Figures and Poetry

February 3, 2012 Linda Helgason’s Figure Paintings will illustrate poetry at the Upstairs Gallery in Ashland, Kentucky. This reading will be part of the First Friday art walk and is an adult only event.

for time and location, see the Upstairs Gallery's Facebook page:

facebook for The-Upstairs-Gallery

Linda is well known in the area for her inventive figure drawings. She has gain the respect of her fellow artists throughout the tri-state for her devotion and passion for art.

“I think Linda's figure pieces have a relaxed and graceful quality. She makes good use of contour lines and value changes to express form.” ~Linda Harbison, sculptor and watercolorist, Flatwoods, KY



"I like the very direct and decisive lines of her figures. The beautiful and bold washes complement her work." ~Bruce H. Bowersock, artist and teacher, Ona, WV



“Linda's art shows the beauty of the human body with gesture, line and movement. Linda is a true artist. She paints for herself and to show everyone the beauty of our bodies.” ~ Pati Payne, artist, Ironton, OH



“Linda's work is expressive as she creatively and artistically represents the beauty of human figures turning them into beautiful artwork.” ~ Laura Moul, Photographer, Milton, WV

Plein Air Through The Back Door

I wanted to work from life but also wanted to stay in where it was warm, so I stood at my kitchen door and painted part of the scene in front of me.

I call it, "Looking Out My Back Door" with apologies to CCR.

Looking Out My Back Door
Watercolor
Linda Harbison

I literally stood looking out the back door to paint it. A while back at the artists of The Renaissance Art Gallery were talking about finding subject matter near at hand to where ever you happen to be. As usual, I can't remember who said what, but the idea of not making a special trek to some special place to find a worthy subject stuck with me. So I decided to try to find things to paint in my own neighborhood. I live in Flatwoods Kentucky, on top of a hill. My neighborhood is a collection of identical ranch houses. So when I look outside, I see the rooftops of all these simple, rectangular houses. There is also a baseball field in the distance, though you can only see part of a dugout from this point of view. I took several sessions to sketch the scene directly on watercolor paper. Since I had the luxury of seeing it every day, I watched the light from morning to evening to see when it was most interesting. It turned out that late afternoon to early evening light was the most dramatic, so I painted between about 3:30pm and 5pm.

~Linda Harbison, Artist

The Renaissance Art Gallery

 

Note:

 

This and other pieces by Linda Harbison are now hanging and on display at the Renaissance Art Gallery

 900 8th Street, Suite 20,

Huntington, WV

Winter Plans, 2011-2012

WIP Linda Harbison

It's too cold to go outside and carve stone, so I like to spend the winter months inside painting watercolors. I am always trying to improve. In the past I have used a lot of photographic sources for my paintings. This works great for freezing proportions and details in place so you can study them. It also prevents you from having to position yourself and your materials in some awkward or dangerous place like the ditch beside Route 23 or the parking lot behind AK Steel while you work on a painting. But nothing compares to working from real life. So this winter, while it's cold and nasty out, I plan to set up some nice, cozy still life scenes indoors and paint from them.

People’s Choice Award

All during November and December, art enthusiasts walked through The Renaissance Art Gallery admiring the international miniature art show of 55 artists and 161 works of art, from 17 states and 2 countries. Each person was given the chance to select his or her own personal favorite. At the end of the month, all the votes were counted.

“Morning has Broken” by James Andrews (Bellevue, OH) was the overall winner. James’ other works, “Tobacco Barns” and “Water Lily” also received many votes. Clearly, James was a favorite among Huntington’s art lovers.

There was a tie for second place. John Beach’s (Staines, Middlesex, England)

“First Born” and Karen Chamblin’s (Belmont, WV) “Bathing Sparrow” received the identical number of votes.

This popular international exhibit is held each year at The Renaissance Art Gallery

Art Classes and Gallery Hours Through The End Of 2011

Joop Lieverse's Photos

He will celebrate Xmas on his own way.

Another year is coming to an end. Both the Monday and Wednesday studio hours and art classes will be held this week, December 19 and December 21, but will be not be held the rest of 2011.

Art classes will be held starting January 7, 2012 and will resume their normal schedule, Mondays and Saturday s 10-12 adult painting, Wednesdays Studio hours 12-7:30 with classes at 1:00 adult art, 3:30 Junior Art and 6:00 Adult Evening drawing.

The Renaissance Art Gallery will be closed Christmas day, Saturday December 25, 2011; New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2011 and New Year’s Day, January 1, 2012.

We wish everyone a happy new year and hope to see you all in January, 2012.

Thank You

Thank You,

 

 

 

Thanks to all who participated in our 11th Annual National Miniature Exhibition. We have been privileged to show and admire the work of fifty-five talented artists during the last few weeks. Many of whom we have seen grow in their ability to present a mood or a strong emotional statement through their work, we thank you, and look forward to many more annual exhibits with you.

 

 

 

Thanks also to our juror, Robert P. Hutton, for his sensitivity, knowledge and appreciation, for all forms of artistic expression.

 

 

 

To the members of the gallery, who volunteer many hours in preparation for the opening, you are the best!

 

 

 

 

 

Lil and Bruce Bowersock: hanging work

 

• Laura Moul: host to juror

• Linda Helgason: refreshments

•  Susan Tschantz: publicity and publications

• Laurie Shanholtzer: posters

• Gary Lapelle: ID cards

 

 

 

Purchase Awards: Villers/ Villers/ Whitley, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Huntington ,WV

 

Ryan L. Carlton, Davis Chiropractic, Barboursville , WV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Renaissance Gallery members wish all of you a wonderful Holiday Season!

 

 

 

Yvonne Wilson Boone

Poquoson, VA

“Poolside Setting” watercolor/ink



The hazy in the background, bright flowers on the table, such an inviting scene. You want to pull out one of those wrought iron chairs and sit down.