So Ripe: Rose Colored Glasses

Here's a pastel sketch I did tonight planning out an image for Ripe Art Gallery's Valentine's day show, which is freshly renovated for the occasion. The topic: Rose Colored Glasses. Tricky for my 'Angry Landscape' motif, but I figured with my life coming up roses right now, I could muster up the positive spirit required-- seeing the rosy, romantic side of of the garden. With Redon in mind, I dove into the pastels. The results are a bit creepy, but I hope to have time this week to render it with more success in a painting. As for the Valentine's show, it is usually a standing room only affair, so slip in the back to check out the 'backroom gallery' of selections from my last show at Ripe with Honey Millmann.

Two if By Sea

I'm not sure if these qualify as romantic fodder for the Valentine's Day show at Ripe Art Gallery or not, but these collages had a 'come with me' quality to them. The fish you may recognize from two entries ago, and the house is of course Potic. The first two landscapes are the Blasket Islands in County Kerry, Ireland, whereas the last one was initally inspired by Georgia O'Keefe, but evolved into Odelion Redon.

The Artist's Eye

French artist Olidon Redon (1840-1916) is one of my favorites. His best pieces, some wonderful pastels at Musee D'Orsay, really just don't photograph well, which I suspect is probably part of the reason he's not as popular as he should be. A Symbolist, a precursor to Surrealism, Redon pulls from reality and dreams to establish his own unique aesthetic. As described in MoMA's Beyond the Visible catalogue, "Redon created a universe of strange hybrid creatures, offered his own interpretations of literary, biblical, and mythological subjects, and presented flowers in a singular way." His keen eye for color, his creative interpretation of nature, and his allusions to classical literature make viewing his work a visual and intellectual delight.