Carriage House Artists

Hello Everyone! My name is Sophia Maras and I am working for NCLAC as the Gallery Coordinator. As we all anticipate the upcoming Holiday Arts Tour this November, several artist introductions are being made! Today, I will be introducing some of the artists who will be at the Carriage House studio. Owned and run by Patricia Jones and Laura Lewis, the Carriage House is a studio located at 101 E. Maryland St. in Ruston, LA. Patricia and Laura's dream for the studio is to give the artist community a venue for occasions such as art workshops, social gatherings, or art exhibitions.For this years tour, the Carriage House will be hosting the following artists: Patricia Jones, Laura Lewis, Maggie Boudreax, Andi Moran, Robert Moran, Casey Parkinson, Catherine McVea, and Annie W. Richardson.

Exciting right?! All of these amazing artists in one studio stop! Today, I will introduce the artists working with painting, drawing and collage...

Patricia Jones, a local Rustonian, has been painting since her early years in her undergrad at Louisiana Tech, where she received her Bachelors in Fine Arts as well as a Masters in Art Education.Patricia's artwork is inspired by old, crumbling and deserted buildings that make us value what history and mystery is left in the architecture. Using the old master’s palette she has recently begun exploring the beauty and unique artistry which some of the simplest things in life may bring to her artwork with her series entitled, "At My Feet."

Catherine McVea works in a similar manner to Patricia,with her still life and landscape paintings and drawings.  She approaches her subjects formally, studying the relationships and simplicity of its beauty. By using alternate materials and mediums, such as collage and oil or soft pastels, Catherine explores the multitude of ways to express something about a subject matter.

Maggie Boudreaux was surrounded by artists, such as her mother Patricia Jones, grandmother Joy Tait, and family friend Catherine McVea. Through that encouragement and experience, Maggie became a fine artist, who also now works at AE Phillips teaching Talented Art and Art Classes.  Maggie's work explores her questions about life and is inspired by our every day's natural beauty. With her work she hopes to evoke an emotion from her audience through artistic elements such as line, shape, and color. She uses a variety of techniques and mediums, including painting, various types of papers, glue, stitching, or stitching.  Each piece of her artwork is uniquely experimental and exciting!

Annie W. Richardson allows her intuition to play a large part in her creative process, through which she creates work representing passages in time. Through different techniques, such as mixed media application, brush stroke variations, calligraphy additions, and mark making, Annie creates paintings that speak from the heart and represent her personal history.

Stay tuned to the blog for tomorrow's continuation of the Carriage House artists! I will then introduce the sculptural, architectural, and ceramics side of this studio space!

NCLAC Member's Exhibit at Barnwell

 Beginning August 25, 2011, and ending October 9, 2011, the Barnwell Garden & Art Centeris pleased to present Cory Carlson and his “Natural Impressions”.   Mr. Carlson is an accomplished artist and show cases his amazing talent in the Main Gallery of the BarnwellGarden & ArtCenter.  Painting the Spirit of the Wild portrays nature’s timeless beauty and energy with his extraordinary wildlife paintings.  Carlson’s goals as a painter are clear when he says, “it’s not enough to just paint a good likeness.  I want my viewers to feel the emotions, struggles and triumphs of living free.”

Through Carlson’s personal travels and experiences he is able to bring such beauty and depth to his subjects.  From the wetlands of theAmericasto the sprawling African jungles, Carlson carefully observes wildlife in its natural environment, capturing rare moments with his skills in photography and sketching.  Bringing the beauty of Nature and the sense of freedom into people’s lives is Carlson’s primary artistic motivation.  Carlson recently discussed his motivation and amazing gift, when he replied “I’ve always been an artist as long as I can remember and I think I was born with a paint brush in my hand.”

Carlson began a lifelong devotion to art when he was a small boy.  His first painting sold at the age of thirteen, becoming a professional portrait artist by his fifteenth birthday.  Carlson has a bachelor of fine arts degree and is the recipient of several best of show awards.  Today his work is found in numerous corporate and private collections around the world.  Carlson’s work recently was selected as one of only 75 artists chosen from over 40,000 entries to be included in the 2011 book “Best of America Oil Artists.” 

Laura Glen Carlson is a creative jewelry maker whose love of nature’s graceful beauty is expressed through the art of sculpting precious metals into unique pieces of jewelry.  Her goals as a fine craft artist are clear when she says, “I want the people who wear my jewelry to feel a connection to the jewelry and know the piece was handmade with love and care.  She believes this sense of connectivity is achieved through the synergy of seeking balance and harmony between metal and stone in a fluid, organic style. 

Through her travels with her husband, the renowned wildlife artist, Cory Carlson, she finds fresh inspiration for her pieces from the natural world.  Expressing an element of timeless grace, Laura creates interesting pieces of jewelry expressing the flowing rhythms of life.

 Laura Glen participates in various shows and festivals, while winning numerous awards.  Her work is available in a selected number of galleries, including the Store at the Barnwell.  She has been interviewed by Louisiana Public Radio and has been featured in several newspapers and magazines including Louisiana Life magazine.  She is a member of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, and the Louisiana Craft Guild.

Art Opening at Gallery Fine Art Center in Bossier

New paintings by Edwin Pinkston, Ruston artist and former Tech Art Professor, will be featured in a solo exhibition at Gallery Fine Art Center in Bossier, Louisiana, September 20 through October 28.

 An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 22, from 6:00-8:00 pm. Edwin will give an artist talk about his work at 5:30.

 Gallery Fine Art Center is located at 2151 Airline Drive, Suite 200, Bossier City, LA 71111, and can be reached by phone at 318-741-9192. The gallery is open Tuesday - Friday, 11:00am - 5:00pm and by appointment.

Artist Statement

New Paintings 

I am very excited about the direction of my new paintings. Over the years I have done figure and landscape drawings in charcoal, semi-abstract collages, wall constructions of painted wood with earth and sky themes, pastels of still lives or landscapes, and abstracted mixed media pieces inspired by jazz music. But lately I'm enjoying a very challenging return to abstract painting.

 In this latest exhibition, I'm working primarily on Gessoboard mounted on a 2” deep maple frame. These hard surfaces can take a lot of physical paint application (or removal) and are used in a square format, thus providing a neutral dynamic, which leaves me free to generate my own visual velocities. These paintings investigate non-representational issues where color, texture, paint handling and spatial fields are explored.Extensively reworked, they feature layers that are sometimes translucent, sometimes opaque, and are filled with marks, lines, textures and scumblings. This concentrated strata of energy and pigmenets, which eventually unite to include a predominant color, hopefully suggests depths both literal and emotional.

 Tensions and counter forces are strongly cultivated, using a non-objective approach that is inspired by Paul Cezanne's still lives and landscapes. I try to set a stage where forms aren't fully reconciled to their positions, where color and mark-making struggle for dominance, and where surface and spatial considerations jockey for position. I try to give each section a role to play, composing holistically, and avoid centering any one element, to neutralize any dominating tendencies.

 I see these paintings as reactions to conflicting issues of human existence that we all face, such as personal freedoms versus societal regulations. Energetic brush action and strong colors depict a sense of abandonment and are juxtaposed against straight lines and geometric shapes representing life's constraints. Further, elements suggestive of being man-made, such as straight lines or geometric shapes, are contrasted with freely brushed, spontaneous and color dominated passages, which I see as emblematic of nature's embrace of growth, change and the unexpected.

 Edwin Pinkston

Bistro Art Opening

On Wednesday, May 11, the North Central Louisiana Arts Council (NCLAC) and 102 a Bistro will present “Ruston En Plein Air”, an exciting new exhibition of landscape painting. Join us from 5-7 p.m. as we celebrate the works of Peter Jones’s landscape painting class.  Featured artists will include

• Lisa Mullikin
• Lana Langston
• Whitney Anderson
• Carol Plamondon
• Rebekah Schlehuber
• Danie Moore
• Laura Eberhart
• Derek Poole
• Emily Medlin
• Rachel Boguille
• Gabrielle Gaspard
• Catherine McVea
• Noula Rodakis
• Emma Case

 The artwork featured will be landscape paintings of the Ruston area and Tech Farm.  Mr. Jones remarked that Tech Farm provides rich scenic views that are perfect for this particular genre of painting. 

Below are some quotes from featured artists about landscape painting. 

“The challenge in landscape painting is to select from the richness of detail at hand and then to express a sense of this on the canvas. There is always more to learn about both the environment and the painting process and I relish the challenge. The wonder of both is that there is always more to see and learn.”  Catherine McVea

"To me, landscape painting represents a sort of journey. I always paint  places where I spend a lot of time or simply details of a landscape that appeal to me. Each painting depicts a spot that sparks some kind of feeling within me." Rebekah Schlehuber

"I think landscape painting is a way of capturing an atmosphere. It brings unique light and colors to a canvas that can only be captured in nature. landscapes speak to peoples emotions in a way that most other subject cannot." Gabrielle Gaspard

"Landscapes inspire my artwork conceptually and representational. I enjoy the leisure of painting outside while struggling through the values and shapes of the landscape. Ruston offers  a variety of interesting landscapes to paint ranging from urban streets to open fields." Lana Langston