THE GALLERY OF FINE ART @ VENETUCCI HOME

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

DENNIS SIRRINE

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features “And Now For Something Completely Different” new works by Dennis Sirrine

Prior to moving to the Velvet Mill I went through a transformation that resulted in a fury of abstracts that were a release of these emotions. I remember being asked by a very good friend of mine several years ago why I didn't paint something that was coming from the soul...just letting it out without trying to illustrate something that everyone can recognize. Non-objective painting, if you will. It took many years of self-denial before I allowed that to happen. Perhaps part of moving on was to let go of the objects or denials that were holding me back. This freedom of expression might have been my own bit of exorcism. I grew tired of painting just "pretty pictures". Now, I'm not saying I won't be painting any more pretty pictures if I want butter on my bread. Sometimes the object will be very obvious; other times not. I don't know what direction my work will go, but I'm still trying to let that guilt go when the urge to express myself takes over.

-Dennis Sirrine

October 1-31 with Opening Reception Sunday, October 3, 2-4PM

433 Boston Post Road Westbrook, CT 06498
860.388.7826
http://www.gofavenetucci.blogspot.com/
Gallery Hours: Mon. - Sat. 10-5; Sun. 11 - 4. This event is free.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

“Social Entropy… order > disorder”

NEW WORKS BY LAURENCIA CIPRUS

September 1-30, with Artists Reception and Discussion

Sunday, September 5, 2-4PM

About the Artist:

…Vivid deconstructed landscapes, depictions of globial transients and cartoon views of shoreline snapshots…“Social Entropy… order > disorder” departs from the artist’s earlier representational work to navigate a fresh spectral view.

Working from her studio in Essex, Laurencia is a lifelong painter and visual artist who strives to highlight the quest for social change through her work.

Nomads of the Millenium, 24x36, mixed media

She attended Paier College of Art and has studied extensively with notable instructors. Laurencia is a board member of The Art League of New Britain and an artist member of The Guilford Art League.

Her work is exhibited regionally and is in private collections.

Gallery Hours Monday – Saturday 10-5; Sunday 11-4

This event is free and open to the public.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Featured In August: JENNIFER HOLMES

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jennifer Holmes: Paintings from Nature

"Jennifer Holmes' career has now reached a new level. While she has won Connecticut awards for a decade, her new direction and years of working on her craft have brought more and more mention as being among one of the most prolific of New England plein air painters." - Amy Sidman, Argosy Gallery
“Plein Air painting is exciting to me because I love to be outside in the natural world. Like a good 'read' you are so involved you are aware of nothing else. When you triumphantly close the book you are still full of the emotions and the mood. You are still there. Working to create that same sense of presence for the viewer is part of my challenge.
The natural world we view for painting landscapes and seascapes incorporates color, space, and abstracted shapes, combined with composition, to create a mood and inherent excitement. Painting in the traditions of the outdoor painters of Old Lyme and Rockport, I paint on location as much as possible. Painting en plein air, or painting out of doors, allows me the chance to capture a bit o' the life in constantly changing moments.”

Ms. Holmes paints in Watercolors, Acrylics, Oils, and Pastels. After attending Rochester Institute of Technology, Hartford Art School, and finishing with a BFA in Graphic Design and a Minor in Marketing Management at Central Connecticut State University, she chose to pursue painting. While studying Pastel with Frank Federico and Claudia Post, she was encouraged to expand her efforts to include Drawing and Oil Painting with Bernard McTigue and workshops with the Plein Air Painters of America.

Regularly showing at the Lyme Art Association, The Mystic Arts Center, and the Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society, Jennifer has earned Artist Member level in The Connecticut Academy of Fine Artists and the New Haven Paint and Clay Club, as well as Elected Artist at Lyme Art Association, Mystic Art Association, and The Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society. She holds membership in the American Society of Marine Artists.

Showing primarily in New England and New York, Jennifer's works have won numerous awards: Top Award: IDIOMAS, LLC, from Clinton Art Society, The Award of Excellence; Mystic Elected Artist Show. Award of 2nd Place; Lyme Art Association Elected Artists Show; all in 2008. Other Shows: The Connecticut Academy of Fine Art Show, Hudson Valley Art Association 76th Annual Show, The Springfield Academic Artists Show, and The Salmagundi Art Club 31st Non Member Show in New York. Recently Jennifer's painting: "Winter Marsh" was accepted for exhibition in the Paint America "Paint the Parks" 2008 Competition, in the Top 100 Exhibit.

Welcome Elizabeth Egan, Molly McDonald

Handprints in whimsical retro style.

Layers of color dance on the field.

Happy with versatility.

Elizabeth Egan

Peaceful Compositions; Fiery Color, Big Skies

Expressions in Oil

Molly McDonald

GoFAvenetucci welcomes Patricia Corbett

Patricia Louise Corbett, Artist

“As a Plein Air landscape oil painter, it is with great joy that each day I can discover compositions in my own surroundings. I am driven to capture the natural landscapes that surround me, whether the dead of winter in New England or the western scenes where I was born and lived the first 37 years of my life. It is such a thrill to see a scene come alive when I apply paint to canvas. I will continue to refine my craft in order to express more
effortlessly and with greater abandon what my heart and soul speak.”

about DARREL QUALLS

The Gallery of Fine Art @ Venetucci Home
Presents
Darrel Qualls
Extracting the extraordinary:
photorealist studies of macro light reflections in glass and liquid.

Art was one of Darrel Qualls’ childhood escapes. By focusing on drawing in his formative years, he went on to win awards for his artwork and photography. Darrel studied at Central St. Martins in London, England; Norwich School of Art and Design; and graduated from The University of Hartford in 2003.
“As soon as I tried painting I rarely used a pencil for anything. I love the forgiving quality and workability of oil paint. I also love to work in layers whereas when I was younger I had to do everything in one sitting. Now I work on many paintings at one time. so I can keep working while a layer is drying. I also love transparency and the look of brush-less paintings, almost a manufactured look.
I am very drawn to the reflections in glass and liquid. And so ive been studying mason jars and oil. I also love to explore smaller and smaller subject matter leading me to macro photography and enlarging them into large scale paintings.”
Currently a board member at the Art League of New Britain, Preparator at Real Art Ways in Hartford,and most recently, Artist in Residence at Farmington Valley Arts Center in Avon, Darrel stays well connected with the visual arts while raising his son David with his wife Tracy.
View Mr. Qualls works in oil using macro photography of reflections in liquid as reference Monday through Saturday, 10-5, Sunday 11-4pm. Extracting the Extraordinary runs through June 12, with an artists reception Sunday, May 22 2-4PM.

I have always been fortunate...

.....that my path didn't need any thought ~ Art has always been my way. When I see colors and shapes, I see a painting. If I see something I want to share ~ I paint it. The reward is when I make a connection with my unique vision and then inpsire others. It can simply be a the combination of the colors in a the rising sun over a flowering meadow, the hues of blue and purple in a cow portrait or what barn swallows see flying when overhead.My approaches begins with an interest in a subject or collection of color and shapes in the landscape. Then I simply trust the creative process. The ability to remove your self from outside distractions is key.... all the while knowing each stroke and every layer is important to the whole.For me the joy of art is its ability to inspire and lift at each bend in the road
-Julianna Cameron

SUSAN GREENWOOD, JEWELRY DESIGNER EXTRAORDINAIRE

"I buy what I love," she said.

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Ten years ago while still working at Baggis Apothecary, Ms Greenwood set her sights on vintage crystal and beads. She made her first necklace one night and sold it the next day and from then on, she was hooked.

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Now, Ms Greenwood is a vintage crystal and bead junkie - she's got to find it and have , no matter the cost to this collector and artist.

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Most prominently displayed are her creations done in vintage crystal and beads. Necklaces, bracelets and earrings are carefully displayed to showoff the craftsmanship of Ms Greenwood, and the creations whose colors will change with the seasons, she said.

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Vintage crystal was made popular before World War II. Both vintage crystal and beads were manufactured during the 1930's and '40's all over the world in countries like Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Japan.

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According to Ms Greenwood, crystal and bead manufacturers stopped their production during WWII to devote their factories to the war effort, forcing designers to stop their creations and letting crystal and bead collections stay put in warehouses, basements, and attics around the globe. Hence, much of the vintage crystal and bead collections are beginning to spring up and this has spurred a craze for the tiny and colorful baubles.

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Many of the bead collections that are being uncovered - like in Germany - are so heavy, they can't be flown, she added. Collector site on the Internet are fast becoming popular for those looking for certain beads or crystals. One collector living in Los Angeles recently paid by the pound for vintage beads and crystals, topping out at the $25,000 mark, Ms Greenwood said.

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Ms Greenwood told a story of a woman she had heard of living in the Litchfield Hills who had stockpiled a vast collection of vintage beads in the basement of her 1800s farmhouse. Eventually, Ms Greenwood got an appointment and the shock of her life.

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"I almost died," she said, when recalling the look of the basement. The woman's whole basement was lined with wooden shelves and boxes filled with the vintage beads. Three station wagon-loads and nine hours later, Ms Greenwood was well on her way. "I drove away with my stash of beads, " she said.

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Wearing a variety of crystal necklaces around her neck is the like " a chandelier on your neck," Ms Greenwood said. It's a great feeling!