Turlock Journal

Turlock artist reflects local landscape in Sacramento show
By Sabra Stafford
sstafford@turlockjournal.com
209-634-9141, ext. 2002
POSTED Nov. 16, 2010 11:26 p.m.



A Turlock artist, who finds his inspiration in the lush and bountiful agricultural fields of the Central Valley, is having his work displayed at a Sacramento gallery.

John Karl Claes is the current featured artist at the Elliot Fouts Gallery in Sacramento. Claes is presenting a new series of paintings, titled “Vista and Horizons” that represent the San Joaquin Valley, as seen through his eyes.

“I paint my environment,” Claes said. “If I did not live in the Central Valley, my work would be of something else. I use this landscape as a departure point, and I distill what I have observed to make paintings that have a connection with the natural world. Even though I am strongly influenced by this landscape, I am essentially an abstract painter.”

Claes grew up in the San Joaquin Valley, earning a Bachelor of Arts from California State University, Stanislaus and a Masters in Arts from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.

He has shown his creations locally and across the country and has garnered awards and critical acclaim for his paintings.

"I have painted the agricultural landscape of the West for nearly 20 years,” he said. “It is here, in this western landscape, that I have matured as a painter, and it is this land that challenges and inspires me.

“It is the formal elements of painting that are the most important. I use what I see and experience as an armature for my work. I pay closest attention to how the painting is put together, how the colors interact with each other and where those colors are placed. These elements are of utmost importance; for if these basic components fail, the painting will also fall short. I am successful when both image and paint become inseparable and fused together," Claes said.

Claes’ work will be on display through Dec. 2. The Elliot Fouts Gallery is at 4749 J St., in Sacramento. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

To contact Sabra Stafford, e-mail sstafford@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2002.

November Bryan Mark Taylor Event

I'm very excited to announce that Bryan Mark Taylor is coming to the gallery on November 20th from 1:00 to 2:00 PM to give a special afternoon talk about his work, painting process, and experience as a painter.

Bryan is bringing over a dozen brand new originals for the talk, so it will be a great opportunity to see what's new and what's next.

Please take the time to watch this short video of Bryan painting below. You won't be disappointed! The painting featured in the video will be on display during the talk. Please call for further details.

November New & Noteworthy

A new month means a new show at the gallery, and it is with great excitement that we’re featuring John Karl Claes’ new landscapes in a one-person show called “Vistas & Horizons.” John's paintings bridge the gap between representational and abstract realms. His subjects are clearly landscapes, but his ability to abbreviate and condense detail allows him to depart from convention. This intermediary state has become a key element in his approach. We have 34 brand new paintings on display, and the show is on view until November 4, 2010.



We are excited to announce that Terry Pappas has just completed her first series of paintings since her October 2008 one-person show “Reflection and Introspection.” Don’t miss this unique opportunity to add one of her beautiful American River landscapes to your collection.



Leigh-Anne Eagerton is our newest addition to the gallery. Her graphic still lifes are bold and colorful with an underlying geometry that describes each form. All of Leigh-Anne’s paintings have a foundation in what she calls “stylized realism.” This style is marked by strong compositional qualities of clear planar and linear breaks on the surface, which create jewel-like facets. Leigh-Anne paints from life, all at once, marathon style, otherwise known as Alla Prima. Keep an eye out for an introductory email that will go out next week.



EFG is now showing ceramics by Jeff Nebeker! Jeff is considered to be one of the first Funk ceramicists to use pastry tools in clay sculpture. These tools help differentiate textures and ultimately transform his pastries into realistic looking forms. We have to admit, the pastries almost look good enough to eat. Jeff's cakes, cupcakes, and sundaes are topped with swirls of thick frosting, sprinkles, even cherries! Needless to say, they are wildly fun and witty.



Craig Stephens has a new collection of paintings now on display. His “daily painting” routine has found it’s way into his classroom, as he invites his art students to bring in their own props as subjects for painting demonstrations.



Christopher Stott has three brand new paintings on display. “1 Cent Gumballs” is bold and captivating and at 40” X 30,” it’s one of his larger paintings. "Five Empty Bottles" utilizes repetition and a gradated palette to unify and balance the composition. Chris has already started painting for his June 2011 show, so let us know if you’d like to be the first to hear about his new paintings.



Philippe Gandiol has brought us a series of brand new paintings, and we now have several landscapes and cityscapes on display. Make sure you check them out - they are thoughtfully composed and his ability to articulate light is better than ever.

Sacramento News & Review: Central Valley of the mind By Shoka

Third-generation Turlock resident John Karl Claes traveled across the country to earn his master’s degree in fine art in the ’90s and then returned to California to paint Central Valley-inspired landscapes full time. His brushwork sustains his family of four, including two young sons. He shows his latest Valley scenes at Elliott Fouts Gallery this month and says in his artist statement, “Even though I am strongly influenced by this landscape, I am essentially an abstract painter.” Here’s what else he had to say.

Where’s your studio space?

My studio is across town. I go to it nearly every day, except for weekends. Monday through Friday I go to work, just like everyone else. …
The secret is to figure out how to keep living without making a living wage for periods of time. That’s what I’ve discovered. People always ask me, “How do you do it?” Well, you have to figure out how to live your life very inexpensively. My wife did work before we had kids, so obviously, she was very supportive of my efforts.

Your work is of agricultural landscapes. Are you painting places you actually encounter, and where are they?

I work from my memories and then my feelings about the place. I work from my environment, so it takes me a while. Obviously, I’m from here, so it’s kind of an accumulation of images that have built up. I’ve built up a visual vocabulary in my mind’s eye that I can work from, and as I see new things, I can integrate those in my studio practice.
When I was in school back East, at the University of North Carolina, it took me a while to see how I was going to paint landscape. … When I came back to California, I had never really painted [landscapes]. I was an abstract painter. … I had this idea in my head of what I wanted it to look like—big expansive landscapes of what the Valley can portray—I just didn’t know how to do it. And then a friend of mine who’s a private pilot, took me up and literally, we took off from the small airport here, and I was like, “Oh my. This is what I can do.”

Someone asked me the other day what makes a good landscape painting? So I’m going to ask you now.

Our culture today, especially in art, it’s really “anything goes,” so what makes a good landscape for one person wouldn’t necessarily make a good landscape for someone else, and I think that’s where style comes in. But, I mean, personally, a good landscape has to have—any painting is about color. It’s pretty obvious in my work, color is vibrant. And its color and the position of those colors, thus making the composition.

You have a blog you update pretty regularly?

I try to do it once a week. Blogging for me helps me think about the work verbally, or written. Painting for me is obviously visual, and things make sense to me visually before things make sense to me in one part of my mind, but not the other part of my mind.

I always feel kind of bad asking artists to verbalize something they have a better visual language for.

(Laughs.) It’s part of the job. I have to be able to talk about my work to some level of articulation.

What was the most surprising thing you found once you went pro?

It’s the business stuff: I have to keep track of my books; I have to keep track of where things are on the inventory list, what’s where and when it’s being moved—the business end. They don’t talk about that at all in school. It’s just something you kind of have to learn as you go. You gotta learn from your mistakes. That and framing. Framing takes a lot of time. I hand [make] all my frames.

I read on your blog that you were getting inspired painting with one of your kids. How would you feel if one of your kids chooses an artistic path?

Well, the big joke was, when my oldest was born—he’s 6 now—I told all my artist friends, “I’ve already told him, ‘You can’t be an artist.’” And then I have a friend who has older children, and I was talking to him about it and said that I already told [my kid] “You can’t be an artist.” And he has a child that’s just graduated college, and he looked at me with a straight face and said, “It doesn’t do any good.” (Laughs.)
I would tell my kids what my parents told me: You can do anything you want, as long as you love it. My father was a professional photographer for 35 years, and he loved taking photographs. He told me that I could do what I love, and I’ll encourage my kids to do the same thing.

That’s ridiculous. You might just want to send them off to boarding school instead.

(Laughs.) That might not be a bad idea.

Now Showing Leigh-Anne Eagerton

Elliott and I spend at least an hour a day searching for new artists online - not only to broaden our visual vocabularies, but also to see what's new and exciting beyond the confines of our area. It's become a hobby, scouring through hundreds of artists' websites, blogs, and even Facebook pages. Social media has broadened the relationship between the gallery owner and artist - finding the right "match" is easier than ever.

In doing so, we've taken on a number of talented artists within the past year, including Alvin Richard, Paul Coventry-Brown, James Neil Hollingsworth, Derek Gores, Shawn Kenney, Donald Bradford, Paul Ferney, Otto Lange, and now, most recently, Leigh-Anne Eagerton.

Leigh-Anne currently lives in Nyack, New York (Edward Hopper's hometown, she tells me, which of course I'm very excited to hear!) and has had a fascination with art-making since childhood. In fact, she lived in Japan for three years, from age six to nine, and from what I can see, I think the clean and simple Japanese aesthetic continues to stick with her.

This influence reminds me the late 19th century "phenomenon" of Japonisme, a French term which describes Japanese art's influence on the west. Probably the easiest association to make is Claude Monet's fascination with Japanese wood-block prints, such as those by Katsushika Hokusai. The lack of perspective, shadow, overall reduction of form, and flat, broad areas of color were assimilated into the Impressionist style, as this push towards simplification seemed to harmonize with their stylistic motivations.


Katsushika Hokusai | Gohyaku Rakanji Sazaido |


Claude Monet | Terrace at St. Adresse | 1867

In the comparison above, it's evident that Monet took compositional liberties in his early landscape, Terrace at St. Adresse. For example, notice how the waves are simply described by a series of wavy lines. (He's beginning to give the "impression" of movement in the water, rather than realistically depicting the movement). Such modifications can also be found in Leigh-Anne's work. Take her still life Seedless Watermelon, for example. Form is created through the use of broad, geometric planes of color. She has preserved the "essence" of form, eliminating textural and other extraneous detail for a generalized (but still recognizable) depiction.



Seedless Watermelon | Oil on panel | 16" X 27"

I was really drawn to the graphic quality of Leigh-Anne's work when I first saw it online. She says, "All of my paintings have a foundation in what I call "stylized realism." They utilize the strong composition qualities of clear planar and linear breaks on the surface, which creates jewel-like facets." The painting below, Oranges On A Green Plate, certainly epitomizes this quality as the flesh of the orange is divided by varying hues of color.


Oranges On A Green Plate | Oil on panel | 8" X 10"

"Vistas & Horizons"

There's something extra special about one-person shows, and I think this is due to a combination of factors.

1. The amount of time and effort required to paint an entire show is definitely worth mentioning. John's show represents a years worth of painting - he started planning last year and began painting at the beginning of this year. Planning, alone, is an arduous task. Creating a collection of paintings can almost be compared to creating different "looks" for a fashion line - each painting is different, has it's own unique flair, but is ultimately a part of a bigger picture.

2. This is an adjunct of the first idea, but continuity is of great importance. Task of taking on a one-person show is incredibly daunting, causing me to wonder - where does a painter start? With an idea? Or simply by painting? The answer obviously varies from person to person, but here's what John had to say:

"I start by looking for a visual idea that I build a new body of work around. This time it was several drives down the I - 5 that were the inspiration for this show. I experienced the space of the landscape differently then ever before. I then did a hundred or so small drawings to work out these new visual ideas before starting in on the actual pieces that are in the show. I don't work from photography so it is important to get down my new ideas quickly."

3. The fact that viewers are able to see a large body of work and investigate the subtleties of each painting is an incredibly rewarding experience. John sent me a picture of his studio in August 2010, check it out below:


John's Studio | August 2010

My jaw dropped to the ground when I saw this image - it's too cool. My relationship to our artists' paintings is pretty one-dimensional. While I'm one of the first to see the pieces in their finished form, I don't get to see the several stages they've gone through to become a "complete" painting.

For instance, I know Round-About as the biggest piece of the show - it has a river winding through the valley, a tremendous palette of layered opaque colors (as opposed to blended gradations), and a wonderful contrast between land and sky. I think I see the painting to the right of the photograph, but I don't know! John says, "I work in layers, building up the colors in each painting until they are correct. I tend to work on any given piece until I get stuck and don't know how to proceed in a painting or until whole surface of the painting is wet and must be allowed to dry."

Even then, he says that his pieces can change radically from his initial concept to completion.

So what makes John's work unique and worth collecting?

He's academically trained. Born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley of California, John completed his B.A. in Studio Art at California State University, Stanislaus. After receiving his M.F.A. in painting and drawing from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, he returned to California, and currently lives in Turlock with his wife and two sons. He knows the "fundamentals" of painting and isn't afraid to create his own style.

It's the best of both worlds. John's paintings bridge the gap between representational and abstract realms. His subjects are clearly landscapes, but his ability to abbreviate and condense detail allows him to depart from convention. This intermediary state has become a key element in his approach.

He uses color expressively. John's vibrant palette is almost as much a subject in his work as it is a tool for description. His fervent use of expressionistic color invigorates and charges the Central Valley landscape with a compelling, new found dynamism.

Here are a couple of my favorites (amongst many!):


Turning Towards - Oil on canvas - 40" X 4o"



Round-About - Oil on canvas - 52" X 64"

Evening Highlights - Oil on panel - 8" X 10"



Light's Last Glow | Oil on panel | 10" X 10"



Skylight | Oil on canvas | 60" X 70"



Sunstruck | Oil on linen | 26" X 26"

Inside The City

Perfectly Simple
This Land Park artist is inspired by everyday things
By Kevin Mims



Every Sunday for the past year or so, The Sacramento Bee published “One Perfect Thing,” which combines a watercolor with a paragraph of related commentary. Both are the work of Land Park resident Kathrine Lemke Waste.

Each installment featured a still-life painting, usually of locally grown fruits or vegetables, but sometimes of a fully processed food, such as a jar of honey or a fruit tart, or maybe just a food-related item, such as a hand-woven marketing basket. Accompanying the watercolor is a brief, koanlike meditation on the painting’s subject. The painting of the basket, for instance, was accompanied by a text noting that reusable marketing baskets save “an estimated six shopping bags a week from ending up in our local landfill. That’s 288 bags a year . . . ”

One installment was titled “Ode to an Artichoke,” while another was captioned “A Study in Pumpkin and Cream,” both titles exemplifying the poetic quality of Waste’s work.

But “One Perfect Thing” was more than poetic. It often contains solid culinary information. A recent tribute to Meyer lemons informed readers, “A squeeze of Meyer lemon juice, with its hints of honey and thyme, adds a bright note to early crops of asparagus, artichokes and fava beans. Add the grated peel to tapenade, aïoli or herb butter to complement spring vegetables.”

The daughter of a naval officer, Waste was born at Camp Pendleton in southern California. Her childhood coincided with the war in Vietnam, which kept her father hopping from base to base: San Diego, Los Angeles, the Philippines.

Her parents had five children and not a lot of money, but they always saw to it that Kathrine had all the art supplies she needed. When she was in the second grade, she painted her first watercolor, a copy of a professional landscape painting. She still has a photo that her parents took of her with the painting, “holding it up to the camera and looking very proud of myself,” she says.

The family arrived in Sacramento when Waste was a sixth-grader. She stayed long enough to graduate from Sacramento State University with degrees in communication and theater. After that came a 15-year stint in academia, most of which she spent at Chico State, where she taught communication and theater while her husband, Bob, taught political science and public policy. Waste and her husband returned to Sacramento in 1999 when Bob was offered the chairmanship of the graduate program in public policy at Sac State. At that time, Waste left academia to dedicate herself full time to her art. Since then, her work has been featured in numerous magazines and art galleries, including Elliott Fouts Gallery in East Sac.

Art experts credit Waste with creating still lifes that possess a strong sense of narrative, but narrative isn’t her primary focus when creating a watercolor. “I think about color and shape and light and the best way to convey them,” she said. “People attach meanings to the objects I paint in ways that I can’t predict. The story unfolds differently for every viewer.” The predominance of food in her work developed naturally. “I cook. I grow vegetables. It’s all part of the fabric of who I am,” said Waste. “As a painter, you are expected to specialize, so I’ve chosen to specialize in food.”

When she isn’t painting food-related subjects for The Bee, Waste often paints objects she finds at yard and garage sales, commonplace consumer items that are connected in some way with her youth: soda bottles, vintage toasters, Mixmasters, marbles, autographed baseballs. Wonder Bread, an emblematic product of the 1950s and ’60s, whose brightly colored plastic wrapper is familiar to almost every American, is featured prominently in several of her works. “I like really simple objects that make a connection to the past,” explained Waste. “Our lives are very complicated these days.”

Waste doesn’t use her paintings to make ironic comments about American consumer culture, but merely to remind the beholder of simpler times. In a 2006 profile in American Art Collector, she told the magazine’s interviewer, “I want [the viewer] to think, ‘My grandmother had that iron. I grew up with that very same toaster. We had a coffee pot just like that.’”

Although her subjects are often simple and commonplace, capturing them on paper isn’t easy. Watercolor is one of the most unforgiving of artistic mediums. Unlike the artist who works in oil, the watercolorist can’t paint over a mistake. Waste says she has to know exactly how the finished painting will look before she can begin putting down the colors.

It’s a complicated process that used to begin with a pencil and a sketchbook but nowadays often begins with her iPhone. “If I’m at a grocery store or a farmers market and a display of fruits and vegetables catches my eye, I’ll take a quick reference photo with my phone,” she said. “It’s a great sketching tool.”

Many of Waste’s subjects come from her own backyard vegetable garden. She often paints those vegetables outdoors in the hour just after sunrise or just before sunset. “I like the way the light slants at those hours,” said Waste. “I think it says something about the passing of time. As I get older, I’m reminded more and more of how brief and fragile life is.”

Now Showing Jeff Nebeker

I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our newest artist, Jeff Nebeker!

Jeff is an artist in the Sacramento area and is best known for his almost delectable ceramic pastries. He received his BA from UC Davis in 1980 and studied with Robert Arneson and later attended San Francisco Institute of Art and received his MFA in 1983. Jeff is one of a select group of artists who have displayed work at the famed Candy Store Gallery that was once in Folsom, California.


Cupcakes | ceramic | 2010

Jeff is considered to be one of the first Funk ceramicists to use pastry tools in clay sculpture. These tools help differentiate textures and ultimately transform his pastries into realistic looking forms. I have to admit, the pastries almost look good enough to eat. Jeff's cupcakes are topped with swirls of thick frosting and sprinkles, and are wildly fun and witty. In fact, our showcase at the front of the gallery is now fully stocked - we have decadent cakes decorated with bright fruit and flowers, festive caramel apples just in time for Halloween, and a collection of miniature pastries that remind me of the treats found at Freeport Bakery in Land Park!

Congratulations!

A big congratulations is in order for two of our artists at EFG.

Bryan Mark Taylor just returned from the 12th Annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational with the Collectors' Choice Award. Bryan won the "Best Of Show" award at last year's festival. Way to go, Bryan!

Here are a couple of the paintings he completed while at the festival:





Teresa N. Fischer and her painting Ol' No.5, which is featured in "The Still Life" this month, are in the top 50 finalists for Southwest Art's "21 Over 31" competition! We're very excited for Teresa, and it's no surprise that her work was selected out of nearly 3,000 applicants. Great job!


Ol' No. 5 | Oil on canvas | 16" X 12"

Mid-Month Update

"The Still Life" has been up for about half a month and I'm very excited to report that there are 17 red dots in the showroom! Positive comments along with the sales, of course, have been very encouraging.

The spread in American Art Collector's October 2010 issue has brought in new clients, which isn't surprising when considering the quality of the pieces featured. Click on the images below to read the full article:




As I mentioned in an earlier post, the point of "The Still Life" was to exhibit outstanding work by talented artists who "specialize" in still life. Now that the show has been up for two weeks I've had the opportunity to really look at each piece and appreciate what each artist has brought to the table. I can't tell you how many times I've walked through the exhibition space (with the intention of going to back of the gallery) and have found my self distracted by a painting in the show. James Neil Hollingsworth's painting, Dumbo, is one that I frequently visit through out the day.


James Neil Hollingsworth | Dumbo | Oil on hardboard | 24" X 24"

Neil's ability to differentiate the textures throughout the piece is without a doubt masterful. The piece is so impressive, in fact, that this photograph does not do the painting justice. From the trees reflected in Dumbo's plastic skin to the creases in the the tarp covering the lower portion of the ride, the artist has treated every surface, corner, nook, and cranny with equal care and attention. If you're in California, this painting will make your trip to the gallery worthwhile.



Shawn Kenney | Dutch Oven | Acrylic on panel | 8" X 10"

I've also spent a lot of time examining Shawn Kenney's work in this month's show, which is featured at the top of this post. Shawn lives in Rhode Island and attended RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) and has also worked as an illustrator, designer, and art director. There are two aspects of Shawn's paintings that attract me most - the manner in which he paints and his ability to depict light.

Although it isn't as obvious in photographs, Shawn's paintings utilize varying layers of paint to "build" and describe his subjects. Interestingly enough, areas lacking paint are equally as important as the areas with paint. This diverse range of opacity infuses each painting with a unique sense of three-dimensionality, which is further emphasized by his use of a single light source within each piece.

Both Table Setting and Dutch Oven, for example, are illuminated by an overhead light source, allowing Shawn to focus on specific areas of his subjects. Areas that are not in the path of the light recede into darkness, creating a palpable sense of space. This dramatic combination of warm, focused light along with rich, dark background colors immediately reminds me of the "master" of painting light: Caravaggio.


Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio | Still Life With Fruit | c. 1605

While Caravaggio is perhaps most famous for his religious paintings during the Counter-Reformation, we can still identify with his innovative style: tenebrism. This term is described by the overarching use of chiaroscuro, a style of painting that is characterized by strong contrasts between light and dark. This effect is used for both emotive and compositional purposes, and in such a way that it becomes a dominating force within the piece. Caravaggio's impact was certainly profound during his career as a painter, and his stylistic "followers" were known as the Caravaggisti. This artistic legacy persisted even after his death, as masters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Johannes Vermeer, and Rembrandt van Rjin, utilized chiaroscuro as a prominent stylistic element in their paintings.

Caravaggio was a household name during his life, but was almost immediately forgotten by the general European public after his death in 1610. The importance of his work was rediscovered in the 20th century, and it's exciting to know that contemporary painters are still influenced by his artistic legacy - even 400 years (exactly!) after his death.

When Art Imitates Life: Depicting Movement

Just as I was about to leave the gallery today I noticed a woman walking her two Scottish terriers on the sidewalk across the street. They weren't quite full grown yet but were full of energy as they scurried along the sidewalk.

I couldn't help but think of Giacomo Balla, the Futurist painter who known for his depictions of light, movement and speed. It's interesting to consider how visual artists slowly adopted new and innovative ways to depict movement on a two-dimensional surface. "That seems easy!" one might think, but is it really? Check out the painting I immediately thought of when I saw the two Scotties scampering by:



Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash | 1912

The painting is a bit dizzying, I must admit, but it certainly provides a summation of time over the course many individual "moments." I won't get into the political implications of Futurism, but I find it fascinating as an art historical convention.

Here's an interesting quote that coincides with Balla's painting:

"On account of the persistency of an image upon the retina, moving objects constantly multiply themselves; their form changes like rapid vibrations, in their mad career. Thus a running horse has not four legs, but twenty, and their movements are triangular." - Technical Manifesto of Futurist Painting

This, of course, leads me to think of photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who is known for his work on animal locomotion. Eadweard used multiple cameras to capture separate moments in time. In fact, his work photographing a galloping horse answered the much debated question of the period: whether all four of a horse's hooves are off the ground at the same time during a gallop. In fact, Leland Stanford, who was the California governor at the time, hired Muybridge to to settle the question.


The Horse In Motion | 1978

Muybridge's photographs showed that Stanford's racehorse was airbornein the midst of a gallop, solving the question once and for all. These photographs were taken in the late 19th century and directly relate to the Futurists' interests in the early 20th century.

To come full circle, the point of this post was to consider the idea of art imitating life. I'm constantly making associations between the past and present - it seems like anything and everything relates to art in some way, shape, or form. Art is continuous, fluid, and ongoing... and that's very, very exciting.

- Michelle

"The Still Life"

A new month means a new show at the gallery, and it is with great excitement that we're having our first annual invitational still life group show. My main objective in seeking new artists was to find "experts" who have a well-defined style, a high level of consistency, and a passion for painting objects. Ultimately the show confirms that contemporary still life artists continue to push boundaries through style, content, and technique, as they build upon an age-old tradition.

Here is a list of the accomplished painters featured this month:

Alvin Richard

Christopher Stott

Craig Stephens

Daryl Gortner

Derek Gores

Donald Bradford

Kathrine Lemke Waste

James Neil Hollingsworth

Otto Lange

Paul Coventry-Brown

Philippe Gandiol

Sally Tharp

Shawn Kenney

Teresa N. Fisher

So why collect still lifes? What's the big hoopla around them?

When I referred to the act of still life painting as an "age-old tradition" above, I wasn't kidding - painting realistic scenes of objects has persisted through out western art history. Trompe L'oeil still lifes are most often associated with the Flemish, as their realistically painted fruits and flowers for example, looked luscious enough to touch (Willem Kalf is a favorite). When considering the French, on the other hand, one might first think of the master still life painter Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, who was famous for his genre paintings. Cezanne, of course, was also French but he took on a very different vision from his predecessors as he explored post-impressionism through fragmented brush strokes, incongruous compositions, and vivid color. The Italian painter Morandi made tonal explorations through his still lifes as they often approached abstraction through a sense of "flatness" achieved through a simple design aesthetic.

I've only mentioned a few, but it's easy to see that still life artists have faced varying challenges and objectives over time, which leads us to wonder what's going on now?

Here are a few paintings (amongst many) in this month's show which will answer that question:

Alvin Richard - Held Over Monet - Acrylic - 12" X 9"

Aside from the fact that this piece is tremendously well done, the story behind it is equally compelling. Alvin gave me a little insight into the subject and here's what he wrote, "The title is a play on words. The vase is by Robert Held, a California born artist living in Vancouver Canada. While doing the rounds of the art galleries (on Prince Edward Island), I discovered the magnificent art glass of this very prolific artist. The luminosity in the glass is incredible... I knew at that very moment that I wanted a piece for myself and that I would want to paint it. Driving home I was thinking of anchoring it on a Japanese woodblock print. After I read Mr. Held's biography stating his main's influences as being Louis C.Tiffany, Gustav Klimt, and Claude Monet I had the perfect pocket book of Claude Monet which I had been eager to use in a painting."

Daryl Gortner - Forever Lasting - Oil on canvas - 48" X 30"

Daryl's painting is graphic, bold, and eye-catching. Read what she has to say about the piece and how the subject of a lollipop found its way to her canvas. "The lollipop's swirls of bright colors instantly reminded me of my childhood as I recalled the excitement of picking one out, enjoying its sugary flavor, but never finishing it because it was so large. I've further accentuate the 'everlasting' quality of the lollipop by painting it from a child's vantage point, as if it appears larger than life"

Teresa N. Fischer - When Your Horse Comes In - Oil on linen - 24" X 18"

Teresa's painting is grounded in its pyramidal composition and her use of striking tonal variations, which carefully describe each of the horse figurines. Notice the varying textures - the wood, the shiny plastic, and even the thread looped around the label - as they are all individually differentiated. The contrasting black background complements the piece nicely and further emphasizes the three-dimensionality of Teresa's subject.

James Neil Hollingsworth - Dumbo - Oil on hardboard panel - 24" X 24"

Neil's painting of Dumbo exhibits a thorough understanding of light. Dumbo's plastic surface is almost sumptuous with its tonal variations and impressive reflections. While the picture of this painting is fantastic, you have to see the piece in person to really appreciate the talent of this incredible painter.

Christopher Stott - Type B & Type A - Oil on canvas - 20" X 40"

Whether it's the subtle whimsy pervading his subjects, or the intricacy of detail, Chris' paintings are consistently magnetic. While books may seem commonplace or banal, they are treated with grandiosity through his attention to detail and thoughtful compositions. Here's a little insight into what Chris was thinking when he painted this: "I was having a conversation with Cynthia, an art consultant at the Elliott Fouts Gallery, about one of my paintings. Apparently someone was looking at one of my unruly stacks of books and said they'd constantly be compelled to organize the books, straighten them out and make a tidy pile. I like hearing about how different people interpret my paintings. And the idea occurred to me then to honor different personality types and how they relate to each other and can be integrated in to the same relationship, or paintings, in this case."

To see the rest of the show, please follow the link to our website below:

Elliott Fouts Gallery Website

The show will be on display from October 2 - November 4, 2010 with our Second Saturday opening on October 9th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Hope to see you there!

- Michelle

New Blog and A Recap of September

It has been awhile since we've blogged and I've decided to jump back into the game with a sleek new design!

This month at Elliott Fouts Gallery has been very exciting - Bryan Mark Taylor's one-person show Atmosphere, Light, Land garnered a generous amount of attention and it's no surprise that 3/4 of his show has sold. A solid review by The Sacramento Bee's Art Critic, Victoria Dalkey, brought in several new clients and confirmed that critics and collectors agree, Bryan Mark Taylor is one artist you must add to your collection.

Here's why:

• He's young. How many 34 year old artists can say they've sold 19 / 28 paintings in a month-long show? Not many. He has a well-defined style and has created what I like to call, a "tripartite" oevre consisting of cityscapes, farmscapes, and seascapes.


• He's academically trained. An artist with an artistic education behind their career is usually one step ahead of the next. Painters learn the fundamentals of painting in school, and whether they continue to pursue "academic" subjects like the nude, for example, or go on to create abstract works, a strong background is key. Picasso didn't jump right into Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon.


• He's an award winner. Bryan goes to plein air festivals around the state throughout the year (which means he's a go-getter, too!) and not only is he showing his work, he's also getting the attention of the festival jurors. He has a couple of "Best of Show" awards under his belt, including one from the 2009 Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational.


• His work is still affordable. Contemporary "masters" of plein air painting are asking for an upwards of $15,000 per painting. Why even spend $10,000 when you can get one just as good, or even better, for significantly less?

While many pieces have sold - here are two that are still available, along with reasons why they they shouldn't be.

Valley Farm Oil on canvas 16" X 20"

Valley Farm epitomizes Bryan's unique style with its obvious surface texture and fragmented brushstrokes. The sky, for one, is a testament to his ability to create the sense of atmosphere with ease, as it sets off the highly detailed buildings in the foreground.

California Coast Oil on canvas 11" X 14"

Bryan painted four coastal scenes for the show, three of which have sold. The spatial arrangement of the composition of this piece is especially noteworthy - a strong central diagonal makes its way from the upper left corner to the middle right side, drawing the viewer across the entire painting. The rocky formations on the coast are realistic depictions of weather-worn cliffs, further proving Bryan's rendering skills when painting en plein air.

Finally, if you're interested - click the link to Victoria's review of the show.

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/10/3014881/art-review-bryan-mark-taylor-captures.html

More to come.

- Michelle