Art shorts
Published: November 25, 2009
The Thanksgiving holiday is a time to be grateful for the abundance of talented people who make the Island their home. This weekend many Vineyard-based artists will reach out to the Island public, some of them by opening their studios and welcoming visitors into their work spaces to see the tools of their art and their working surroundings. Artwork will be available for purchase, and those interested will have a wonderful opportunity to ask questions and discuss art with the artists.
Wendy Weldon will show paintings like this one at her studio in Chilmark this weekend. Photo courtesy of Wendy WeldonWendy Weldon opens her studio
Known for her lush, shimmering color-intense canvases, Chilmarker Wendy Weldon has elevated bold rocks and simple barns into iconic artistic forms that hover on abstractions. Working in acrylics, incorporating gold and copper leaf, often adding an encaustic finish, she lends depth to her two-dimensional forms.
And this weekend - Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27 and 28, from 10 to 4 pm -you can see it all and take advantage of some well-priced pieces. Ms. Weldon will be selling her paintings, monotypes, and drawings out of her Chilmark studio.
Also included in the studio show will be the one-of-a-kind jewelry of Ms. Weldon's cousin, Monica Fernandes. Made with wire-wrapped stones, her pieces can be seen at lisbonstyle.com.
This is Ms. Weldon's first open studio sale since moving back to the Island in 1998. She is asking those interested to email her at wendyweldon@earthlink.net for directions to her studio. It is worth the trip, not only because of the beautiful, singular artwork, but also because the rustic studio is filled with the paraphernalia of the artist's inspiration.
Ms. Weldon, who shows at the Shaw Cramer Gallery in Vineyard Haven, will also be opening her studio by appointment. Images of her artwork may be seen online at wendyweldon.com.
David Fokos at North Water
For the first time, the North Water Gallery is hosting an artist's talk. The spacious and welcoming two-level gallery on North Water Street in Edgartown provides a perfect setting for such events.
The artist speaking is David Fokos, a photographer whose stunning representational black-and-white images create dramatic and powerful statements. He will speak and discuss his art on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 1 to 3 pm.
In photographing nature and objects, his long exposures range from 20 seconds up to 30 minutes. These exposures filter out what he refers to as visual noise and reveal the fundamental underlying forms of our world.
About his technique, Mr. Fokos writes "...I believe that our impression of the world is based upon our total experience. For example, the ocean has always made me feel calm, relaxed, and contented. If I were to take an instantaneous snapshot of the ocean, the photo would include waves with jagged edges, salt spray, and foam. This type of image does not make me feel calm - it does not represent how the ocean makes me feel as I stare out over the water. What I am responding to is the underlying, fundamental form of the ocean, its vast expansiveness and the strong line of the horizon, both of which are very stable, calming forms."
A San Diego resident who photographs at sites around the world, Mr. Fokos has been summering on the Island since 1976. His parents live in Chilmark year-round.
For more information, call The North Water Gallery, North Water St., Edgartown 508.627.6002.
A Vineyard landscape by David Tierney. Photo courtesy of David TierneyDavid Tierney
Island raised and schooled, David Tierney's impressionist paintings of Vineyard landscapes are distinctive by their color, texture, and atmosphere. Trained at art institutes in Philadelphia and Boston, he works in oils, and mixed media, usually on wooden panels.
This weekend Mr. Tierney invites visitors to his studio to see his latest paintings, share their reactions, and have the chance to purchase his work. His studio is next to his home, at 60 Hines Point in Vineyard Haven. The studio will be open Friday, Nov. 27, from 3 to 6 pm. 508-560-5557.
Deborah Colter hosts open studio
An Edgartown resident since the 80s, Deborah Colter is an award-winning artist whose mixed-media abstract paintings are in numerous corporate collections and in galleries from New York City to Chicago. On the Island, her paintings are on seasonal exhibit exclusively at Cousen Rose Gallery in Oak Bluffs.
Deborah Colter's "Leaving the City" 48 by 40 inches on canvas. Photo courtesy Deborah ColterThis weekend - Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28, from 11 am to 4 pm - she will be opening her Edgartown studio (next to her home at 1 Oakdale Drive) to the public. On display will be work on paper and canvas, new work, and paintings from her past collections.
In her artist's statement, Ms. Colter writes: "I focus on the concept of capturing a moment of thought, purely through my visual language. I strive to capture the fleeting memories and images that travel rapidly through the mind and represent these thoughts in the layers of color, texture and repeating marks within the work. My language is an abstract collection of marks, textures and color, repeating shapes and forms, with which I seek to find a balance of chaos and harmony."
Contact Ms. Colter at 508-627-3829, or visit her web site at debroahcolter.com.
Deborah Colter Open Studio, 1 Oakdale Drive, Edgartown. New Works & Hidden Treasures, Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28 11am - 4pm
Thanksgiving weekend shows
Jeweler Diana Stewart, posing at last year's Artisan's Festival. Photo by Susan Safford FRIDAY, NOV. 27
Thanksgiving Artisans Festival 10 am-4 pm, Ag Hall, West Tisbury. 14th annual event. More than 80 artists, food, demos. Also Nov. 28. vineyardartisans.com.
Open Artist's Studio 10 am-4 pm, Wendy Weldon's studio, call for location. Paintings by Wendy Weldon; jewelry by Monica Fernandes. Also Nov. 28. 508-645-3199.
Artist's Open Studio 11 am-4 pm, Deborah T. Colter Studio, Oakdale Drive, Edgartown. Deborah T. Colter's New Works and Hidden Treasures. Also Sat. 508-627-3829; deborahcolter.com.
Artist's Opening 3-6 pm, 60 Hines Point, Vineyard Haven. David Tierney: Island scenes. 508-560-5557.
SATURDAY, NOV. 28
Thanksgiving Artisans Festival 10 am-4 pm, Ag Hall. See Nov. 27.
Open Artist's Studio 10 am-4 pm, Wendy Weldon's studio, call for location. See Nov. 27.
Artist's Open Studio 11 am-4 pm, Deborah T. Colter Studio. See Nov. 27.
Artist's Talk 1-3 pm, North Water Gallery, Edgartown. Photographer David Fokos. Free. 508-627-6002.
