Fall Landscapes - Fern Christian

Beechfork
F. Christian

 

 

"Fall colors make me want to paint them . I enjoy doing anything that gives me the opportunity to use color. Of course I really don't need an excuse for that, but it is an excuse to get creative with reality. It's the paint running through our veins that makes us crazy! Each one falls short of meeting our ideas of perfection , so we actually think the next one will be the best. We must keep trying!"

 

~ Fern Christian,

artist

 

 

 

 

These beautiful paintings are now on display at the Renaissance Art Gallery, along with other works by Fern Christian. Fern is not only an artist, but the founding director of the Renaissance Art Gallery, an artist-run co-op in down town Huntington, WV. She teaches painting in an open studio Monday 10-12:00.

Lonely
F. Christian

Artists at the Renaissance Art Gallery

March 23, 24, & 25 2012

Friday Gary Lapelle will host the Renaissance Art Gallery. Gary is known for his portraits of animals and his animal cartoons, if it has fur, he will paint it! Gallery will be open from 12-4 pm

Saturday Ron Haeberle will be in. He is known for his architectural watercolors of Huntington, WV. Ron will be in from 1-4 pm.

Sunday Linda Helgason will be in from 1-4 pm. Linda never saw a figure she did not like.

Dolores Andrew

“Looks like a place I would like to live”

was a comment made by one person of Dolores Andrew’s watercolors. Both “Apothecary Morning” and “Old Bank Barn” have that almost idealized country look. However, “Sketch Class” will have a definite pull on any artist. This outline drawing could be of any drawing class, like the ones we all have attended.

Dolores is from Baltimore, MD.

Creating a Painting

Subject: Johnson Memorial Methodist Church, Huntington, WV

 



I recently completed a watercolor of the Johnson Memorial Methodist Church. This is another in a series of architectural subjects from Huntington. I have been photographing subjects around town for three years and am slowly working through them in paint. Huntington has a number of beautiful churches but I have found it difficult to find just the right angle or point of view to put on paper. To be honest, I have put the photos of this church aside a number of times - seemingly because it appeared to be so dark and stark. However the truth is I never really studied them. When I did, I found the the stained glass to be extensive and delicate. By moving around the facade I found a pleasing, balanced composition that gave the feeling of the massiveness of the structure without being stiff. I decided this would be the first of a church series.

As you can imagine I spent a long time with this work - about three weeks, off and on. The pencil layout was painstaking and required several days. Due to the shadows in the original photos I had to visit again at a similar time (7 AM) to re-photograph certain specific sections. It is during this part of the process that I begin to gain an appreciation for the structure in front of me. It is essentially a reconstruction - stone for stone and pane for pane. I begin to appreciate the design as a whole. Who laid it all out? How were horizontal and vertical sections chosen to advance or retreat in the facade? How was the stone chosen and where was it quarried? What stories do the windows tell?



There is also a larger context. Who was constructing these churches along 5th Ave? Were they local stonemasons? Were they all being built at the same time? Well, as you can see you have a lot of time to ponder while you paint.


Johnson Memorial Methodist Church
Ron Haeberle



After completing the drawing the next step was to work out the palette of colors. For this work the palette was limited and for that reason important. I had recently completed a pre-sunrise scene of tide pools at the beach and the reddish violet of the early morning light in that work was almost spot on. To be sure the work was consistent, I had to mix most of the paint for the entire painting in the beginning. The rest of the painting was relatively straightforward but tedious: constructing the windows, texturing the stonework and placing the shadows. A few final details and the job was done. This was a relatively large painting (for me), matting to 22"X28". This was necessary to develop the detail of the windows and stonework.

Having completed the painting I am now looking forward to tracking down some of the history of the building to answer some of the questions that arose during the painting / pondering process.

The painting itself has been matted and framed and submitted as an entry to the next West Viriginia Division of Culture And History  juried show which focus on historical structures in the state.



I am now off on another "project". It won't have quite so many little windows!

By Ron Haeberle

Renaissance Artist

Working on the 10th Annual National Miniature Exhibition

The entire Renaissance Gallery is working hard to make this the best International National Miniature show we have ever had. In honor of our 10th Miniature Exhibition, we want the widest audience, and the widest participation among local artists we have ever had.





This is important to us. We feel that our central location at 900 Eighth Street, Suite 20 in downtown Huntington WV in the Tri-state area makes us the best place to showcase local artists. The Miniature Show is fun! It is exciting to be in a nationally recognized show. And we have cash awards!

Size Matters!

Art schools tend to emphasize painting large. Large is good. Large is important. Large is impressive. For those of us who are self-taught, the tendency is for sizes we are comfortable and familiar, ea. we tend towards sizes that photos come in, 8x10, 5x7 etc. Or whatever is on sale at the local craft store.

But choosing the size is also a part of composition. So go small!

Small works can be surprisingly intimidating.

How Do I Paint So Small?

Once you try a couple, you find it really isn’t that hard. With the correct tools and lighting it can be very relaxing. After the stress of painting large, there is a certain freedom in going small.

Four inches by six inches (4x6) seems to be the most popular size, both with artists and with collectors. This seems to be small enough to be intriguing, and still allows the viewer to interact with the scene. Another plus-it is a standard size and relatively easy and inexpensive to frame.

Publicity

We have gotten a couple of nice write-ups in the local papers here in West Virginia but continue to have trouble getting noticed in Eastern Kentucky and Southern Ohio. Since The Renaissance Art Gallery is located in Huntington, WV right across the river from Ohio, and only miles from Kentucky it is a great place to artists to gather and party a bit. Celebrate being an artist. We always have a number of tv stations and reporters attending the reception, and they are always on the look out for fresh blood! And it is an easy show to get into. Simply stay with the size and media, and you are in!

It is also a great way to build an art resume. Something that is nationally recognized and outside the walls of academia, and is nationally recognized.

Are you going to be part of the 10th Annual National Miniature Exhibition?



http://www.cabellstandard.com/main.asp?SectionID=15&SubSectionID=15&ArticleID=2346



http://www.orgsites.com/wv/renaissance/index.html

NEWS FLASH: Bowersocks are home and glad about it!

The Bowersocks just returned from a month-long vacation. Now, don't get the wrong idea. Part of it was visiting family, but I must say that Bruce has a really wonderfufamily. Reconnecting after 3 years was a good thing. Lil surprised Bruce with a 2-night stop at National Harbor, a new WyndhamVacationResorts property right across the river from Historic Alexandria, Va. Spending two whole 7 hour days in the National Gallery of Art was nothing but fabulous. Bruce was like a little kid as he tried to suck in all the wonderful and precious paintings and sculptures on display.


We were both inspired at this point, but another treat was on the way. We sketched, biked, walked, photographed and just basked in the glory of nature spread out by God for all to see and enjoy.


While we were on our trip, we had a wonderful to talk to our two friends with doctorates and brainstorm about new ways to make this art business work. So now we are on a wild ride to writing a book....Bruce's book. More about this as it progresses.

Art Photography Show Opens

Photography Show – Color Complements

Well, we made the paper, and TV! The opening reception for our 2nd Fine Art Photography show, Color Complements made a big splash!

Both Media were out and admiring of the work displayed, and we got more than the simple 30 second shot on the news. They took the time to show a pan of the room, and all the really great photos on display as well as our guests in the Kumkum Majumdar Exhibition Hall. One of our winners, Linda Clifford was interviewed, as well as another guest and two gallery members, Gary Taylor and Michael Adkins. Michael, being an active photographer, was able to give some insights in his TV interview.

You can see the newspaper coverage here, as well as more photos of the opening.

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x575677634/Gallery-exhibition-showcases-local-photographers-work?i=0

It is gratifying to see the reactions to real fine art photography, to know that we really showed them the art in it. All of the submitted photos show great creativity. I think the caliber of the work enter this year far surpasses last years entries, even if the number was down.

Each and every piece showed that the artist really thought about it. These are not simply what they had on hand, but executed and mounted with this challenge in mind. And it was a difficult challenge for photographers, to feature and work with color complements.

But that is what art is all about, problem solving. We take the problem of how to express what we want, consider our medium and then work out our own particular solution.

Mission Statement

Our Mission is to promote art and art education in the community and among its members. To encourage and promote a public interest and understanding of art; to create and develop a closer relationship between art and the community and further the education and artistic development of its members.

Artist Co-op Gallery

The Renaissance Gallery offers a venue for working regional artists to show develop as working artists by interacting with their peers and the community at large.
The gallery differs from the Huntington museum of art in its focus on regional living artists. While the museum is supportive of regional artists and offers educational opportunities to the community, its focus is largely archival. Maintaining a growing collection of important art, and brings national shows to the area. The Renaissance Gallery can focus its efforts on developing the local artistic community, offering a physical place to display work not just of its members, but also of other local artists. Giving them the opportunities needed to grow their talent.
We want to offer an active studio experience. The museum does offer studio space, it is as a landlord, an authority figure, at one step removed. Individual artists are like the orphan Oliver "please sir, can I have more!"
The Renaissance gallery is more artist-directed. Offering an on-going experience, that tri-state does not offer. Here, the artists must be interactive with each other and the community at large. We can offer smaller, more mentor driven classes.
With solid funding we can offer more opportunities for regional artists to stretch themselves and expand their working knowledge of art and media. It is the perfect setting for the self-taught and folk artists to get hand-on experience.
As the name implies, the Renaissance Gallery can be a cultural revival, home to a period of vigorous artistic and intellectual activity, a regional Renaissance.

Dear Fellow Photograher

While we all like to work in our field, sometimes we get the feeling that the art has gone out of our photography. We get creative cramps or simply dry spells. Then, there is the question of where to show and when. Well, we sometimes feel this way too.

The Renaissance Art Gallery announces its 2nd Annual Fine Art Photography show scheduled for July 2010. This is an open entry show, meaning it is open to all photographers 18 years of age and older. Photographers will be able to submit up to 3 photos to be displayed at The Renaissance Art Gallery for the month of July with the theme of “Color Complements”. Each photo should show the strong use of color.

Cash awards will be given to the best interpretation of color and color complements. (Complementary colors are colors opposite each other on the color wheel.) But it is how you use color as an element in the photo that will count.

Now, all work must start out as a photograph. But afterwords………. This is where we can all get creative! Lets get to work in that virtual dark room and show what we can do!

Entries can be brought into The Renaissance Art Gallery June 18, 19 & 20 during normal gallery hours, or shipped to:

The Renaissance Art Gallery
C/o Lillianne Bowersock
3743 River Park Road
Ona, WV 25545


Photos should be framed and ready to hang. Shipped entries should be postmarked by June 15th. For more information call or stop by The Renaissance Art Gallery. Or contact us by phone or e-mail.

Keep up with gallery news and updates on this show at: http://renaissancegalleryart.blogspot.com/ and at twitter: http://twitter.com/WVGallery or simply e-mail us at: gallerywv@yahoo.com

The Renaissance Art Gallery
900 8th Street, Suite #20
Huntington, WV 25701

Gallery (304) 525-3235
Appointments: (304) 453-3187
gallerywv@yahoo.com
www.orgsites.com/wv/renaissance

http://twitter.com/wvgallery
http://renaissancegalleryart.blogspot.com/

Gallery hours are:

Friday & Saturday 12-4 pm, Sunday 1-4 pm
Studio hours Monday 10-Noon, Wednesday 1:00-7:30 pm and Saturday 10-Noon

Summer is fast approaching

Summer is fast approaching The Renaissance Gallery. And with it will come the heat.

Deep in the heart of winter we all longed for the heat of summer! But when it gets here, we long for something else...

But summer also brings out the artist in us. And the summer art shows and festivals.

June will be an especially busy month for all the artists of the Renaissance. Our second session of digital photography will be starting Tuesday, June 1, 2010, and our first workshop in Digital photography.

But our regular classes are still running, Monday and Saturday painting classes, Wednesday drawing for both Juniors and Adults, and Saturday Afternoon figure drawing classes.

Linda Helgasson will have a one-woman show in the Kumkum Majumdar Exhibition Hall, "Barely There," with an opening reception Sunday, June 6th, 2-4 pm.

And don't forget, our 2nd Annual Fine Art Photography show will be opening in July, with submission dates, June 16,

How the Renaissance Gallery Impacts the Community

Renaissance since its inceptions has been involved with the community, and one of biggest impacts we ever had was just after 9/11 when we held an auction through Renaissance to help raise some money for the Lower Manhattan Art Gallery. They lost 2 artists in the north tower during that tragedy and ALL of their young artists lost their materials and art they had already completed.

We raised about $1900 or so to send to them to help the young artists buy new materials and get started again. Renaissance members and Tri State Arts Association members donated all the art. It was a great time and we all felt like we had done something meaningful to help during that tragedy.

Impact on community

The Renaissance Art Gallery is located in the heart of the city of Huntington, on the corner of 8th Street and 9th Avenue.

It is accessible to most people, being located on the ground floor of the former Huntington High School, fast becoming a regional center for the arts.

One afternoon, after an article in the local paper invited all to see the Miniature show, a large group of around 18 handicapped adults from a nearby adult day care center walked over to see the show.

Although it was a cold day, all were enthusiastic about seeing the show. The artist on duty was able to tell them about the miniature art form and to discuss individual paintings and works with them. They found answers for their individual questions were encouraged to learn that many of them could make such art themselves. Their enthusiasm for the show and interest in art was a joy to see. They all enjoyed personal attention and interaction. They viewed art displayed accessibly in an atmosphere that encouraged them to really explore the art and interact with the gallery personnel and within their group. The conversation was lively and irreverent at times, but clearly a pleasure for those who attended. Without this show, they would not have been able to view so much art in a venue where they felt at home.

I think experiences like this make all the work worth it.

Our gallery is located in a converted high school building. Part of it, the gym and such is now a YMCA. Much of the classroom area has been converted into senior and low-income housing. But the auditorium and music and some science rooms in the front of the building is now an arts centre for the town. People who would not ordinarily see fresh, new art see our shows.

Time for Color

Time is closing in on the Color Complements. Starting this Friday, 12-4 pm The Renaissance Art Gallery is accepting entries for the 3 Annual Spring Fine Arts Exhibition. Everyone should make sure their works are labeled and all paper work is filled in. For those who have lost their prospectus, copies are available at the gallery and the artists on duty will be more than happy to help you.

The gallery is located on the corner of 8th Street and 9th Avenue, on the ground floor of The Renaissance Building, the former Huntington High School. Gallery opens at 12 pm and will remain open until 4 pm both Friday and Saturday. Sunday hours are from 1pm until 4 pm. For more information call the gallery at 304-525-3235.

Updates are available at http://twitter.com/WVGallery and http://renaissancegalleryart.blogspot.com/

The Renaissance Art Gallery
900 8th Street, Suite #20
Huntington, WV 25701

Gallery (304) 525-3235
Appointments: (304) 453-3187
gallerywv@yahoo.com
www.orgsites.com/wv/renaissance

The Renaissance Art Gallery

The Renaissance Gallery is an artist’s run co-op gallery in Huntington, West Virginia dedicated to bringing the finest in local original art to the region. As a real brick and mortar gallery, we give local artists a place to display their work and local people a place to see the best the region has to offer. It is accessible to most people, being located on the ground floor of the former Huntington High School, fast becoming a regional center for the arts. We are an easy, comfortable place for people to show and see artworks in West Virginia and the Huntington area.

Membership in our gallery is open to adult artists. As a co-op each member shares in the running of the gallery, taking turns “sitting the gallery” and participating in all the duties and privileges of membership in this cooperative

The Gallery is open to artist and artistic expression, and we routinely display a wide range of art including: Landscape and still life, abstract, batik, photography, experimental art, sculpture, drawing, Miniature Fine Art, and we have commemorative pieces by the Art Resources For The Tri-State.

Our artists work in many mediums including oils, acrylic, fabric, both film and digital photography, computer assisted art, glass, figure paintings. The gallery is open to new and experimental work.

We have an ever-changing exhibition hall, and 3 open exhibitions each year in which artists from all over the region are invited to share their work with the public. These shows are themed and a qualified judge evaluates the work. Each of these events is opened with a public reception. This is an opportunity for both the community to see the best available and for new and established artists to get to know one another and meet the community. We also have hosted local art education shows featuring the work of area students, and plan to expand this in the future. Educators interested in organizing a show for their students are welcome to contact the gallery for more information.

The members of The Renaissance Art Gallery also offer art classes to both adults and students, with classes at different convenient times. We have classes for beginners, hobbyist and mature, established artists.

We are dedicated to bringing artists and the community together.

Michael Cornfeld To Be Juror For Spring Exhibition

The Renaissance Art Gallery announces juror for its Spring Fine Arts Exhibition, “Color Complements”. Michael Cornfeld, retired chairman of Marshall Universities Art Department, and one-time director of the Birke Art Gallery, has agreed to act as juror for this spring’s Fine Arts Exhibition. Mr. Cornfeld is himself an award-winning artist.

The challenge this spring is for artists to take a primary color and its complement and use these as a foundation for a work of art. This exhibition is open to all adult artists, 18 years old and older. All fine art media are welcome. Any artist interested in participating in this event should contract The Renaissance Art Gallery. Prospectus is available at the gallery or on line on The Renaissance Art Gallery’s website: www.orgsites.com/wv/renaissance.

Mentoring for this event is available. All work submitted to the gallery will be hung. The exhibition will hang for the month of May and includes an opening reception for the artists and general public. The Renaissance Art Gallery is handicapped accessible.

The Renaissance Art Gallery hosts a changing array of innovative shows along with the regular display of gallery member’s work. All work is original and done by local artists. In addition The Renaissance Art Gallery offers a range of fine arts classes for both adults and children in many media. Check out the Class list on the website or come in and talk to on of our artists.

Figure Drawing Class

DEMAND FOR FIGURE DRAWING CLASS AT RENAISSANCE
GALLERY LEADS TO A MID-WEEK CLASS


You can’t argue with success! And the figure drawing classes at The Renaissance Art Gallery are a success! In fact they are so successful, the room is overflowing with artists. Our exhibition hall only holds so many people! Because of this, Bruce Bowersock, instructor at The Renaissance Gallery is going to hold another, mid-week session of classes.
Bruce Bowersock is prepared to begin a class on Tuesday evenings for 8 weeks from February 23 through April 12, 2010 (skipping Spring Break week). The cost is $120 per student plus class members share in the cost to the model (anything from $5-$7 per week.

This class is open to all adult art students. Everyone interested should call 304-743-6035.

Sitting the Gallery

Cold, snowy weather is keeping many people home. But Sunday was my day to “sit the Gallery” as we call it. Each of the artist-members of the Renaissance Gallery takes several turns during the month to open and run the gallery. We open the doors, turn on the lights, and wait for people to come in and see the original art that we and our fellow artists in the tri-state area have created and placed on view.

This is largely a labor of love. Love of art and our neighbors. I can’t think of anything I like better than showing the gallery to a first time visitor. After 9 years there are still many people in the area that don’t realize there is an artist-run gallery and that they are allowed to enter! Often they come in, rather shyly, almost asking if it is ok for them to look.

Yes! Come on in!

We enjoy people looking at the artwork! And what is on our walls is different from anything else out there. Each piece is unique. The gallery members run the gambit of art and art styles. Some paint, others take photos, or throw pots. There are drawings, and prints, and abstracts. Just about every media is represented in some from, acrylic, watercolor, oils, pastels, pencils, and clay. The list goes on.
This month, one of our newer members, Ron Haeberle is the featured artist. Ron is a watercolorist, and a good one. He is a local man, who records much of what is beautiful in West Virginia, Southern Ohio and Eastern Kentucky. He also loves the beach, which you can see in his many ocean paintings.

Figure Drawing

The weather does not appear to be cooperating with the Renaissance Gallery this week. More snow, so many will not be able to make the Figure drawing class this week, but there is always next week!

With the bad weather, don't rush!

Sue Tschantz will be maning the gallery tomorrow, however, and will have the hot pot on for tea and coffee.

Linda Helgesson has her display of firgure drawings up for view, as well as new works by the rest of the gallery members, including Ron Haeberle.

New Year, New Art

The start of the new year is leaving everyone tired! After the miniature show, it seems it is hard to get going again.

January and February will be devoted to new artists and new works. The Exhibition hall will focus on the new members of the Gallery, and be supported by new works of the regular members, things we have not displayed before.

Ron Haeberle has a large amount of new watercolors, some urban, but most featuring the back woods around this part of West Virginia.