Hello Art Hollis Followers,
'Tis the merry month of May…finally! So, glad tidings to all.
As I look out my window upon green fields dotted with golden dandelions and I watch the sea breezes kiss the new formed leaf buds on my old apple tree; I hear the frenzied chatter of songbirds desperately seeking their mates. I can’t help feeling that life is returning to the shore and with it comes a feeling of sweet expectation and the mood is optimism.
And just how would you paint that feeling? What colours make optimism? For that matter what are the colours of sadness or loneliness? It’s interesting how Artists can use colour to depict “mood.”
We look at a Monet. His water lilies laid down in soft relaxing hues of blues and greens. Or The vibrancy of sunflower fields by Van Gogh.
The impressionists liked using pastel colours to convey emotions, from joyfulness to serenity; whereas the Romanticist artists made use of natural tones…browns, ochres and earth tones capturing more sombre moods like awe and peace in our natural world.
The month of June we at Hollis will be showcasing one of our most expressive landscape painters, Gillian Lazanik. Her work is a wonderful example of how an Artist‘s use of colour and mediums can beautifully express a mood on the canvas. Lazanik’s pieces are evocative and filled with energy and emotion.
To view her work up close one might see an abstract filled with texture and delicious brushstrokes, but viewed from a distance one begins to watch as the image transforms into something familiar. Truly magic!
Gillian’s process is playful and she uses her interesting mix of mediums which include tea leaves, herbs and rubber coating mixture almost as a child in exploration. The result is always amazing and as she has told us…often delightfully surprising. Another feature of her pieces is a faint scent of something pleasantly earthy…but that you will have to witness for yourself.
To quote the artist:
“I don’t set out to recreate landscapes - I let them emerge. My process is a collaboration with nature, where the smallest fragments build into something much larger. Just like in Life, it’s the combination of all parts that creates the bigger picture.”
You will not want to miss this Opening!
Gillian’s Show is entitled:- In Darkness, Light Persists.
Opening reception is June 7th, 3 till 5
See you there!
Cris