Gallery Director's Report: January 2022 Gallery Show

January 17, 2022 11:19 AM | Deleted user

by Paula Fowler, Gallery Co-Director

Happy new year!  I think none of us expected to be beginning another year at WAS-H with the Covid worries and with socializing concerns and constraints.  However, if these last two years have taught us anything as an organization it is that with a little ingenuity, perseverance, and good humor, we can adapt and make it over the hurdles. 

As the year opens, we have our gallery lined with 42 wonderful works of a general theme.  You can see the images on our online gallery, but nothing equals standing in front of the work, so please plan on stopping by the gallery soon.  And while you’re there, take a look in the sales shop on the first floor where you’ll find paintings for sale by our members.  Our Artist Liaison, Laura Mossman, has done a great job of coordinating this new effort.  

This month we were so fortunate to have our first show of the year judged by Nancy Paris Pruden.  She shared with us her vast artistic knowledge as she did the difficult job of picking the winners from the 42 wonderful entries. 

Nancy is an award-winning artist, lives and works in Houston, Texas. She grew up in Ft. Worth, Texas and started painting at a very early age when she won a scholarship to study drawing and later painting at the Experimental Art Program in Ft. Worth.  By the time she graduated from high school, she was selling her art and is today shown in many national juried shows. Texture and color are her main interests, and she paints from life Alla Prima style in oils.  She received her BFA in Painting and Drawing from University of Georgia and continued her training with workshops with several major artists before attending the Art Students League in New York.  She has won numerous awards and has participated in many One Woman Shows and museum shows across the United States.   Nancy lives in Houston and organizes Painting Workshops in France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, and Mexico in the summer.  She also maintains a blog on her website that is loaded with inspirations information for artists of all media.

www.parispruden.com

I’m so happy now to share some of the thoughts that Nancy had about the winners.

First Place – Fall at the Overlook by Fred Kingwill

“Well-drawn with a variety of warm and cool greens and nice use of areal perspective. Loved the runny color in the sky for added texture. Nice placement of the center of interest and variety of shapes and marks.”

Second Place – Voyager Reflections by Jackie Liddell

Again, well-drawn with an interesting division of space. Variety of colors and temperatures in the reflections. Nice handling of loose and precise drawing and nice placement of shapes.”

Third Place – Awning and Harbor by Larry Spitzberg

“Loved the unusual viewpoint and subtle diagonal composition. The drawing of the boats was a bit awkward and the perspective was a bit off, but it was in keeping with the overall whimsical feel of the painting so didn't bother me. Loved the awning at the top of the painting as it made you feel you were peaking in on a personal scene.”

Honorable Mention – Quiet Celebration by Pat Waughtal

“Strong sense of depth. Lots of surface visual interest as multiple layers furthered the sense of depth. Variety of brushwork and shapes of marks and unusual placement of focal point were strong points.”

Honorable Mention – Rubicund by Ruby Allen

“Nice variety of shapes and loved the way the marks on top of the shapes furthered the direction of the eye. Liked the blue and orange complementary color scheme and opposite diagonals, but the best was the choice of that neutral gray at the bottom and dark at the top to add color relief.”

Honorable Mention – Babson Farm Quarry by Charles Browne

“Nice drawing.  Liked the way the rock and reflections gave you a vertical in a basically horizontal composition. Liked the subtle handling of the sky and the little pops of warm green in a cool green landscape, but wish there had been more colors used in the greens. Maybe try a little red added to the greens and even some orange to change color without changing value.”

Thanks Volunteers

Our amazing volunteers that stepped up to make this month’s show possible were Patty Armstrong, Leisa Patin, Marcia Wasson, Laura Mossman and Nancy McMillian.  Thank you for your time and good humor.  We really do have fun!  If you are interested in joining in, sign up on the SignUpGenius on our homepage.

Coming Up

The prospectus for the February show is posted under the Monthly Gallery Exhibits.  The theme is A Few of My Favorite Things.  Hope you plan to enter something!  And then, get ready!  Our International Watermedia Exhibition is in March.  A lot of work is going on behind the scenes right now to make this a big success!  This is another opportunity for you to share a bit of your time and volunteer to help out. 

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