Alan Patrick Delivers Delaware County Landscapes

Hanging an Alan Patrick painting exhibit feels rather like cheating Mother Nature. Rain, snow, sleet, whatever may be dripping in your eyes outside, but once you step into the gallery you are transported. Golden, shimmering woods, luscious thickets in greens and more golds, and rivers that you'd swear are actually wet on that canvas - all these incredible scenes convince you that it is late summer or early fall, and you are there; the viewer of it all. The holder of numerous art awards (see below), Patrick never fails to deliver, and the upcoming show is no exception. Fifteen oil paintings from 22" x 36" to 16" x 20" beauties depict the artist's muse: the Mississinewa River and woods near his rural Delaware County homestead.

Patrons might jump to the conclusion that Patrick paints a scene because that spot has particular meaning for the artist. A look at his artist's statement reveals a deeper, more personal motive. Referring to his typical subject matter, the artist offers, "Most of my paintings do not have spectacular or important subjects. If they are important, it is because of the formal elements such as, line, shape and color. I do hope that they strike a chord with people, but the meaning is in the drawing and brushwork rather than the subject matter."

He continues, "I can pass by a place a hundred times and that place is just ordinary...Then, one day, it's magic. It has color, form, light and drama. It has suddenly become wonderful to look at." Returning to his studio with photos in hand, the artist works out compositional studies in charcoal first, then considers color. "I spend a lot of time on a painting before I ever touch a brush," he reveals. One only has to study his paintings a short time to recognize the mastery that quietly delivers these pieces to our grateful eyes.

Alan Patrick's two-month exhibit opens Thursday, December 1, 2011 with a reception from 5 to 8 PM. The painter will speak informally about his work at 6:30. After the opening, the show may be viewed during normal business hours through January 31, 2012, 9 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday through Friday, Saturday, 9 to 3, or by appointment.

Some of Alan Patrick's Art Awards:

- Best of Show, Richmond Museum of Art, Richmond, IN, 1996
- Best of Show, Hoosier Salon, Indianapolis, 1991
- Best of Show, Indiana Artists Club, Indianapolis, 1998, 2000
- Best of Show, Minnetrista, Muncie, IN 1992
- Purchase Award, Hoosier Salon, 2006
- Jury Prize of Distinction, Indiana Artists Club, 2010
and this year, 2011:
- Jury Prize of Distinction, Hoosier Salon
- Merit Award, Richmond Annual Exhibition
- Merit Award and Purchase Award, Indiana Heritage Arts, Nashville, IN

Wow, Patrick truly delivers. Come down to the gallery this Thursday, Dec. 1st, or anytime through January to see for yourself the exquisite paintings of this Indiana Artisan and Delaware County treasure!

Art cheers,
genny gordy, pres., Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E Main St, downtown Muncie, IN 47305
765.284.8422 genny@gordyframing.com
http://www.gordyframing.com/

Labels: Alan Patrick, Indiana Artisan, landscapes, oil paintings, downtown Muncie art scene

Strock Wasson Delivers Plein Air Sketches of Indiana

Award-winning Indiana artist, Carol Strock Wasson, will be the featured artist at Gordy Fine Art & Framing in downtown Muncie, IN, during the month of November, 2011. Seventeen works in oils and pastels will be hung in the gallery for a 5 to 8 PM opening reception on Thursday, November 3, 2011. Alongside stunning light studies of hazy mornings, purple irises and Indiana cows, this year's Wasson exhibit includes several pieces from a trip to Wyoming. "Wyoming Barn," below, is a 9 x 12" beauty with golden foreground against the deep red barn and foothill background.

                                                                                                                               

Another oil, titled, "Wyoming Mountain," pulls the viewer into the scene with a stand of pine trees in front of a flat-topped, purple mountain that seems to be wearing a white cloud hat against a bright blue sky.  Wasson's 2011 Collection offers these "Wild West" images alongside the endearing and intimate peeks at gardens, such as "Pam's Birdhouse."

Cloud Study, $375

Also new this season are the
"sketches," such as "Cloud Study," the artist offers in a very attractive price range.

Please visit the gallery during the 1st Thursday opening, or anytime during normal business hours: Mon-Friday, 9 to 5:30, Sat, 9 to 3, or by appointment, to view this dynamic collection by Indiana Artisan, Carol Strock Wasson.

For more info, visit http://www.gordyframing.com/ or call 765.284.8422

Paintings of Charlene George, "The Colors of the Seasons"

Indiana Artisan oil painter and award-winning pastel artist Charlene George paints in the style and techniques of the Old Masters, but her images come from present-day Indiana countryside. A rural Brookville native, George studied art at Ball State University where she practiced glazing – layering opaque and transparent colors – sfumato – softened, blended edges, and chiaroscuro – creating a glowing light effect from a darker background. Using these time-honored techniques pays off in a rich and almost-photographic imagery seldom seen outside museum walls.

Titled, “The Colors of the Seasons,” the exhibit will include over 20 pieces, both oils and pastels, for the month of September. Each work represents seasonal scenes of Indiana, from cool and colorful wooded pathways to stubs of corn next to golden unpicked plants; a common scene made beautiful by the vision and hand of the artist who injects dabs and jabs of pastel blues and long lavender shadows across the hazy farm field.

A former art teacher, George now paints full time. She has won awards at numerous exhibits, including the Hoosier Salon, Ball State Drawing and Small Sculpture Show and the Indiana State Fair. Living in a section of the state known to attract landscape painters, George shares a connection to some of Indiana’s well-known artists from the past. J. Ottis Adams, T.C. Steele and William Forsyth were drawn there in the late 1890’s to paint the gently rolling hills and quaint village scenes. In The Passage, by Martin Krause, Steele reveals this attraction. “The hills, beautiful in summer, grow richer and richer as the autumn advances, giving us days of haze and mist and glory.”

A reception for the artist will be held First Thursday, September 1, 2011, from 5 to 8 PM at the gallery. The public is encouraged to attend, and light refreshments will be served. The other downtown galleries will also be hosting exhibits, and there is no charge to attend.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co. is located at 224 E. Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre. For more information, call 765-284-8422 or visit www.gordyframing.com.

Prim Exhibits in August, "New Year, New Work"

Prim Painting Exhibit, “New Year, New Work”

Well-known Muncie oil painter, Margie Prim, will hang twenty works at Gordy Fine Art & Framing in downtown Muncie for the month of August. Known for her familiar outdoor scenes and heavy,exotic paintstrokes, Prim usually presents the Midwestern landscape alongside personal still life pictures in small and medium-sized canvases. This year’s exhibit will see the addition of scenes from the artist’s recent trip to Colorado amongst the Indiana hills, fields and romantic waterside views.

Prim traditionally paints plein aire, or outside, on site. Along with many other Hoosier plein aire traditionalists, she braves the elements to grab each scene in its fleeting, natural light. This new work also includes many pieces from her studio, using photos and her internal “artist’s vision” to portray what she sees. The still life pieces – a particular strength of Prim’s – display her studio talents in rich, sensuous swirls of color, with that single dab of highlight to make it all ring true in the viewers’ eyes.



A reception for the artist will be held First Thursday, August 4th, 2011, from 5 to 8 PM at the gallery. The public is encouraged to attend, and light refreshments will be served. The other downtown galleries will also be hosting exhibits, and there is no charge to attend.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co. is located at 224 E. Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre. For more information, call 765-284-8422 or visit www.gordyframing.com.

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Appreciation of Art Patrons & Artists

This art patron appreciation note is long overdue.  Last week's First Thursday attendance was so impressive that I was reminded to be verbally grateful and not just personally - and quietly -  grateful at such times.

We had hung an excellent exhibit of local talent, as the other galleries did. We had invited guests and the public through news releases, emails, and signs. We set out cake, refreshments and flowers and arranged to have artists demonstrate their painting skills. Then we waited for our patrons to arrive.

And did they ever arrive! We welcomed the biggest crowd in our 8 years of gallery openings - in July, no less! We ran out of refreshments (wine) and had to make a quick run for more. We sold paintings and pottery and jewelry to admiring patrons. We held conversations about abstract painting and what an artist's work means and how our framing team repairs antique gold frames. At the end of three short hours, we realized that a tidal wave of art patronage had swamped our gallery with enthusiastic appreciation.

Thank you, Muncie patrons and guests for showing up! Thank you, Muncie Star Press, for your continued and excellent coverage of the "Downtown Muncie Art Scene," including outstanding photos. Ten years ago, this scene did not exist in our town. And now, what was a dream in a few art lovers' minds has become a robust and self-sustaining plus for the artists, galleries, patrons, visitors and the community as a whole.

And for people like us, it is seriously good fun that helps us love Muncie all the more. We are both proud and grateful to be part of the effort to promote our local artists and their works. For some of us, their contributions are the icing on the cake of this feast that is Muncie, 2011.

Giant Watercolor in the Works

Brian's next watercolor project is a 16' long scene. That is sixteen feet, not inches. He has been commissioned to fill a space, and sixteen feet was required. Exciting stuff for an artist, and particularly unusual for a watercolor artist.

Watercolors usually require a tilting of the paper to achieve the smooth color areas. The process is almost nothing like the way most of us "watercolored" in elementary school. Blocking out, water washes of large color areas, tiliting, blotting, are all common actions that require that the watercolor paper be affixed to a backing board. Usually Brian uses gatorboard or foamboard; rigid, but not excessively heavy.  There are no boards that we know of that are 16 feet long, however, so stapling the watercolor paper to two or more connected boards will only be one of his challenges.

Next, he had to re-think watercolor tubes and brushes. I'm pretty sure he loved this part, as it meant shopping for supersized art supplies. Giant brushes, giant jars of colors mixed from giant tubes and a giant piece of paper will not fit in his studio and allow the necessary movement, so he has decided to paint in our downtown Muncie art gallery at night.  I want to film the stages, which is a good excuse to buy a digital movie camera. :-) 

Maybe I'll encourage window-watching and sell popcorn to help pay for the supplies...

I will share images as soon as Brian gets started - estimated to be in one week.

"Paradise Lost," Woodcut Prints by Corey Hagelberg, June Exhibit



Flowers for Dinner,
Woodcut by Corey Hagelberg



We love woodcut prints, in general, and when we first saw the bold, oversized works by Corey Hagelberg, we knew we would like to see our whole gallery full of them.  So we invited Corey to exhibit June 2 through 30, 2011. A dozen prints - many oversized - and a print book, will make a powerful exhibit on our gallery wall. Corey will speak and answer questions about his works during the 1st Thursday art walk event - June 2nd - at appx. 6:30 PM. The reception is from 5 to 8 PM, and you are invited to attend!

Corey is working on his Master's degree in printmaking, working with professors David and Sarojini Johnson at Ball State University. With an undergraduate degree in sculpture, it is obvious that the guy likes to carve stuff...the images, according to the artist, deal with the eternal Man vs. Nature theme. Corey grew up pondering the steel mills of hometown, Gary, IN, that butt right up to the stunning Indiana Dunes. And perhaps he thought that the Dunes would have voted for less smoke in the air, given the option to vote. In the artist's statement, he clarifies, "I believe in the supremacy of nature. For this reason, much of my work highlights the beauty of nature or awkward interactions that occur between humans and nature."

The result is strong, bold black figures/trees accompanied by backgrounds of symbols/dashes/textures that sometimes resemble dancing. In a woodcut.

How did he do that?!

Ask him yourself, at 6:30 PM on Thursday, June 2nd at Gordy Fine Art & Framing gallery.  Other artists and patrons will undoubtedly be in attendance, and there will be wine, cheese, goodies, and stunning woodcuts on the wall.