Showing posts with label Bill Colt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Colt. Show all posts

Divine Bovines are Udderly Wonderful at Wilde Meyer!

By Judy Feldman | www.wildemeyer.com

Growing Pains  24″ x 48″
Sarah Webber
Wilde Meyer artists tend to like animals. It’s not at all unusual to see images of dogs, horses and even chimpanzees when you walk into any of their galleries. But, this month, some other animals will be prominently displayed in Scottsdale at the first “Divine Bovine” show.

Here, you’ll see all sorts of bovine art: cows, buffalo, bison and yaks. At least 25 artists are participating in this themed show. Some of the artists, like Bill Colt and Sarah Webber, have favored painting bovines for quite a while.

Onlookers  18″ x 24″
Bill Colt
Lily Fair  24″ x 20″
Bill Colt

How Now Brown Cow  30″ x 30″
Judy Feldman
For some, like me, it’s a first time we’ve painted a bovine. I don’t know why I never thought of it before, because I do think cows are beautiful, especially their expressive, heavily lashed eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed painting “How Now Brown Cow,” and I really did feel a bond with this lovely creature!

Small in a Fuzi Dream 18″ x 18″
Linda Carter Holman
Linda Carter Holman has a personal relationship with the subject of her painting, entitled “Small in a Fuzi Dream.” The yak belongs to her! Linda has incorporated images that recur in her other paintings, such as the goldfish and the charming female figure, along with her typical color palette.

As a matter of fact, you can probably identify the artists of many paintings. Although the subject may be new, our styles still come through! Sherri Belassen’s “Retro Vache” definitely reflects her technique and choice of hues. Connie Townsend’s “Red” has the same crazy expression you see in many of her driving dogs. And, of course, Trevor Mikula has come up with a witty way of showing his cows in “Heads or Tails!”

Retro Vache 60″ x 72″
Sherri Belassen

Red 24″ x 30″
Connie Townsend
Heads or Tails 24″ x 24″
Trevor Mikula

Yak Yak Yak  30″ x 17″ x 16″
Barbara Duzan
Buffalo Past
Adriana Walker
The show is not only about paintings. Adriana Walker has Necklace and earring sets (show Buffalo Past). Kathryn Blackmun has created a turquoise bison ornament and a bison plate, and there are sculptures by Carol Ruff Franza (Prairie Thunder”), Kari Rives (“Sky Cow”) and “Yak Yak Yak” by Barbara Duzan.


So, stop by during October and see this fun show. You never know, you might fall in love with a cow, a buffalo or even a yak!

You can see more art from Divine Bovine at Wilde Meyer.

It Takes a Collector to Collage!

By Judy Feldman | www.wildemeyer.com

The other day, when I went into our guest bedroom, I noticed two of my mother's collage pieces on the wall. She was a painter, but she also loved collage. Aside from several works of art, she also left me bags of her raw materials: colorful papers, some ribbon, a piece of corrugated paper from the inside of a cookie box, a gold envelope, magazine images, and even a pair of old eyeglasses!

I googled the word "collage," and found some interesting information from Wikipedia. It said that collage is defined as an art form in which various materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric are arranged and adhered to a backing. The word collage is from the French word "coller," which means "to glue." This term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.


Desert Cutlass, 24" x 48"
by Bill Colt

According to an essay from the Guggenheim Museum's online art glossary, the glued-on patches that Braque and Picasso added to their canvases offered a new perspective on painting when the patches "collided with the surface plane of the painting." From this perspective, collage examined the relationship between painting and sculpture, and these new works "gave each medium some of the characteristics of the other." The Guggenheim essay also noted that the use of bits of newspaper was a reference to current events, and to popular culture. This juxtaposition of signifiers, "at once serious and tongue-in-cheek," was fundamental to the inspiration behind collage.

There are several artists at Wilde Meyer who use collage in their artwork. I spoke with three of them.


Woody, 12" x 12"
by Bill Colt

Bill Colt is following the tradition of Braque and Picasso, using pages from old magazines he finds in antique stores to inspire him. "I call it 'retro collage,'" he says. Bill collects old magazines dating back as far as 1947 (Colliers); Life magazines from 1952,as well as old copies of Good Housekeeping, Family circle and Look Magazine. He’s really interested in the old ads. His painting, entitled "Desert Cutlass" has some of those 1952 clippings which he paired with his image of the old Cutlass. Underneath the paint surface of the colorful "Woody," painting, Bill has collaged old cartoon clippings, including one at the bottom of the page with a boy and his dog that you may recognize.


In Country, 24" x 48"
by Bill Colt

Bill is a corporate pilot, and his airplane paintings include pieces of aviation maps, old Pan Am ads and aviation engineering manuals. "In Country" depicts F4 fighter planes from the Vietnam War, and if you look closely at the upper right corner, you’ll see a 1960's image of Jim Morrison.

Bill's collage technique is pretty methodical at first. To start, he creates texture on his canvas with joint compound and bits of things like cheesecloth. Then, he collages pieces of his printed materials on the canvas with gel medium. As the creative process takes over, he draws his image in charcoal, and then paints with acrylics, covering some of the collage work. To finish, Bill glazes his painting with a product that deepens and enriches his colors.


Backroad Boys, 36" x 36"
by Charles Davison

Charles Davison considers himself a multi-media artist. He takes the collage concept even further, using beads, buttons and other items, in addition to paper and fabric, to create his artwork. Charles has been in Arizona since 1978, but even when he lived in New York, he said he was interested in southwestern themes. He said that his work has evolved from a non-representational style with neutral tones, to his current focus on horses and Native Americans, all painted in bright colors and enhanced with his collage work. For example, in "Back Road Boys," he uses fabric to create the cowboys' scarves, two of the shirts, and the brown pants. Actual buttons are glued on to the shirts, and the buckles are made of buttons and other materials.


Dawn Council, 28" x 38"
by Charles Davison

The Native Americans depicted in "Dawn Council" are wearing actual beaded necklaces, and their clothes are painted, then covered with strips of fabrics.

I think Charles' talent lies in the way he seamlessly combines his painted images with collage. Even though he uses many different materials, his paintings still have a unified look.

Like all multi-media and collage artists, Charles is a collector. He gets his materials from the desert, antique stores and thrift shops. His large, colorful fabric collection inspires him, as do his other found objects. They all enable him to work in multiple layers, adding materials as his paintings evolve.

Kristin Knight creates interesting mixed media paintings. They have a sense of history, since their first layer is a collage of antique images and pages from old books as well as music paper from player pianos. "I use three to five layers of papers – sometimes I also incorporate pieces of old watercolor paintings I've done," she said. "The shapes and textures of these collaged papers create an abstract under-painting. It's pretty labor intensive."

She then paints equines, buffaloes or Native American images in rich sepia colors. Finally, the paintings are covered with resin varnish.


Amazing Grace, 28" x 38"
by Kristin Knight

Kristin has been an equine massage therapist, so she has an intimate knowledge of horses' muscle and bone structure. You can see her understanding of these elegant animals in her paintings entitled "Amazing Grace" and "My Prairie." In the latter, she has allowed the print from book pages to show through parts of the painting.

"My paintings merge the history of the layers with the glossiness of the surface so that the images float in a sleek liquid space," she said.

By adding a third dimension to what is normally a two-dimensional art form, multi-media paintings with collage have a tactile, textural quality that is very appealing. I think we react with surprise and wonder when we examine these paintings and see the bits and pieces of things that have been incorporated by the artist.

These three artists, as well as several others are currently displaying their mixed media work in a month-long show at Wilde Meyer's Marshall Way gallery.

A Fresh Outlook

By Judy Feldman | www.wildemeyer.com

In French, there’s a saying, “changer les idées,” which could be translated literally to mean changing ideas, but what it really means is doing something different – leaving your usual environment – to get a fresh outlook on things.

House in Vinales by Judy Feldman
House in Vinales 24" x 36"
by Judy Feldman
Just recently, I was able to “changer les idées” by taking an eight-day trip to Cuba. It’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit, since I lived in South Florida, where so much of the Miami culture is Cuban. Also, I was intrigued that a country so close to us could be so different and somewhat forbidden. I went with a group that had a “people to people” permit and an interest in nature. We traveled over about two thirds of the country, and often, I felt that I was in a different time – namely the 50s. (The cars are amazing!)



Playa Largo beach house
Leaving one’s usual environment is good for an artist. We get to see new things and think about how they can translate to our art. I was so impressed with the lush beauty of Cuba, its simple, even retro lodgings.


the colorful, small houses:
Vinales house
 and amazing people who enjoy their music and art so much:


I’ve finished one painting inspired by my trip, "House in Vinales," shown at the top of this post. Working on it brought back memories of these travels and the visual sensory feast I enjoyed.

Bill Colt, another Wilde Meyer artist, also has been inspired by Cuba. Bill’s passion is cars, and I think he also found his visual feast there. I’ll quote him: “It's all about the cars. They say the best auto mechanics in the world are in Cuba because they have to keep 50 year old cars running with virtually no parts.”

The Island City by Bill Colt
The Island City 24" x 36"
by Bill Colt
See more art by Judy Feldman and Bill Colt at Wilde Meyer Gallery.

Found Objects II: Bill Colt, Step by Step

Maroon Sunset by Bill Colt
In my last blog, I talked about two artists who recycle materials to create unique art pieces. There’s another artist at Wilde Meyer who also is into recycling, using old newspapers and magazines as a background for his acrylic paintings. Bill Colt goes to antique stores and flea markets to find old magazines, comic books, engineering manuals and random reading material.


Tuskegee's Finest by Bill Colt
Bill’s a corporate pilot, and some of his paintings include pieces of aviation maps, old Pan Am ads and aviation engineering manuals. His collage technique is pretty methodical, as you can see from the interesting photos he was willing to share when he was creating his painting entitled “Estelle,” which Bill was commissioned to do for  Del Frisco's Grille, a new restaurant in Phoenix.

To start, he creates texture on his canvas with joint compound and bits of things like cheesecloth. 




Then, he collages pieces of his printed materials on the canvas with gel medium. In this photo, you can see the vintage ads he uses. I like the one for Duz soap – I think that was from the ‘50s. The blonde woman smoking the cigarette reminds me of Betty in “Madmen!”





As the creative process takes over, Bill draws his image in charcoal (I can still see the Duz ad and Betty.), and then paints with acrylics, covering agood portion of the collage work.


To finish, he glazes his painting with a product that deepens and enriches his colors. Here, Estelle is looking right at us in a very engaging way, and although there is really no correlation between the cow and the old ads, the images work very well together. The owners of Del Frisco liked this painting so much, they commissioned Bill to do another version for their restaurant in Washington, D.C.

Estelle by Bill Colt
48"x48"
The different papers give Bill Colt’s artwork an additional dimension and an element of graffiti. Like Charles Davison, Bill’s paintings can be enjoyed at a distance, and then examined up close to see what’s beneath the paint. That makes these paintings especially interesting to me.

Found Objects: Recycled or Re-purposed

Melinda Curtin, Cacti and Succulents 28" x 36"
reverse glass painting in vintage window
Recycling is now a common word in our vocabulary. We recycle paper, glass and certain plastics in a special pail, and we often find that things we buy were once something altogether different, like a floor mat made from old flip-flops!

Charles Davison, Magic Sky
28.5"x22.5"
acrylic, buttons, paper, yarn,
 & various metal objects on panel

Art also can be made from recycled objects, and the results are pretty creative. The other day, I found a piece of corrugated metal from an old wood icebox in my studio. I started wondering what I could possibly do with it. Probably make an interesting small painting. Or, maybe I could adhere it to a larger piece of wood. Or, maybe stick some small rocks or shells on it. These decisions will require some thought! In the meantime, I decided to check out some of the Wilde Meyer artists who use found objects in their artwork. They seem to know exactly what to do with bits and pieces of stuff!
Charles Davison, Prosperity Tree
36"x32" mixed media

Charles Davison’s work reflects his collecting habit. He has a stockpile of buttons, antique jewelry, rusted bottle caps, stones, papers and fabrics that enable him to produce multi-media pieces that are infused with bright color and textures.

A self-described pack rat, Charles says that he gets his materials from thrift shops, antique stores, and from things he finds in the desert. His three-dimensional artwork can be appreciated from a distance, and elicits delight upon closer examination, when you discover what materials are in the paintings.

Charles Davison, Jonah's Tale, 20"x20"
mixed media: acrylic paint, buttons, mirror, beads, fabric, printed paper, bottle tops

For example, in his painting entitled “Jonah’s Tale”, Jonah is standing atop different found materials, looking at a huge fish encrusted with buttons. Behind the watery shoreline, a bright orange background is made from what looks to be an embroidered Indian fabric, perhaps a sari in an earlier life. The sun is made of several found objects, and the entire piece is framed in buttons.

Charles Davison, Calling up the Moon, 56"x56"
mixed media tapestry:fabric, objects include beads, ceramic dishes

Charles says that his collection often gives him ideas for paintings. Or, he may have an image in mind, and then delves into his huge inventory to find just the right objects. Rusted metal objects, wooden stars and decorative house moldings all play roles in different paintings. Some objects are glued on with epoxies; others are sewn on. “Calling Up the Moon” is a work that took him four years to complete. It features miniature dishes, semi-precious stones, beadwork and appliqued fabrics.


Melinda Curtin, Party Dogs in the Pueblo 28" x 36"
reverse glass painting in vintage window

Melinda Curtin, Snake and Cacti 57" x 27"
reverse glass on vintage window
Old windows are the canvas for Melinda Curtin’s paintings. Her first collection was from windows she found at a salvage yard. Now, she gets calls from people who are re-modeling homes in old Tucson and want to dispose of their old windows. Melinda does reverse paintings on the glass, and keeps the old frames as they are. “I like the idea that these windows have been used before,” she said. “Reverse glass painting originated in Europe centuries ago,” she explained. “It’s a folk art concept that we see in many different cultures.”

Melinda puts a contemporary, playful twist on this style. She taught art in elementary school in the past and refers to the way kids think when she conjures up an image. “Kids have a wonderful simplicity and happiness that I like to convey.”

She lives in Tucson, and her work has a southwestern influence. Her technique for painting on glass is challenging, since she has to paint in reverse. She told me that she has to paint the details first, and then add the main image on top. “You have to think backwards, “she said. “The details you would normally do last, you have to paint first.” Her painting, “Party Dogs in the Pueblo,” is painted on a window with its original hardware intact. It’s typical of her style, with bright colors; flat, playful images and a southwestern theme.
Melinda Curtin, Casa Sedona 28" x 30"
reverse glass on vintage window

“Casa Sedona” also has a weathered frame and old hardware, with the bright blue sky, cacti and simple subject rendering she favors. Things got a little more complicated in “Snake and Cacti,” since she had to work on a 10-panel window, and unite the 10 different images by theme and color.


I can see that using old materials for new art requires quite a collecting habit, a great deal of imagination and a bit of humor. Now what can I do with that piece of corrugated metal (and my old button collection)??

It Takes a Collector to Collage!


Collage from Judy Feldman's collection
The other day, when I went into our guest bedroom, I noticed two of my mother’s collage pieces on the wall. She was a painter, but she also loved collage. Aside from several works of art, she also left me bags of her raw materials: colorful papers, some ribbon, a piece of corrugated paper from the inside of a cookie box, a gold envelope, magazine images, and even a pair of old eyeglasses!

According to an essay from the Guggenheim Museum's online art glossary, the glued-on patches that Braque and Picasso added to their canvases offered a new perspective on painting when the patches "collided with the surface plane of the painting." From this perspective, collage examined the relationship between painting and sculpture, and these new works "gave each medium some of the characteristics of the other." The Guggenheim essay also noted that the use of bits of newspaper was a reference to current events, and to popular culture. This juxtaposition of signifiers, "at once serious and tongue-in-cheek," was fundamental to the inspiration behind collage.

Number 3, 10"x10"
by Bill Colt
 
 I googled the word "collage," and found some interesting information from Wikipedia. It said that collage is defined as an art form in which various materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric are arranged and adhered to a backing. The word collage is from the French word "coller," which means "to glue." This term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.

There are several artists at Wilde Meyer who use collage in their artwork. I spoke with two of them.


Desert Caddy,  24"x30"
by Bill Colt
Bill Colt is following the tradition of Braque and Picasso, using pages from old magazines he finds in antique stores to inspire him

"I have some Colliers magazines from 1947 and Life magazines from 1952," he said. His painting, entitled "Desert Caddy,"has some of those 1952 clippings which he paired with his image of the old Cadillac. He said that he recently "scored" a stock of 1970s TV Guides, so he plans to do a series of muscle cars from that decade.

Pacific, 1943 mixed media 24"x48"
by Bill Colt


Bill is a corporate pilot, and his airplane paintings include pieces of aviation maps, old Pan Am ads and aviation engineering manuals. His collage technique is pretty methodical at first.
Roadmaster mixed media 24"x48"
by Bill Colt

To start, he creates texture on his canvas with joint compound and bits of things like cheesecloth. Then, he collages pieces of his printed materials on the canvas with gel medium. As the creative process takes over, he draws his image in charcoal, and then paints with acrylics, covering some of the collage work. To finish, Bill glazes his painting with a product that deepens and enriches his colors.



Backroad Boys 36"x36"
by Charles Davison

Charles Davison considers himself a multi-media artist. He takes the collage concept even further, using beads, buttons and other items, in addition to paper and fabric, to create his artwork.

Charles has been in Arizona since 1978, but even when he lived in New York, he said he was interested in southwestern themes. He said that his work has evolved from a non-representational style with neutral tones, to his current focus on horses and Native Americans, all painted in bright colors and enhanced with his collage work.

Me-Maw's Quilt 30"x30"
by Charles Davison
 
For example, in "Me-Maw’s Quilt," he uses fabric to create the clothes and the hanging quilt. "Magic Sky" is heavily collaged with pieces of turquoise, buttons and coins. Rusted bottle caps create a frame around this painting.
Magic Sky 28.5"x22.5"
by Charles Davison
Like all multi-media and collage artists, Charles is a collector. He gets his materials from the desert, antique stores and thrift shops. His large, colorful fabric collection inspires him, as do his other found objects. They all enable him to work in multiple layers, adding materials as his paintings evolve.

Jonah's Tale 20"x20"
by Charles Davison
By adding a third dimension to what is normally a two-dimensional art form, multi-media paintings with collage have a tactile, textural quality that is very appealing. I think we react with surprise and wonder when we examine these paintings and see the bits and pieces of things that have been incorporated by the artist.

Tucson Rocks, Wilde Meyer Too!!

"Bad Boy Jacket: Cool"  mixed media on canvas 46"x46"
by Melinda Hall

"Seranade" oil on canvas 12"x12"
by Linda Carter Holman
Wilde Meyer Gallery presents our “Tucson Rocks” event, “Wilde Interpretations of Rock and Roll: The ‘50s to the Present,” a group art exhibition featuring art that captures the mood and feeling brought about by music and Rock showing October 6, 2011 through October 28, 2011.

"Tucson Rocks" is community-wide programming that celebrates "Who Shot Rock and Roll, A Photographic History" an exhibition opening at the Tucson Museum of Art on October 23, 2011.This exhibition originated at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and has traveled to several museums  across the country including Akron Art Museum in Ohio, Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama, Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Tennessee and others.  It's the first major museum exhibition to focus on the photographers who captured and portrayed Rock and Roll in photographs.



"Unplugged"  oil on canvas 20"x16"
by Connie Townsend
Just as Rock and Roll means different things to different people, artists at Wilde Meyer visualize their ideas through paintings.

Linda Carter Holman captures the festive mood as a singing guitarist travels with an audience of animal companions. 

For those who like art with humor, Trevor Mikula and Connie Townsend portray animals bearing musical instruments or wearing punk-rock outfits.  

Energetic paintings of people absorbed in a concert can be seen in the expressive scenes by Monika Rossa. 

Rock music’s effect on the body is shown in the beauty of dance, seen in stylized figure paintings by Sherri Belassen. 

Ryan Hale and Melinda Hall create paintings of paraphernalia and iconic objects of Rock in their still lives of guitars or leather jackets. 

Paintings by Bill Colt and Robert Ransom recall the early years of the rock and roll spirit in vintage caddies and hot rod roadsters.
 
“Wilde Interpretations of Rock and Roll: The ‘50s to the Present” opens on Thursday, October 6, 2011 at our gallery in Tucson and continues through October 29, 2011.

"Be There Or" reverse glass painting with vintage window 28"x30"
by Melinda Curtin