Carol Clay
Laurie Davis
Watercolor
Watercolor has always been my first love when it comes to art.
It is impulsive and strategic at the exact same moment. The juxtaposition of wet and dry areas on the paper provides the first challenge. It is about control or lack thereof… leaving white space… painting in the negative… keeping it loose or buttoned up and tight… The glazing of transparent color over color to see a painting emerge and start to glow is very satisfying. I have worked in a variety of mediums, but watercolor continues to be my constant… my playful companion on a quiet afternoon.
I appreciate the child-like innocence of color, movement, and subject matter. Simplicity in subject matter is key for me. I enjoy strong color combinations with pattern and design, a simple subject with an imagined back story. I am inspired by the longing for a simpler time… but with polka dots and a stripe or two… In the early years, I took workshops in Taos, Santa Fe, Houston, and Fort Worth. I was the only one in class with a polka dot landscape. I like to keep it interesting.
For years, I taught seasonal watercolor workshops where we painted the springtime Texas wildflowers, autumn and holiday card designs. At that point, my home base gallery was a unique space, a Floral Design and Art gallery on the town square. My large scale florals complimented a very talented artist and floral designer and we worked well together selling flowers, both on paper and fresh! When the gallery moved to New Mexico, my sunflowers went along and sold very well. Thus, I still paint large florals on occasion. The “Ladies Who Lunch” watercolors were first inspired by the ladies who dined at a local tearoom in town and then attended the Opera House for theatre performances on a Sunday afternoon. I’ve painted these ladies ever since, usually with a cat on their head or a dog in their lap. In the past eight years, I’ve had a card line, “Brush & Twig” and worked on those designs and sold thousands of cards through shows, shops and my website. The pandemic cancelled art shows so we began to plan our retirement and the likely move from Texas to Western North Carolina.
Assemblage
During the pandemic, I began to tinker in my long time “found objects” stash and started to play with arranging these items in small vintage wood boxes. Always a fan of Joseph Cornell, I enjoyed the idea of interesting arrangements in boxes. I found the monochromatic nature of textures and the warmth of the wood a welcome diversion to my everyday colorful painting. With time and a bit of scouting, I may find myself making a box here and there as materials speak to me. There seems to be a wealth of found objects in this area, so who knows what will inspire the next assemblage.
Sharyn Fogel
Sharyn has been depicting Western North Carolina with her watercolors for over 40 years, and has no plans to slow down. Misty mountains, old barns, Queen Anne’s Lace, and waterfalls are just a few of her favorite subjects. She uses many different weights of watercolor paper, and never tires of trying new paints, brushes, and surfaces. Continue reading “Sharyn Fogel”
Barbara Hawk
I see creating art as a way to savor the beauty of God’s world. When I sit by a river, gaze at a waterfall, or take in the vastness of the mountains, I become awestruck and deeply moved. For me the world of nature speaks of constancy, order, variety, balance, and vibrancy. It hums a melody of peace and conflict while it calms our hearts. It is full of mystery and delight. Continue reading “Barbara Hawk”
Nancy E. Richards
Through my paintings I hope to convey the wonder and sense of joy that I find in humanity and in the natural world that surrounds us. I love the vivid colors of alcohol inks, a fluid medium that creates surprising and spontaneous textures and expressions. I also paint with acrylics, watercolors, gouache, pastels, and oils, selecting the materials that best convey the abstract or representational subjects that interest me. Pattern and repetition are sometimes enhanced in my mixed media pieces that incorporate printing techniques, painting, and collage elements. My goal is to engage the viewer in a visual dialogue that encourages and delights.
Roxane Russo
I am an encaustic painter who has been experimenting with beeswax, resin, and pigment for over a decade. The word Encaustic means to “burn in” the technique is a progression of liquid to solid, as properties change throughout the creative process. It is a continued evolution of movement and fragility that ironically results in an enduring piece of art. After each layer of beeswax is applied, it cools and then is fused to the previous layer using heat. The result is a translucent image created by multiple layers, some clearly seen while others may be a mere suggestion.
I use a wide variety of materials to generate images including inks, oil sticks, and pigmented shellac. A variety of techniques are also employed such as scribing, scraping and burning, along with embedding objects. Sometimes, papers as precious as my father’s architectural renderings or French legal documents from the 1800’s are given a new and preserved life in beeswax.
Originally from Cranston, Rhode Island, I earned a BFA in textile design from the University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth. Many of my landscapes are inspired by the New England coast with color pallets representing both sea and snow. Additionally, I have taken inspiration from the marshes of the Carolina low country as well as the crests of the Blue Ridge.
Roxane Russo
404-376-1642
