Press Release for Learning Green: A Different Appreciation of the Landscape -
June 7th - August 23rd, 2008
For Immediate Release LeQuire Gallery (615) 298-4611 Press Contact: Elizabeth Cave ecave@mindspring.com LEARNING GREEN: A DIFFERENT APPRECIATION OF THE LANDSCAPE ILLUMINATING THE INEXTRICABLE CONCEPTS OF NATURE, ART AND LIFE FEATURING LANDSCAPES IN OIL, WATERCOLOR AND PASTEL BY, ARTHUR BARNES, SUTA LEE, LORI PUTNAM, AND ASHLEY WILTSHIRE. June 7th – August 23rd 2008 Opening Reception for the Artists Saturday, June 7th 6-8pm Nashville, TN – On Saturday, June 7th, from 6:00-8:00pm LeQuire Gallery will open Learning Green: A Different Appreciation of the Landscape. This exhibit will not only highlight the plein air talent of the artists, but attempt to share the importance of sustaining the artist’s subjects of earth and sky - land, water, air and all that nature provides. The artist’s job for this exhibit as plein air painters was to tackle the heat, cold, wind, rain, ticks, changing light and all the other obstacles of painting outdoors, to provide viewers with the accuracy, the mood, the first impressions, and the colors of the landscape only the human eye can see. The summer job of LeQuire Gallery is to exhibit these paintings in a new way – providing interesting news, facts, and tips on environmental sustainability and a chance to look deeper and view these particular landscapes as portraits of conservation. Guests moving around the room of Learning Green will find “green” statistics in between paintings, and artist’s plein air painting stories under title cards. Literature of numerous green organizations from middle Tennessee will be on hand. Guests purchasing art will be able to make charitable donations to the organization of their choice if so desired (opening night only). Even the first 100 guests of opening night will receive a tree seedling from the National Arbor Day Foundation. To further benefit the movement, LeQuire Gallery is helping to engineer a summer summit including leaders and members from the majority of middle Tennessee’s green organizations. In preliminary meetings with several representatives LeQuire Gallery learned, in short, that that organizations can share information, expertise and resources, and work together to be more efficient in making Nashville a viable environmental leader in the southeast. A meeting to share resources, information and goals is now in the works for August 2008. As catalyst for the summit, LeQuire Gallery will host a July kick-off party celebrating and spreading the word about this important event -- continuing the education of the Learning Green exhibit. Artists: Arthur Barnes Arthur Barnes is one of the few artists who shares his experiences with painting en plein air at night. He is from Medina, New York and has painted for more than 20 years, always working outdoors and sometimes from the security of his truck. Barnes paints wherever he is - encountering new sights in person, translating each experience on paper at the time it happens. Barnes explains that painting in the dark is more about values than anything. The small watercolors he paints are done rapidly under conditions that limit his options. He uses white paper clipped to an easel with black ink to create the foundation for his watercolors. For his pastels Barnes uses middle or dark tone Canson paper and begins drawing with light colors first. Interesting in all Barnes work is his signature use of light. He states that having a light source that illuminates the paper is beneficial but not necessary since he is very comfortable taking advantage of what existing light there is such as the moon, a streetlight or a traffic light. Electric lights like neon signs and kitchen lamps all give the subject unique color as well as natural lighting. The key for Barnes uniqueness is that he has trained his eye over the years to find color in darkness regardless of light availability. Growing up in Medina, Arthur Barnes was exposed to little art or art education. He learned fundamentals while studying under Juanita Greene Parks who studied under Reginald Marsh and Robert Brackman, but feels he is mostly self-taught. Ms. Parks taught Barnes that one learns to draw… by drawing – in this respect Arthur Barnes is well experienced. Arthur Barnes has exhibited numerous times and been commissioned for several murals, but has been reluctant to exhibit his work for sale until recently, preferring to build what is now an extensive collection. This exhibit at LeQuire Gallery is only the third time Barnes has ever made his work available to the public. “In the dark, the world is reduced to large shapes and values. Colors are muted and details become obscured. Light punctuates the dark, whether it’s a blaze of neon or the soft, welcoming glow of a lamplight glimpsed through a window. Many artists paint on location during the daylight to accurately render what they seem but only a few have ventured out into the night to record the mysteries and beauty of the dark. Deborah Christensen Secor The Artist’s Magazine October 2005 Lori Putnam Lori’s interest in art began before she was 5 years old. By age 11, she had won her first student competition and used the $5.00 prize to purchase pencils and a large sketchpad. As an adult, she managed her own successful graphic design company for more than 13 years while continuing to study art independently. She has studied with world-class artists Scott Christensen, Michael Shane Neal, Jason Saunders, Quang Ho, Kim English and others. Lori is fortunate to share the legacy of a respected line of artists whose sound principles have been directly passed from John Singer Sargent. The artist’s most recognized paintings are in oil. Her award-winning works, whether produced in the studio or en plein air, embody creative composition, skillful brushwork, and masterful use of color. Lori says every work is like a time capsule stating, “It’s about interpreting a moment, painting from life, capturing the light’s effects, and translating all of that to the canvas for others to experience.” She is a member of, and has exhibited with, many respected, professional organizations including the national juried exhibition of the Oil Painters of America. Lori is also an active participant in The Chestnut Group, Landscape Artists International, Southern Artist Registry, International Plein Air Painters, and is a charter member of The Society of Master Impressionists. She has participated in several juried and invitational plein air festivals including Plein Air Easton in Maryland, Estes Park Paint the Parks in Colorado, the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival in California, Florida’s Forgotten Coast Plein Air Invitational, and the Plein Air Invitational in Kennebunkport, Maine. Her work is in the permanent collection at The Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland, in private collections, and in galleries worldwide. She is one of a select group of artists to be featured in an upcoming book and DVD, Painting North Carolina, scheduled for release in late 2008 and, as of May 14th, Putman received Signature Member status in International Plein Air Painters. Ashley Wiltshire While there are millions of landscape paintings in the world, few capture the place and time of day Wiltshire continues to master. Her representational paintings convey nature as it is happening – capturing a storm in the distance as it moves across a dark sky or a heavy mist that hovers over a Maine sunset. A native of Pensacola, Florida, Ashley has lived in Birmingham, Alabama since 1978. Ashley designed and manufactured metal furniture before devoting her time to painting and continues to pursue her art education through workshops across the country studying with several noted artists including Greg Kreutz, Kevin MacPherson, Randall Sexton, Marc Chatov and Tom Browning. In Wiltshire’s case, it is interesting to note the very wide range affect her work elicits provoking feelings of intrigue in some and disturbance in others. Art Curator Antoinette Spanow Nordan complements Wiltshire on her diversity. “Some of her paintings are realistic, others abstract, and the key linking both forms is Romanticism. Wilshire’s paintings convey the dynamic, mysterious energy of nature first explored by the Romantic artists of the nineteenth century. In her representational paintings, one sees nature as powerful, sublime, captured in the palpable atmosphere of the darkening landscapes. Like her artistic forebears, the oils on canvas or board frequently center on depictions of water. One finds unsettling dualities of calm and disquiet. Familiar scenes of the Southern landscape elicit these dualities. Depictions of fog or twilight hold the thrilling mystery of obscurity juxtaposed against the peaceful representation of eventide.” Wiltshire currently teaches a class at Studio by the Tracks, a non-profit art studio that provides free art lessons to adults with Autism and emotionally conflicted children. She won the 2008 Energen Corporation award for Best Landscape for the second time, and was recently asked to join the Alabama Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Suta Lee Suta Lee has been painting for 25 years. His subjects range from figure to landscapes to large abstract work. He uses oils, watercolors and pastels. Lee has exhibited nationally and had won several awards from juried exhibits. Lee comes to Tennessee a few years ago to take up a teaching position at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. He holds a Master of Fine Art degree from Cornell University. Suta Lee currently lives and works in Clarksville, Tennessee. Lee has a Master of Fine Art, Painting and Drawing from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, a Master of Art, Painting and Drawing from California State University, Fullerton, CA, a Bachelor of Fine Art, Illustration and Design from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA, and an Academy Degree of Fine Art in Painting from the National Academy of Fine Art, Republic of China. Lee’s exhibited in numerous one-person museum and gallery shows in KY, TN, CA and NY. His group shows include the Frist Center’s Invitational of 2004. His watercolors will be an important addition to this exhibit. |
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