical and professional place. Look specifically at the many tones, intensities and values of color found in the flesh tones. This was something I explicitly looked for in each of the artists work.
Add any additional info that might interest the viewer.
I have a journal/sketchbook that I kept while I was working on this series that could elaborate more on specific pieces. This is also maybe half of this body of work since I have been exploring this series for the past two years. I have plans to continue this series thru a summer fellowship at Skidmore College this July.
Patricia Wertz:
- Give a brief description of your upcoming show. And what might have inspired it.
My show is based upon the landscapes as I record them in my daily travels. It is always about the light and the energy of a particular place that captivates me. The shapes, texture and patterns offer unlimited abstractions of nature.
How have you expanded existing themes/ideas for which you are best known/or if this body of work is a great deviation from your norm, what inspired this new approach?
I have always painted landscapes but I usually incorporated florals in them. This body of work is based more on the here and now without the embellishments of florals. I wanted the paintings to speak of the ordinary and everyday visual snapshots we encounter as we move throughout our lives. The paintings offer a simple glimpse of my backyard or roads traveled that are so often overlooked.
Stylistically and/or technically, what do you hope collectors notice in your new work?
As a painter I am continually trying to stretch myself. Simplifying by stripping away elements in my work continues to be a challenge and one that I think is necessary for the strength of the painting. Trying to capture the essence of something instead of an exact record of the scene is more important to me.
Add any additional info that might interest the viewer.
Landscapes are both complex and elusive and as a painter I enjoy the challenge they offer.