Showing posts with label Jacqueline Rochester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jacqueline Rochester. Show all posts

It’s a Woman’s World (at least in art)

By Judy Feldman | www.wildemeyer.com

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I , by Gustav Klimt
photo source: Wikipedia
Recently, I saw the movie, “The Woman in Gold,” about the painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt. I’m sure most of you know the story behind this amazing painting. If not, see the movie or read the book!

In brief, this glorious painting, was finally returned to Adele Bloch-Bauer’s niece after it had been stolen by the Nazis and kept in Austria. She then sold it to Ronald Lauder for $135 million. It now hangs in the Neue Gallery in New York, where everyone can enjoy it.

Although Klimt knew his subject well, he chose to portray her in his symbolist style. Her beautiful face is dreamy and arresting, but the rest of the painting is an amazing design, rendered exquisitely in oil paint and gold leaf, with many patterns in her dress and on the wall behind her.

I started thinking about how the female figure has always inspired artists, since the very beginning of visual art. While we can appreciate the classical depictions of women, it’s interesting to see how artists have interpreted this subject differently.

In Your Dreams
Jacqueline Rochester
Looking though the works of Wilde Meyer artists, I see that there are just a few who paint the female figure. (Many prefer dogs, horses or cows!) Jacqueline Rochester, one of the gallery’s older artists, is deceased, but several of her paintings are still handled by Wilde Meyer. I’m particularly drawn to them because I see the influence of Matisse, and, like me, she portrays inviting places where you’d like to be. The figure is important, but it’s not the only interesting part of her work.

In her biography, she said, “My paintings are a word of youth, a secret world of leisure and play, of lovely places…It’s a world apart from today’s realism and society’s struggles.” Her painting entitled “In Your Dreams” is a good example. The well-dressed figure is looking out pensively, and behind her are the elements of a cozy home: colorful rugs, part of a chair, dogs and a rocking horse. Although these elements are not arranged in a traditional way, we can understand the story. The open composition style and the way she shows only part of most objects makes the painting more interesting to me.

White Orchids
Jacqueline Rochester

“White Orchids” is another painting that reminds me so much of Matisse because of its flat perspective and the simple rendering of the two women with just solid shapes and no worries about shading or small details. It’s another inviting scene, with many allusions to women: a domestic setting, and the feminine touch of flowers in the bowl, on a pillow, in a woman’s arms and on the wall (a painting which reminds me of Georgia O’Keefe -- a feminist!).

The Good in Everything
Andrea Peterson


Andrea Peterson, a young artist at the gallery, sees painting the female figure as a way of expressing herself. She says that the imagery she presents is an extension of her dreams. “The Good in Everything” is indeed a woman’s story. Andrea explained that the coy fish represent luck and prosperity; the white flowers are purity and goodness. Her loose painting style in this work help to convey the sense of floating through a dream.

Andrea’s women are portrayed in many different ways. The figure in “The Rider” is completely different; she looks determined and commanding as she leads her horse. Her dress is modern, even a little sexy for a horse rider (maybe her pants are in the barn). Then, in another style, Andrea invokes her inner Degas in the painting entitled “Corps de Ballet.”   She said, “In this painting, I was working with composition, focusing on the body poses. I liked showing the back view of the dancers, making them anonymous, and thus asking the viewer to think about their expressions.” The beautiful pastel hues and Andrea’s painterly brushwork for the background give the work great energy. The dancers look as if they just finishing twirling!
Corps de Ballet
Andrea Peterson
The Rider
  Andrea Peterson
The women in Linda Carter Holman’s paintings are stylized, with curvy shapes and glowing, innocent faces. Like Jacqueline Rochester, they are part of a story, a quiet life in the Southwest. Her use of bold color and small details on the objects that complete each painting make her work very appealing. The artist takes a simple act or seemingly mundane task, and makes it interesting. Linda has design elements that are symbolic to her and make their way into many of her works. The Calla lilies in the woman’s arm and the goldfish on the pot in “Little Winds” are an example of recurring themes. The woman in the foreground is touching the soil, but seems to be ready to take off and join her two friends as they fly away.

Little Winds
Linda Carter Holman
 
In “Loving Cup,” a bride offers a cup that has attracted two colorful birds. Her white gown and headdress seem to be carrying her aloft. She almost looks swan-like to me. You can see the goldfish again on the drink sticks in the foreground and on the vase in the background holding the calla lilies. There are other things going on in this painting: one woman shoots an arrow into the sky, while another looks on. There are shooting stars in the sky. These women are telling us a story about an event, something that triggered Linda’s creative mind.

Loving Cup
Linda Carter Holman
 
The female figure is often a thought-provoking focal point in a painting. Not too many are as dramatic as Klimt’s portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. I plan to have a good look at this famous work, when I visit the Neue Gallery in New York next week!

You can see more art by Jacqueline Rochester, Linda Carter Holman and Andrea Peterson at Wilde Meyer Gallery.

An Art Gene


Afternoon in Provence 36"x48"
 by Judy Feldman
I recently returned from a trip to New York City to attend the opening of a sculpture exhibit at the Affirmation Arts foundation. The show’s artist is my brother, Jeffrey Maron. His work is very different from mine, but I think we were both inspired by our mother.

Sculptures by Jeffrey Maron
At the reception dinner, I asked him if he thought there was an “art gene.”

Cleo on the Deck 40"x30"
by Judy Feldman
Sculpture by Jeffrey Maron

“Well, he said, we were both exposed to art at home, since Mom was an artist who taught classes in the house and exhibited her paintings there. Plus, she always took us to museums and encouraged our interest in art.”

Jeff became an artist long before I did, and our mother was always so proud of his work. (My father, a lawyer, struggled with his lack of a regular job!) When I started painting, I think all the information I had absorbed from my mother flooded my brain and propelled me to follow that artistic path.  I noticed that there is another artist at Wilde Meyer whose mother is a well-known artist. So, maybe there is an art gene!

Significance 40" x 60"
by Gregg Rochester

The Present 41" x 41"
by Jacqueline Rochester
My conversation with Gregg Rochester confirmed my theory. Gregg is a psychologist who became a professional artist. His mother, Jacqueline Rochester, painted until a year before she passed away, at 87. Her work continues to be shown by Wilde Meyer. Gregg told me that when he was 16, his mother took him and his brothers to Mexico for four months. “She painted, and I took up the craft of silversmith and learned to play the classical guitar,” he said. “That time spent in another culture really affected me.

My mother didn’t actively encourage us to be artists. Two of my three brothers are writers, and the third is an educator. I pursued a psychology career, and when I began painting, I was afraid to show my mother my work, thinking she would be critical. But, she was actually very supportive, and she pushed me to paint in a larger format.”

Gregg’s work focuses on the landscapes he has seen and loved. They are not a realistic rendition; rather a contemporary vision of his landscape memories. He says, “I seek to convey the eloquence and the art of the land and sky in my work, to bring a touch of it inside our living spaces so that it can remind us of our wholeness, to bring us back to what is right.”

Another Realm 46"x40" oil on canvas
by Gregg Rochester

In Gregg’s large painting entitled “Another Realm,” he interprets the rolling Wisconsin hills in his own fashion, portraying them graphically, with strong hues and interesting textures. “Another Life” is a more southwestern image, with desert plants in the foreground, the high color of the sun in the midline and the sunlit mountains in the background. (Although this painting is essentially divided into thirds, I think it’s very effective.)
Another Life 48" x 48"
by Gregg Rochester

“A Thousand Whispers” could be many different places, even one in your imagination. The path of colored stones leads us to an unknown destination; the viewer can feel the warmth of the sun on the flowered field and the sounds of whispering insects.

A Thousand Whispers 48" x 48"
by Gregg Rochester

So, can you be an artist, even though you don’t think you have the art gene? Of course! I believe that as long as you have the interest and willingness to pursue a passion, you’ll succeed. Gregg Rochester agrees, and says that anyone can make art at any age, as long as you find what you love and incorporate it into your art. We have so much beauty surrounding us in Arizona, it’s easy to be inspired.

Small Worlds


Interior "Landscapes" That Create Small Worlds

Recently, I had the thrill of opening the May issue of Phoenix Home & Garden and seeing, on P. 132, a beautiful large photo of a recent painting of mine, called “Temptation.” That definitely made my day! The painting will be part of an exhibit at Colores in early May about “Interiors, Objects and Little Worlds.”

Temptation, Judy Feldman
As you can see, it depicts a cozy living room, where the owners are ready to have some tea and cupcakes – unless Cleo gets to them first!

Never Leaving, Diane Barbee
I’ve always been attracted to interior settings, some real, some imagined. I like to paint a place where I’ve enjoyed myself, or create one where I’d like to be. But so have many other painters, including such masters as Matisse, Bonnard and Hockney. Interiors provide a vehicle for self-expression, particularly if you love color, fabrics, still lifes and window scenes.

Several other Wilde Meyer artists share these interests. Diane Barbee uses interior furnishings to express her joy of color and her optimism about life. She, too, likes to create her own world through painting. In “Round Zebra Pillow,” Diane combines images of things she likes: a funky chair and ottoman with a giant zebra skin pillow, paintings of landscapes and a polka dot dress hanging jauntily from a window. In “Never Leaving,” she zeroes in on the chair itself, using fabrics in colorful, complimentary colors. The diverging lines on the chair cushion and the wood floor take our eye to the back wall, where there is more pattern.
Round Zebra Pillow, Diane Barbee
Freshness and surprise are qualities that come to mind when viewing Diane's work. She believes that life should be full of wonder and inspiration. Her philosophy allows her to enjoy a variety of subject matter. Considering herself an expressionist; she uses color to convey that and her subject matter is a vehicle to that end. Diane is an eternal optimist and hopes to bring that optimism to every painting she creates.
My Real Life Big Screen TV, Lori Faye Bock

Lori Faye Bock also has a personalized vision of interiors. In “My Real Life Big Screen TV,” she presents us with a view from a dining table of a fanciful, walled garden. Everything in this painting is interpreted in a whimsical way. The bold colors and the simplified furniture, flowers, vegetables and animals express an endearing wonder. You could say it’s child-like, but I think it’s more sophisticated than that.

Country House, Jacqueline Rochester
The late Jacqueline Rochester expressed her love of interiors in a more tranquil way. Her color palate is softer, and although she does use patterns in some paintings, they do not affect the viewer in the same way as those in Diane’s paintings.

For example, in “The Present,” the patterned tablecloth, scarf and woman’s dress all catch our attention, but they are not the focal point. Our eyes go to the dog and the gift behind him. The angles of the scarf and the wall corner direct us to the focal point. In “Country House,” the pale pink interior is so soothing, beckoning us to come in, rest and bask in the rays from large sunlit windows.

The Present, Jacqueline Rochester

All these artists have their own personal style, but I would say that those of us who love to paint interiors aim to convey a feeling of contentment and joy to our viewers.


Happy Anniversary, Wilde Meyer!


Fire Passage mixed media on canvas 36"x48"
by Charles Davison
November marks Wilde Meyer Gallery's 28th anniversary! In 1983, when Scottsdale was known as “the West’s most western town,” Betty Wilde and Mark Meyer moved here from Tulsa, Oklahoma. “We had a gallery in Tulsa, but we wanted to move, and Scottsdale had a good art market, both from tourists and year-round residents,” Betty said.

They opened their gallery just across from the current site on Marshall Way. At the time, the other galleries were located on Main Street, and they were the first to have an art venue on this part of Marshall Way, aside from Elaine Horwitz, at the other end. A few years after they opened, Jonathan Henderson joined Betty and Mark as a partner in the gallery.

View from the Rim
oil on canvas 48"x60"
by Barbara Gurwitz

The Present oil on canvas, 41"x41"
Jacqueline Rochester
At first, they brought in artists they represented in Tulsa, but soon after, artists from the area came to the gallery. Some of the early artists are still represented by Wilde Meyer today, including Linda Carter Holman, Charles Davison and Barbara Gurwitz.  I’ve been with the gallery since 2005, and it still thrills me to be included with the wonderful artists who show here.

In the early years, Wilde Meyer consulted with many corporations in the area, assisting them in purchasing art for their offices. First Interstate Bank was a large client, and hung original art in its executive offices, bank branches and operations center. Business gradually evolved into residential clients – both designers and private collectors.
Virgin of Love  36"x36"
by Linda Carter Holman

Garden Wall, (1984)
By Linda Carter Holman
Another Wilde Meyer gallery opened in Tucson in 2000, in the beautiful Foothills area at Skyline Drive and Campbell. And, if you’re lucky enough to spend time at the nearby Canyon Ranch Spa, you’ll see many Wilde Meyer artists’ work displayed on the walls there, available for purchase.


Wilde Meyer Gallery, Tucson
Colores, located on Main Street, is the gallery’s third space, and features art, as well as jewelry and clothing

When you enter a Wilde Meyer gallery, your first impression is usually “Wow! What amazing colors!”  We are a collection of artists who love to paint and use strong color whenever possible. Some of the work is figurative; some abstract - but, for the most part, color plays a major role in every piece of art. Most of us are animal lovers, too, so you’ll see anything from dogs to horses, cats, monkeys and even elephants in paintings and sculptures.

Ranchero (2007) 72"x36"
by Sherri Belassen

Species From the Undiscovered Continent
48"x72" acyrlic on canvas
by Timothy Chapman
It’s fun to hang out at a Wilde Meyer gallery. Betty furnishes them with interesting pieces from China, and other accessories to make the gallery feel more like a home. The bright colors and creative art make people want to linger. The artwork is moved around from one gallery to another, so you’ll always see something different when you return.

As a way of giving back to the communities that support them, Wilde Meyer has always been involved in charitable endeavors. The gallery helps the Arizona Cancer Center select a painting each year, donated by the artist, as the key piece in their fundraiser’s live auction. I was honored to be selected by the organization last year, and attended their wonderful event at the Phoenician Resort. Since Betty and Mark both love animals, they have worked with such charities as Equine Voices in Tucson and Southwest Wildlife, among others, donating art, furniture and jewelry for fundraisers.