METROPOLITAN PAINTING GALLERY
Andrea Pramuk
About the artist
"I create organic, drawing-based abstractions. My pictures may seem familiar at first, but on closer inspection, they are not things that exist, but rather lyrical subjects whose dialogue originates out of line, color and light. I reference earth-based imagery constant throughout time and weave it into a visually complex space of memory and human experience.”
Peter Arvidson
About the artist
Over the past several years I have been working in two related but different styles that I refer to as “color fields” and “color scapes”. The color field paintings are abstract paintings that focus on color and color harmonies. These pieces are painted in loose grids and concentric squares that are often monochromatic with related colors gently introduced and juxtaposed. Some of these paintings evoke horizons and landscapes while others tend toward musical and life rhythms. Creating these works is a meditative process while concentrating on the nuances of color and repetitive mark-making.
The color scape paintings share a love of color but are an ongoing series of imagined landscapes influenced by a life near the sea, trips to the countryside and passages from books and novels. These pieces tend toward simple, child-like renderings of patchwork countrysides and seascapes with little houses, rolling hills and dancing trees recalling more innocent times.
Carl Buttke
About the artist
Currently I am painting a series I refer to as “Reflections”. These are watercolor paintings meant to convey the mystery between the real and imagined by painting images of forest reflections on our waters of the San Juan Islands.
I paint these images abstractly using an abundance of water and a heavily loaded brush with paint either laid directly onto the paper or into a pool of water already laid down on the paper. I use hot press watercolor paper having a smooth surface on which to lay the pool of water or paint. This series lends itself to a limited pallet dominated by Hooker's Green and Indigo and the mixing of colors on the paper rather than on the pallet. For example, the dark almost black areas conveying shadows in the forest is accomplished by laying down a pool of Indigo into which is added Hooker's Green and then mixed on the paper to produce a deep dark and alive color. The result is a painting unique for watercolor with vibrant deep contrasting color, mostly low key, with varying intensity and texture.
My paintings are then finished to display them without having to be framed behind glass thus eliminating glare of light on the artwork. I stretch and mount hot press watercolor paper on a framed or cradled panel such as Ampersand Gessobord or Claybord with a Natural pH adhesive. When the painting is finished, I spray it with Golden Archival Varnish to seal the painting and provide UVLS protection to reduce light damage. It is then sealed again with Dorland's Wax, which adds a unique texture to the surface of the painting. This coating results in protection against dust, moisture, and even water. I have used this process for paintings varing in size from 12 x 9 inches to 60 x 30 inches.
Charles Marburg
About the artist
My paintings are the result of over twenty years of daily work in my studio; of continuous thought about image, shape, color, meaning; and of the very paint I use as an extension of myself, a conduit between my stumbling human efforts and the pale flicker of my unconscious.
Al Torres
FLOATER FRAMES FOR CRADLED PANELS
About the artist
Torres is continuing the painting genre started by Yaacov Agam. The visual effect in this genre of painting is perceived as movement. Torres paints directly onto the painting surface which are aluminum angles at 45 degrees which are mounted on a wood panel.
Torres received his MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art. He has trained with renowned realists such as Steven Assael and Vincient Desiderio as well as Bennett Vandnais and Andrew Reiss. His work has been exhibited in venues such as Gaston County Museum, The Cape Cod Museum of Art, The Katonah Museum of Art, The Reading Public Museum, The Queens Museum of Art, The Mint Museum of Art, and Sotheby’s Auction House. He is an art instructor at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte NC. Torres has an active studio in Huntersville, NC.
Alex wilhite
| About the artist My years of experience in traveling throughout the world guide my inspiration about the value of color, which changes every hour as every day. My perception of color is the value of the primary colors changing into varieties of colors as “Meditation Myth”. I am drawn to follow the value of nature’s colors as they change from sunrise to sunset. This requires the employment of homemade paint from dust to create my vision of art. |
Jennifer Bain
About the artist
My work focuses on image appropriation and how varied source material can co-exist in a believable manner. Referenced as post- modern still life in genre, they often contain stories or commentaries beyond intrigue or beauty. Playing with notions of image “acceptability”, and shifting emotional reactions to the content, I give a respectful nod of appreciation to such genres as botanical illustration and still life.
I pay close attention to the characteristics of my materials, letting the notion of process and material contribute and construct the content of the work.
Most recently white backgrounds have given way to intricate structures of colored grids which represent the complex inter-link of technology in contemporary life. Employing the form of a bird as self portrait, I attempt to remove self-consciousness. The type of bird used as well as the personality they take on as I paint, expresses my moods and distinctions of mind. The titles refer to bird song.
Ginny Herzog
About the artist
A fascination with architecture has inspired me to create mixed media paintings for over thirty years. Utilizing my digitally manipulated photos, as collage, I piece portions of different architectural elements that are unrelated to each other and construct new, intriguing forms in my paintings. The compositions are constructed for a fusion of multiple perspectives. My application of oils mixed with cold wax medium on panels sometimes suggest fresco walls, concrete or steel. Linear detail with graphite, crayons, oil sticks and pencils provide a visual pathway throughout the composition and imply elements of an architectural drawing.
Marian Steen
About the artist
My work is the equivalent of keeping a visual art diary. I create paintings that convey hope, and beauty through the interplay between color, line, and texture. I accomplish that by combining watercolor & acrylic paint with collage pieces & string, along with stamping techniques.