February 27, 2020 By

Paintings by Charles Allen LaRue: Exhibit

Paintings by Charles Allen LaRue
Jansma Gallery at NCCA-Artsplace, 13 E. Main St., Fremont, 231-924-4022.

Charles is a Michigan native and it is from the Great Lakes State that he derives much of his inspiration for his colorful interpretations of the structures and organic forms that he depicts.

He had drawn pictures since he was old enough to grasp a pencil in his fist, and sought a way of doing something with his love of picture- making. So upon high school graduation he moved from South Haven to Grand Rapids to attend the Kendall College of Art and Design, graduating with an Illustration major. Charles freelanced and did in-house work as an illustrator.

Charles had three pivotal experiences that collectively catapulted him into going headlong into pure Fine Arts painting. He spent a summer in France where he studied informally and steeped himself in the paintings and scenery of what he had previously known only through reproductions in art books. He began seeing light and colors more robustly in everything. When Charles returned to Grand Rapids with a new vision and essentially truly beheld GR’s Heritage Hill area for the first time he saw the neighborhood as a shapescape, with clustered architectonic geometries, as he had been sensitized to in Paris. The colors flooded in for him that had been pale in comparison to his older work.

Later, Charles moved from purely geometrized patterns all coalescing, into paintings that allowed more atmosphere and fluid, organic elements. But he still paints in the manner of a craftsman; feeling as though he is assembling discrete units of colored materials into a gestalt image. Charles maintains a studio in Grand Rapids and can be seen frequently in the city, carrying a sketchbook to record more potential painting inspirations.

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December 23, 2019 By

Eric Michaels: Landscapes In Watercolor and Oil

January 4 – February 8 
Eric Michaels Landscapes 
In Watercolor and Oil
Reception January 23
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Jansma Gallery at NCCA-Artsplace,
13 E. Main St., Fremont,
231-924-4022.

Eric Michaels is a signature member of the Oil Painters of America, the National Watercolor Society, and the Pastel Society of America.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Eric Michaels’ work is its eclectic flavor. The subject matter spans four continents and both hemispheres, and his painting in the Historical and Western genres are collected nationally and internationally.

Michaels has exhibited at the Royal Watercolor Society in London and has been a regular exhibitor in the Artists of America, the Great American Artists and the “Quest for the West” exhibition at the Eiteljorg Museum. His paintings hang in many private, corporate, museum and state collections; including IBM, Honeywell-Sperry Inc., Phillips Petroleum, Puma International, the Albuquerque Museum of Fine Art, Booth Museum of Western Art, the Americana Museum, Haggin Museum, New Mexico State Governor’s Gallery and the Pearce Museum of Western Art.

Be sure to check out the watercolor and oil paintings workshops Eric is teaching this winter on page 14 of the Arts & Culture Connections Newsletter.

Learn more about Eric here: https://ericmichaelsfineart.com/

 

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May 17, 2018 By

NCCA-Artsplace Exhibit: Judith Tummino – SOJOURN: Paintings of Michigan and the Chesapeake Bay

June 5 through July 7
Judith Tummino – SOJOURN
Paintings of Michigan and the Chesapeake Bay
Reception June 21, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Jansma Gallery at NCCA-Artsplace, 13 E. Main St., Fremont, 231-924-4022.


Judith Tummino has often stated that her first year of study in Italy was a life changing event.
“I fell in love with the light, the art, the people.”
She felt so strongly that she returned to Umbria about 9 times in 8 years.

“Studying with teaching artists such as Lennart Anderson, Israel Hershberg, Nick Carone,
Dan Gustin and William Bailey contributed to my knowledge of art and the formation of what and how I wanted to paint.”

Born in Washington D. C. and raised in Maryland, Judith received exposure to the many art museums and galleries. Travels to the Chesapeake Bay and the Shenandoah Valley instilled the love of the landscape as well as the sense of the untouched beauty of the land.

“My appreciation of the moment is central to my work. I find that as my painting evolves I become sensitive to both the change of the conditions I am painting as well as to the changes on my pallette and painting surface. It is this transformation that keeps me coming back to the painted experience. It never loses its interest for me”.

Judith has exhibited widely in the United States as well as in Italy. Her first experience showing in New York came when she was accepted into a show juried by Phillip Pearlstein. She showed her work in the Chelsea district of New York for about four years. During that time she painted at the Chesapeake Bay in addition to many places in Michigan that she now called home.

Her work is included in the collections of the Kalamazoo Institute of Art, Grand Valley State University, the Dennos Museum Center, and in Chestnut Cabin and Museum of Port Republic Maryland.

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April 11, 2018 By

Like An Artist – Discovering American Artists

Monday, June 25 – Thursday, June 28,

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Ages 9-12.

This is the summer to discover the art of American artists. From a farmer and his daughter to a blue dog, American artists are fun and original. Learn to recognize their style and understand what inspired them. Create paintings and sculptures that honor their work.

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March 6, 2017 By

Dogwood Center Exhibit: Richard Wieth

Richard Wieth
March 25 – May 20
Dogwood Center Lobby Gallery

Richard D. Wieth is a West Michigan artist who has been painting, drawing and thinking creatively for almost all of his life. Born in Chicago, he attended Loyola Academy Prep before heading to the University of Denver.

Richard has been a full time artist for over twenty years and in that time his work has been included in many juried shows including the Oil Painters of America and the Pastel Society of America.

By Richard about his work:

“I would like everyone who looks at my paintings to know for a moment the simple beauty of the simple things in life.  All too often people get caught up in details and fail to appreciate the enjoyment of simplicity.  I do not attempt to paint photographically and I always want my viewer to know without a doubt that they are viewing a painting.

 I paint with an impressionistic style that I believe lends itself to adding mystery and expression.  Art is true self-expression, each color, brush stroke or lack of brush stroke conveys emotion and self-expression.  I put a lot of faith in the viewer that they will be able to piece together the mystery, without spelling out every detail.  This interaction will help the viewer enjoy not only the moment of time that I am creating but also the painting as an art itself.

I would love it if people could see the simplicity of still lifes in their everyday environment or the deeper beauty of animals, nature, and people.  All of these subjects in their moments of simple beauty I render in a spontaneous, direct, and confident manner, in a hope that people will interact with my work more deeply and engagingly.  The ultimate goal of contributing to the beauty and enjoyment of life.

I hope that the energy and love that I put into my work will remain with the painting and will provide that loving energy to the viewers.”

This exhibit combines a collection of colorful landscape and impressionistic still life paintings.

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