The Shelnutt Gallery is currently showing art by two notable artists, Arleen Targan and Virginia McNeice. The artists appear to differ in their artistic views and techniques adding a different feel to the room.
It appears that Targan is trying to be abstract, allowing her viewers to fill in the blanks in their mind. The problem is that the artist does not appear to focus on details quite enough.
Of Targan’s paintings, my favorite is entitled “Orchard in Spring.” I enjoyed it because the artist is unusually attentive to detail which provides more definition to what she depicts. Although it is left partly to the viewer’s imagination, they can comprehend the basic visualization of what the artist imagined, as opposed to the other pieces shown.
The painting entitled “Farm Below the Hill” works as an abstract image. Unfortunately, the title appears to take away from the admirer’s imagination. I believe this work would have been better left untitled.
In “Mustard Hill” Taragon does a good job at capturing the viewer’s attention. The artist uses shading very well for the sky portion of the piece. Its quite aesthetically pleasing.
McNeice’s art appears to be more classical in general than Targan’s. Aside from occasional objects in the paintings that are left fuzzy, this artist appears to be more of a realist.
McNeice’s piece entitled “A Quiet Day” is one of the best paintings in the room. It shows an ordinary landscape, however, the main focal point is the reflection in a lake of the landscape itself. It uses different shades of color and brightness to contrast the two views.
For the work entitled “8 am Summer Morning,” the artist uses angles of light so that the viewer can almost “feel” the light emerging from the shadows. This is done while the foreground remains dark and untouched.
The piece entitled “Edge of the Garden” is another great painting. This painting makes the viewer feel like he or she is in the backyard of a small country cottage. In the foreground, there is brush leading up a golden path to the cottage. The hills and mountains seem to stretch far beyond. The bright colors in this painting appear to be used to enhance depth perception. They give the painting an air of relaxation and tranquility. The artist appears to have captured the haven which many people search for in order to escape the stresses of modern society.
Both artists are worth the time to break from your normal activities. Their pieces will be shown in the Shelnutt Gallery until May 17th.
