Images from Isolation

October 2021-January 2022

Artist Talk Saturday December 4, 2021

11am-1pm

This exhibit is comprised of six separate, but related, series. It encompasses the period of 23 months from October, 2019 to August, 2021, and includes nearly all of the work that I produced during those months. The six series, taken together, present a disjointed narrative of the isolation imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic and the urge to keep soldiering on in one’s aesthetic pursuits in spite of the uncertainty and foreboding and feelings of disconnection from much of what we still fondly recall as “normalcy”.

The first series began in Autumn of 2019, when we were still unaware aware of the coming pandemic. It begins with musings about the creative process, the urge to strive toward ideas larger than ourselves (‘reaching for the moon”), and the difficulties and rewards of that striving for meaning. As winter waned, and spring arrived bearing the global pandemic, the series began to reflect my thoughts about isolation, aging, mortality, and acceptance of the inevitable.

The second series, titled “Aviary”, includes ten drawings of birds with human hands in place of feet. I have always envied birds for their ability to fly, and so I wondered, “Do they in turn envy us our opposable thumbs?” These birds assume the role of actors, performing human characters both fine and foolish. I began the series as an entertaining distraction from both the pandemic and political realities, but both of those still managed to sneak in from time to time.

Series three, titled “Nocturnes”, consists of three images (so far) of figures floating in blissful slumber. As world events unfolded and feelings of isolation increased, “insomnia” began to top the list of most frequently Googled terms. This series reflects my longing for deep, refreshing sleep.

Four drawings followed quickly after the Nocturnes: “ Artifacts of Mysterious Origin and Indeterminate Purpose”, “ Weary”, “Civil War”, and “You Are Old, Father William”. I have grouped them under the title “Outliers”, and each of them, I think, can speak for itself.

Series five is titled “Toy Story”. It began as a submission to an exhibit on that theme at Mystery Print Gallery in Pinedale, and continued of its own volition to include fourteen paintings so far, thirteen of which are included here. The first few of these images are sweet, if somewhat wistful, but the mood becomes more uneasy and surreal as the series progresses.

The sixth and last series I call “Drawing Blanks”. This group of drawings revisits the themes of a series I did nearly 50 years ago, in grad school. The drawings constitute an examination of the drawing process, and the layers of meaning inherent in making drawings about the act of drawing. When the pencil is introduced, caught in the act, the drawing becomes its own self-portrait.

Each series, as it nears its resolution, suggests another direction, and each new series overlaps its predecessor a bit, chronologically. Taken as a whole, they provide the tracks of my thinking and feeling and imagining my way through a uniquely challenging period in our recent history.

“From the Rising of the Sun Till the Time That It Goes Down"

July 2021-September 2021

Reception August 5, 2021 5pm-8pm

I have always loved the Western landscape. I live in Casper, Wyoming where the air is fresh and clean and the sun shines almost every day. Casper is backed by a mountain and the North Platte River runs through town. Minutes away are cattle ranches, streams, bluffs and prairies. Pastels with their brilliance and depth of color are what I use to capture these beautiful scenes. My husband and kids are avid fisherman but I follow them along the river with an easel and a box of pastels instead of a fishing pole!

After 21 years working as a Floral Designer, I decided to follow my lifelong dream of pursuing an art career. So I went to a community college in Casper and realized art was my life and soul. There I received a Degree in Fine Art and found I love illustration, also. I have written 14 children's books which I am illustrating, and currently have 3 published. "This Skin I'm In" and "Ben and Pirate Moon" were illustrated by me but written by Courtney Crane. "Something's Fishy" and "God Gave Me Everything I Need To Be Me" were both written and illustrated by me. All can be purchased through Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

As a floral designer, I noticed the artistic way colors weave through flowers. I want to capture these unique changes and hues in my floral designs created with colored pencils. Also, I have painted numerous life-size fiberglass animals for fundraising events in Wyoming and South Dakota. My art hangs in the Wyoming State Capitol and has hung in the Capitol Building in Washington DC.

Love + Landscape

April 2021-June 2021

Love + Landscape explores the fleeting impressions and fragmentary passages that occur in our everyday lives. A view we’ve grown accustomed to, a moment of inner wisdom that we allow to pass—these textile paintings are about the pleasure of staying open to the unexpected and honoring the familiar by seeing it in a new way.

Jennifer Libby Fay is a textile artist focused on surface design using multiple dying techniques, embellishment, and fabric manipulation. Fay’s work has been shown in select exhibitions in California, Washington State, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Wyoming. She was named a “Women to Watch” by the National Museum of Women in the Arts Arkansas State Committee. She lives in Jackson, Wyoming.

For more information, check out https://jenniferlibbyfay.com/

I'll Tell the Wind

14" x 42

Plant Some Seeds

12" x 26”

“Western Road Movie”

January 2021-March 2021

Opens January 9, 2021

Like a movie scene progressing from frame to frame, interspersed with opening, intermission, and closing text panels, Patrick Kikut’s sequence of landscape paintings takes us on a journey across the vast American West. Blending the standard ingredients of Westerns and Road Movies with landscape painting and pop art affinities, Kikut questions the cultural vehicles that perpetuate the romanticizing of violence and ecological irresponsibility.

Patrick Kikut grew up in Southern California and divides his time between Laramie, Wyoming and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He earned an MFA from the University of Montana in 1997 and a BFA from the University of Colorado in 1990. He is an Academic Professional at the University of Wyoming. Kikut’s work is included in the collections of The El Paso Art Museum, The Missoula Art Museum, and The University of Wyoming. In 2012, he completed a residency at the Center for Land Use Interpretation, Wendover, Utah and exhibited at the Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Original Illustrations from “The Christmas Ass”

Illustrations by Zachary Pullen

Written by Jana Enloe

November 28 2020 thru January 8, 2021

Book signing November 28, 2020 12pm-3pm

Donkey Plushies and Books available for purchase at Scarlow’s Gallery

Jana Enloe - Author

I am the blessed mother of four and have a passion for a strong and connected family. My husband David and I have taught parenting classes and mentored hundreds of families for thirty years. We have lived in multiple parts of the US, as well as internationally. A native Texan and

graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, we currently reside in Tokyo, Japan, but we call San Diego, California, home.

From 1989-1992 we packed up our car with one child in tow and moved to Casper where we met forever friends. Subsequently, I often return to Wyoming for visits. I feel truly blessed to have been introduced to Zachary Pullen, an amazing illustrator, who agreed to work on my first book, The Christmas Ass. I could not be happier with our final project as Zak’s truly gifted hands brought life to my words through his incredible artistry.

The Christmas Ass

One Christmas years ago we created a family tradition I would like to share with you. The story is based on a personal family experience where poor behavior was able to be converted into a teachable moment for all. Thus, the behavior was given a name, The Christmas Ass . Now, the donkey and the child are given an opportunity to change. I hope this book and the Donkey Companion will delightfully encourage The Christmas Ass in your family to change with love.

"There's One in Every Family"

Zachary Pullen - Illustrator

Zachary Pullen’s illustrations have won awards and garnered starred reviews. He has been honored several times with acceptance into the prestigious Society of Illustrators juried shows and the Communication Arts: Illustration Annual, best in current illustration. 

Pullen’s character oriented illustrations have been well received since first being published in 1999. After a stint in New York, Pullen moved back to Wyoming to continue his career as an artist. Since moving back in 2006, his work has continued to be published in both periodicals and picture books. Recently his projects have moved off the printed page and into public spaces.

Zak lives in Casper, Wyoming with his wife Renate and son Hudson where he is currently working on several mural projects and personal commissions.

“It is very rare that an audience for a picture book get to see all of the original artwork. This is that opportunity.

This is my first book based on the Christmas holiday and these 18 oil paintings represent that work. “The Christmas Ass” illustrations hopefully embody the holiday season and are the visual representation of a story that will speak to the love, greed and anticipation the season brings.

These canvases embody the work that I put into every manuscript. I strive for the best possible product to find a way onto your reading shelf. This book, with a message to readers of all ages, backs up the theory that it’s not only a children’s book-it’s a family book.” Zachary Pullen

18 Paintings

Jacket: 51”x26”

2 Interior Singles: 22”x26”

15 Interior Doubles: 39”x26”

Carli Holcomb

“By the Light of the Moon”

July 2020-August 2020

Opening July 9,2020

I have long been fascinated by the gesture of water. Reaching out just before pulling back again. It is so much like the human touch. “By the light of the moon” is a meditation on thresholds, edges, lines, and the spaces where one thing shifts to become another. This exhibition was inspired by a rainy month spent in the Canadian Rockies lost amongst the glacial silt-filled lakes. They are so mysterious in their opaque depth. It was almost as if you could slip into the icy waters and open your eyes on the other side to a different world. Their edges seemed so solid despite their constant shifting. The gesture of opaque water reaching and receding exposed layers of sand, rock, and fallen trees, a glimpse of stability no matter how tenuous. Each night I would sit by the water watching the quiet shift from day into night. I long to return to those cosmos dripped shorelines. As I was working on “By the light of the moon,” it eventually began to take the shape of that longing. A meditation on water, dappled constellations, unknown geometry, tectonic plates, and all of those solid things that drift through their own quiet oceans, as if nothing is fixed.

More about Carli at

http://www.carliholcomb.com/

“Flying Frippery”

May 1, 2020 - June 30, 2020

“Flying Frippery” is a series of work intended to express the feeling of being free. Free from time and the expectations of what jewelry should be.

For centuries, jewelry has been something we wear to accessorize our personal appearance. But what makes personal adornment more than a simple accessory? Jewelry is a talisman. A totem. An expression of who we are. A way of life. Freedom… In a world of accessories, these brooches have the ability to transform themselves into something more.

What if, while not being worn, jewelry had a place to be, a purpose? Flying Frippery dives into that concept. These pieces can stand on their own as simplified bird brooches. Once coupled with a display, they can ascend from personal adornment into visual art.

For more information and to check out an online catalog for “Flying Frippery”, go to thawkstudio.com.

About Rachel Hawkinson and T. Hawk Studio:

T. Hawk Studio is founded on the principles of unique, custom design and quality craftsmanship. There is heavy inspiration found from Mother Nature by stone selection, pattern, and incorporating natural elements such as: found objects, wood, leather, feathers, eco-friendly materials and packaging.

Each piece starts out with reclaimed or sheet metal and round wire. The metal is then cast, hand sawn, rolled, textured, and fabricated using traditional bench techniques.

These pieces are for the bold, who love to make a statement. Everything at T. Hawk Studio is a true one-of-a-kind piece of wearable artwork

“Life through Polychrome Glasses”

March 2020-April 2020

Opening March 5th, 2020

Artist Reception and Artist talk April 3, 2020 6:00pm-8:00pm

“ A Visual overload with a colorful potpourri depicting intimate wackadelic interiors and and art savvy critters.” - David McDougall

David, born in California in 1949 , returned to art in 2001 and is best known for his vibrant acrylic fly-fishing scenes and riverscapes inspired by his work as a guide around the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. His unique handcrafted frames often accompany the paintings. He also works in watercolor, charcoal and pastels and more recently feels compelled to capture the power of the bison in paintings as well as pictograph and petroglyph inspired drawings and minimum brush stroke work.

David’s work is gaining a large following of private collectors. He was a part of the Governor’s Art Show in Cheyenne in 2011 and his work appeared in the Brinton Museum’s “Small Works Show” for the past 4 years. He joined the recent photographer Charles Daley in a two person show at the Brinton in 2010. More paintings were seen at Sagebrush Art Gallery in Sheridan winning awards at the art guild shows. In 2011, his poster “Celebrate the Arts” presented by Downtown Sheridan won and advertised the annual event.

David earned an MFA in painting from the University of Illinois in 1975. Back in California over the next 6 years he created watercolors, taught painting and then turned to wood learning the art of carpentry while building houses, wooden boats and later co-owned a woodworking business for 3 years.

Keeping up with technology he then studied graphic design, worked at Hornall Anderson Design Works for 5 years and in 1991 started a technical illustration business that operated for the next 15 years until he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2001. Having to undergo treatment for two years, David returned to fine art. Painting watercolor and acrylic was restorative and helped him to stay hopeful and positive during the most intense and fearful time of his life.

With the support of his wife and their son and the inspiration of art he entered remission and now follows his dream and passion by continuing to create art in his new home town of Dayton, Wyoming. There David and his wife Donna own and operate Painted Skull Studio situated on the 1930’s artist, Hans Kleiber homestead which they aim to preserve and care for as a historical setting.

More about David at https://paintedskullstudio.com/

“Loose Ribs”

February 2020

Opening Reception Friday January 31, 2020

6:00pm to 8:00pm

 Isaac Whitlatch was born in Casper, Wyoming and studied Advertising Illustration at The Brooks Institute for Photography in Santa Barbara, California.

 "I was born into a home with boundless Art Supplies and unlimited support from my artist parents."

Isaac loves markers and pencil, charcoal and ball point. He is inspired by the artists of The Art Nouveau Movement and those creators coming out of The Lowbrow Art Movement in Southern California. Some of his most influential instructors include Nancy Lee (Dean Morgan JHS), Sheila Mchattie (Natrona County HS), Paul Kemp (Baylor University), & Ralph Clavenger (Brooks, Santa Barbara). 

"I give my eyes what they want."

Isaac lives and works as an illustrator and two dimensional designer in Helena, Montana. 

David Rufenacht was born and raised in Casper, Wyoming. From a very young age David would spend countless hours doodling and drawing. Growing up, he was heavily inspired by the old masters as well as modern artists active in skateboarding and pop culture. David continued to hone his skills through High school and into College before deciding to enter the workforce as a graphic designer. The vast majority of David’s artistic output over the last few decades has been commercial in nature. His personal work tends to resist the mundane and is more surreal and fantastical. His artistic style has elements of extreme detail intermixed with loose flowing line and brush work. David values the freedom of his artwork, the freedom to bring his daydreams to life and the freedom to follow a thread wherever it may lead. David's work both explores the fusion of seemingly incompatible ideas, and can also render a simple representation from his life.

David lives and works with his family in Casper, Wy

It's a Gift That Keeps Giving – ART

Except as noted below, these are all original, one-of-a-kind paintings or drawings. So, no matter how many givers are on the recipient's list--- they'll never get another of what this show has for them. 

Maybe you'll also have the advantage of bringing them to the gallery with you to do a little surreptitious scouting of what they like. Don't be surprised if they're pulling the same kind of intelligence on you…

For this show, I picked specifically works that I thought many people would enjoy in terms of subject matter. I also chose only things at relatively modest price points… So no $100,000 Rockwells, no $38,000 Leyendeckers or $25,000 Cornwells here.

Sure, you could still spend quite a bit at the show and while I'd love it if you do… you really don't have to. There are tons of items under $100 each… Then there's my book at the special price of $50 + tax… or you can even sign someone special up for my biweekly (more or less) “Picture(s) of the Week” newsletter… that's free.

Beyond all this if you see something that's interesting but that's not quite what you want… or if there's a partiocular subject matter that you're seeking just ask. We can make an appointment for you to see others. 

What Am I Looking At…. ??

These are all original paintings and drawings and as such are each one-of-a-kind. All were created for the purpose of being printed (or at the least as a preliminary version of something to be printed)-- either in a book, a magazine, as a poster, a billboard and so forth. 

At the heart of this show and of most of illustration is the telling of just enough of a story to attract the attention of the viewer. What you see here would have been submitted to the client for publication. An illustrator can speak volumes of mood and action through many apparently simple things: body language, composition and color for instance. A talented illustrator can make a good picture look easy. If you're ever tried to make a piece of art…, particularly one that has to be approved by someone else… you'll know what I'm talking about. 

Art for reproduction in America stretches back to about 1840. The reasons for this relatively short history are many, complex and not really the point of this show. Up until fairly recently, say the early 1970s, the overwhelming mood (even among the illustrators themselves) was that once artwork appeared in print, its usefulness was at an end. Probably along the lines of 80 – 85% of the illustration art created in the Golden Age of American illustration (roughly 1880 – 1960) was destroyed for one reason or another. 

Enough words… Go, enjoy the show. If you have an opportunity come back and enough it again. 

August 2019-December 2019

Various rotations of pieces throughout the shows duration.

Seen and Said

August 2019-October 2019
Initially SEEN AND SAID is a series of watercolor paintings and oil paintings with one line of my verse. 
Each image is underscored with one line of my verse.
These paintings are about relationships.
They are about the intimate and complex relationships we have with:
ourselves
those we love
the places where we find ourselves 
the seemingly randomness of the everyday things we find around us. 

These ideas are abstractly expressed through a confluence of three separate visual voices and one verbal. They are like pieces of a puzzle with each segment suggesting a different aspect of the whole.

The Language of flowers

October 2019-December 2019

I am working with the concept of the language of flowers, and the use of the angel figure as a symbol for hope. Throughout time flowers have been used as symbols for specific emotions. Although the references are not exact, and many have a variety of meanings, I have chosen those that work well with certain human gestures and expressions. The angels are not meant to be a religious reference but as a symbol for the human spirit and its endless belief in the possible, in spite of the unprovable.

Martin John Garhart has worked as an artist/teacher, teaching, making, and showing his images over the last forty years. His works reside in over forty institutions including the British Museum, Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institute, as well as numerous private collections.  He is a Professor of Art Emeritus from Kenyon College, in Gambier, OH where he taught Studio Art for thirty one years.

Having grown up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, he has returned to the West and now splits his time between his cabin/studio in the Black Hills and his home/studio in Powell, WY

Artist Statement

At the most basic level, I am attempting to make interesting and beautiful things that asked to be considered.

We live our lives in a confluence of our physical and mental worlds, one informing the other.  They are separate worlds, one sensing the experience of now, the other considering and conjuring the whole of it. Sometimes their focus is similar, often it is not. They exist and are brought together in the self. I am interested in making work that reference this phenomenon.  Each image is a collection of separate parts,  mental considerations, physical perceptions, and verbal expressions, that are brought together by context and often the  structure of the frame. They are about the intimate and complex relationships we have with ourselves, those we love, the places where we find ourselves, and the seeming randomness of the everyday things we find around us. They are like a fractured mirror with each segment reflecting a different view of the whole. What is reflected is brought together in the viewing.

Technically the paintings are my exploration of visual, and to a lesser extent verbal, language. They are  a consideration of how dialogue conveys meaning through formal structure and narrative content. I am attempting to expand my use of visual expression by making each painting an inquiry into the merger of traditional and contemporary visual vocabulary. I am working with the symbolic use of setting, time, and character, aesthetically gathered, to create content and beauty.

June 2019 - July 2019

Reminiscent

Artist Statement 2019

Memories are a funny thing. We have moments we love that bring us joy and others that bring pain. We can remember or selectively block portions of our history. A smell or a song can transport us back 20 years in a split second. A piece of clothing can trigger the memory of a special date or embarrassing moment. Even more amazing, our minds can skew or distort how memories are replayed. We can remember only the good and find ourselves longing for a better time, when the best time might indeed be now.

As my children have grown up all too fast, I find myself drawn to old objects: the reflections of a camera, the worn laces of a shoe, the legos and origami pieces my kids used to leave on the floor. In my paintings of everyday objects, I use these silent items to tell stories all people can relate to through symbolism and share nostalgia of a different time.

Artist Bio 2019
Blanche Guernsey grew up in Gillette, WY with a passion for art that continues today.  As a self-taught artist, her medium of choice used to be pastels but as she experimented with other mediums she has found a fondness for oils.  Her passion for people and family is evident in her early work, inspired mostly by her husband and five children. Blanche has evolved into an artist that uses nostalgic objects, bold colors and the playful shadows. As an introvert, Blanche has many levels and this is reflected in her work. A painting of a simple object becomes a way to share feelings and experiences from her own life and of those around her.
Blanche is currently represented by AVA Community Art Center and Wyoming Art and Frame in Gillette, WY, Scarlows Gallery in Casper, WY, SAGE in Sheridan, WY, and the DAHL in Rapid City, SD. 

April 2019-May 2019

RECENT WORK
My current artwork encompasses painting, collage, digital creation and prints.

DARK CURVATURE

My visual vocabulary is informed by my mathematics background. Many of my artworks are created by repetition, transformation and iteration of primitive elements. These are fundamental processes in some areas of mathematics.

The inspiration for my “Dark Curvature” paintings originated in 2017, when I viewed a demonstration of James Austin Murray’s black paintings. This inspired me to begin my own exploration of the potential to produce abstract, geometrical textured paintings using only one color; namely black.

There have been many other inspirations, including the photographs of Hiroshi Sugimoto, and the work of 20th Century Russian artist Kasimir Malevich. In this show, there are paintings on canvas and on rag paper, and also paint monoprints on paper.

FUCKING FRAGILE

The Fucking Fragile series consists of limited edition prints. The series originated in 2017, when I started thinking about the evolution of the word “fucking” which, in everyday language is now often used as a more emphatic, more colorful replacement for “very” or “extremely”. The versatility of the word led to my first playful designs in the series, such as “Free Fucking Gift” and “Fucking Fragile”.

In the latter part of 2018, and into 2019, my new work in the series gradually evolved into implicit statements about the unease that seems to pervade our lives, and also as metaphors for the current social/political environment. For me, many of the artworks in the “Fucking Fragile” series can be interpreted as cautionary statements about the fragility of our democracy, the fragility of our complex economic structure, and the existential dangers that seem to be proliferating.

FIND ME ONLINE: www.davidvonmetz.com metzimage@gmail.com

HYPERCOLOR

Showing in Scarlow’s Gallery

February 8, 2019 - March 29, 2019

Life is nuanced, to capture a split second, to separate an individual feeling,  a single moment or one memory in the complex stream of life is the artistic ideology of Wyoming born and based artist, Ryan Atkins. Through the use of vibrant colors, broad brush strokes and precious water, this self taught artist hypercolors the moment in a realistic way. Ryan corrals the random nature of water and paint into tightly composed portrait paintings of people in a vulnerable moment of thought.

This self taught award winning artist has shown and sold art across the globe and currently creates art out of a small studio in Casper. Ryan works primarily in watercolor and ink,  but is no stranger to graphite, oils and digital mediums.

Patrick Kikut: Works on Paper- Field Notes from the Road 

For the last 30 years I have been exploring and producing studio work that is inspired by my travels through out the West.  I consider the whole of the West as my “artistic neighborhood.”  Geographically speaking, I define this as an area that reaches from Great Falls, MT in the North, to Reno, NV in the West, down South to Marfa, TX, and out to Dodge City, KS to the East.  As I explore this vast landscape I have engaged in the interaction of our ever-encroaching culture upon the edges of wilderness. This “tidal zone” between culture and nature is far from the awe-inspiring screenshot perfection found in our National Parks, Monuments, and Forests.  Here, behind the truck stops, and wind-damaged billboards I discover discarded big gulps, busted tool boxes, and wrecked derby cars scattered over the parking lot and onto the dry and frozen land.  Often these landscapes read like empty stage sets where props are strewn about as the actors have finished their narrative and exited the scene.  In this body of work I hope that a viewer can enter into these spaces and get a sense of the rugged and enduring beauty of the West as well as our persistent attempts to exploit and survive on a landscape that is mostly inhospitable and unsustainable for the huge demands of our contemporary culture. 

This is a collection of refined field drawings.  They represent three bodies of work.  The earliest is from 2003 titled Loneliest Road Show-US Highway 50.  For this, I drove, and produced these drawings, on an extensive trip from Dodge City, KS, through Colorado, Utah and on to Carson City, NV.  The Nevada stretch of US 50 has been called the loneliest road in America and has always been a favorite of mine.  The oval shaped format of the drawings is borrowed from early George Catlin paintings and, for me, echoes the shape of an eye, or a rearview mirror.  The second body of work is titled Wind Damage (2007-08).  This work was inspired by a June tornado that touched down in Laramie and tracked within a half mile of my studio.  The destructive results of that tornado were interesting to me as I recognized how powerful forces of nature can rearrange structures and can sometimes create visual poetry.  When I produced this work, oil prices were high, the housing market, and the financial world were in a tailspin due to our over extended credit.  Also, at this time, human caused climate change became a subject of concern for many of us.  Wind Damage speaks to that time and inspired me to travel the West in search of poetic, wind damaged structures.  The final images are the most recent and are oil on paper. These were mostly produced in Wyoming during the summer of 2017.  For this work, I explored using oils in the field and working on archival paper specially produced to handle oil paint.  The oils allowed me to produce more colorful images that reflect my travels, campsites and day hikes from that summer.  I have discovered that working on paper in the field is vitally important to my studio practice.  Like my favorite field drawings from art history, I intend to create economic yet specific images of the West.  I like to think that these drawings hold up as unique pieces and hold some land DNA from each of the locations I was exploring.          

http://www.patrickkikut.com/

Home-Place

September 2018-October 2018

Opening Reception September 6th, 5p-8p

Artist Wine Dinner September 14th, 2018 6:30 Click here for details

Sarah Williams earned her MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of North Texas in Denton and her BFA from William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri. She is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Missouri State University in Springfield.

Artist Statement

It is my belief that art should originate through a painter’s personal experiences in her home environment. I see my whole life as preparation for the way I paint and the work I am currently making. This body of work is closely focused on my roots in the rural American Midwest. Being raised in a small town and then moving to an urban setting has made me aware of the seemingly mundane, anonymous scenes existing on the periphery that tend to be ignored. Recently I have become conscious that I am compelled to paint what I know best which is the environment from which I come. My perception of a specific sense of place guides me while these local settings offer abundant material.

Strong emotions can be prompted by a place. Over time, ways of life shape and define the people and the spaces in which they live. I am drawn to areas and structures that show character acquired from the history and memory of the people that formed that environment. Aesthetically I am interested in light sources and the play of light on surfaces. This led me to paint nightscapes of familiar yet isolated and unremarkable buildings, rooms and scenes located in rural areas close to my home. I use darkness to edit out extraneous information and provide the viewer with the essence of the place. Portraying these settings as nightscapes allows me to convey the emotional tone of the painting. The viewer’s location is not specifically implied because of the light source within the paintings. They must find their own way and decide their own approach when out in the rural night depicted in these works.

While I render my subject in a representational manner I like to fracture the form and accentuate the light through brushwork. I believe this approach makes these settings visually captivating and eerily mysterious at the same time. The viewer starts to unravel the mood of the painting not only with the primary area of focus, but through the combination of the secondary and even tertiary areas of focus. A viewer’s eyes must adjust so they will be able to see these subtle nuances that complete the character of the place. The artistic language applied to slightly familiar yet hauntingly isolated areas permits me to transform the common place and make the insignificant significant.

Even though my connection to the small town farm culture that shaped me as I grew up played a major role in how I approach these works, I believe they can speak to people from a variety of places and experiences. Each viewer brings their own vantage point to the works. It could be that they are from similar environments and feel comforted by the imagery, or maybe it reminds them of cross country road trips. For some these desolate nightscapes may represent somewhere they hope to never find themselves alone. Whatever the case may be, it prompts viewers to draw upon the character and identity of their regional home when approaching these works.

I like the idea of bringing paintings of small town life to the contemporary art scene in urban settings. I hope my work allows people to think about where they come from and take pride in the collective identity of their home region.

Here lies the void I once knew

Opening reception July 5th, 2018 5p-8p

Show runs through August 31,2018

“These paintings are about what you thought you saw. They are visual representations of myth and storytelling. Throughout the rich history of abstract painting, painters have been able to use ambiguity to represent the non-visual. These works are rooted in traditions of storytelling and supernatural experiences. Color theory, surface and composition act as vehicles for telling visual tales of indescribable moments in time. The spiritual nature of color and mark making allow the viewer to have an expanded experience of a specific tall tale or embellished story. The subject matter often slightly violent or jarring is frozen in time to create an intense static feeling. Information and myths that are passed from person to person often create a beautiful platform for hyperbole and personal reflection.  The paintings are as much about my experience of making them as they are about the original subject, and beyond that they are just as much about the viewer’s interpretation of information. Having a reverence for the history of painting as well as traditions in composition and color allow me to create a specific mood for the story to be told. The many facets of an abstract image allows the story to become part of everyone that views these visual stories.” - Luke Whitlatch

Out of the Vault: Vintage Originals from Taraba Illustration Art

Opening Reception Thursday June 7th, 2018 5pm-8pm

Show runs through June 30, 2018

Taraba Illustration Art is a Casper, WY based business, selling original paintings and drawings mostly from the premier period of American Illustration artwork, 1900-1970. These are the original and one-of-a-kind artworks used for a variety of purposes, from magazine covers and interior story illustrations to advertising and poster illustrations. Fred Taraba, owner and proprietor (and one-man show) moved to Casper in 2007 after about 25 years in the museum and gallery world of New York City. 

TIA works primarily on a consignment basis… with collectors, artist’s families, museums, flea market-scroungers and pretty much everyone in between. 

Visit  www.tarabaillustrationart.com to contact Fred Taraba, see more pictures and learn more about him than you would probably ever want to know.

Assemblage Line: Selected Paintings

February - March 2018

Jim is a self-taught painter from Casper, Wyoming, who creates intuitive works on wood and canvas that feature found objects as well. Though Jim doesn’t think much of categories, his artwork can be described as contemporary folk art, naive, intuitive, outsider, marginal and visionary. A local favorite, he has hundreds of paintings scattered across the United States and a couple in Canada.

UPCOMING ARTISTS

Neal Breton - Los Osos, CA

Fred Taraba Illustration - Casper, WY

Luke Whitlatch - Los Angeles, CA

Sarah Williams - Springfield, MO

Patrick Kikut - Laramie, WY

Ryan Atkins - Casper, Wy

David von Metz - Rock Springs, WY

Casper artist Barbara Kuxhausen's "Four Directions" will be on display in Scarlow's gallery December 2017-January 2018. Opening reception will be December 7th, 5-8pm

"FOUR DIRECTIONS encompasses all of my artistic endeavors. My watercolors represent the original and most comfortable of my artistic expressions. My approach to the medium allows the fluidity and surprise to capture the moment.  My Watercolor objective is to 'get in, do it, get out'. Handmade paper collages have become an abstract extension of painting. They allow me to express a concept, historical event or an idea without painting the obvious. Ceramics is another approach to the non-objective and is a very tactile, textural expression. The combination of clay and paper evolved recently and allows me to use both mediums in an expression I call terra forms." - Barbara C. Kuxhausen

Join Scarlow's for our annual group exhibition featuring ceramics and works on paper by over 25 artists from around the U.S.  Selected items will include a succulent or plant with purchase!  

Opening reception will be held during the October Casper Art Walk, October 5th, 5-8pm.  Urban Bottle will host our bar with specialty cocktails, beer and wine. 

Paper and Pots will show through the month of November. 

We are delighted to feature jewelry artist Alycia Earhart, creator of Oxbow Studio in Lawrence, Kansas, in Scarlow's gallery.

Oxbow Studio is a one woman operation based in Lawrence, Kansas.  All pieces are designed and handcrafted by Alycia in her small and cozy home studio space.  

Alycia was born and raised in Kansas and currently resides in Lawrence.  After graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in Art History, Alycia began to focus on her own creative endeavors by dabbling in various mediums before falling in love with Metalsmithing.  

Since Alycia was a kid, she has always been fascinated by stones and fossils, collecting as many as she could get her hands on.  At school, she would spend recess sifting through the pebbles on the playground, stuffing her pockets and shoes with as many as she could fit.  Over the years her collection has only grown,  and her love for Mother Nature's treasures eventually began to  influence her creative process. 

Alycia considers her work a collaboration between herself and Mother Nature. She often uses stones for their specific metaphysical properties, and her designs are influenced by both earthly and cosmic events.  By using delicate and intricate details of hand stamped and formed elements, or keeping things simple and allowing the material to speak for itself, each design is created with the integrity of the material in the forefront of Alycia's mind.  

'A TRACE OF MEMORY'

August - September 2017

Space and time, beginning and end. What does it mean to exist and why do we feel the need to explain it? These basic existential questions are the foundation of A Trace of Memory, a multi-media series created between 2014 – 2017 by artist E.K. Wimmer. What began as a small group of semi-abstract geometric paintings about space travel slowly evolved to also include photos of moon phases and Surrealist collages of both celestial and human bodies posed in alternate realities.  A Trace of Memory is an exploration outside of our known existence and a longing to understand what lies elsewhere in the cosmos.

Opening Reception: August 3, 2017 5-8pm

Join us during the Casper Art Walk for the opening gallery reception of E.K. Wimmer's 'A Trace of Memory'. Enjoy a pop-up cash bar by Urban Bottle in the gallery.

Eclipse Festival Reception: August 18, 2017 5-8pm

We are proud to host a special gallery reception for E.K. Wimmer's 'A Trace of Memory' during the city-wide Solar Eclipse Festival. Enjoy a pop-up cash bar by Urban Bottle, as well as other eclipse-themed art in the gallery loft!

'CLOUD PEAKS'

June - July 2017

Laura Guese is best known for her large-scale atmospheric oil paintings that reflect the emotional, therapeutic qualities of the sky. She received a B.A. in Studio Art and a B.A. in French from Saint Mary’s College of California. Laura was born in Denver, Colorado, where she currently lives and works. She has exhibited throughout the United States in solo and group exhibitions and has spent time painting in France, the Lesser Antilles, Mexico, North Carolina and the western United States. Laura’s work can be found in public collections in Colorado, Texas, and Wisconsin.

"In this hectic, fast-paced world, I search for simple moments of peace. I am infinitely intrigued by the idea of being away from it all, lost in a place of hopeful tranquility. For this reason, I am inspired to paint surreal skies viewed at higher elevations. I envision the viewer in a more peaceful dreamlike setting, away from worries and anxieties to a landscape of brilliance and promise. My paintings are places of my imagination. I find my work the most honest and authentic when I create from a feeling or an image in my mind’s eye.

Many of my paintings contain building thunderheads viewed at higher atmospheric levels, surreal and fortress-like. My work embodies the concept of “castles in the sky,” or striving toward the impossible. The clouds have sharp edges similar to the harsh exteriors of castles, yet they still evoke a certain cloudy softness and luminescence. I’m captivated by the idea of attempting the impossible because I believe anything is truly possible. It is through my paintings I wish to pass on to the viewer a moment of endless hope and serenity."  

-Laura Guese

'URBANxRURAL/AMERICANA'

March - May 2017

URBANxRURAL/Americana marks Dan's first major solo exhibition. Many of the works were painted on location or "plein air". Working in this manner the artist is able to absorb and deeply connect to his subjects. The Urban works feature his locally frequented spots in New York City and Denver with a few of his popular motorcycle and hotrod based figurative themes as well. The Rural works feature some of his favorite spots in Casper and his new surroundings approaching the foothills of the Rockies. 

Dan Marshall was born in New Jersey in 1971, reared in Ohio and finished his education in Connecticut at the Propersi Institute of Art. He is an artist used to travel and adapting to different environs. As a successful tattoo artist, he has been fortunate to extend his travel experiences all over the country and the world, painting everywhere he goes.

Dan is an avid plein air painter, which has helped develop a confident style, with an honesty, immediacy and freshness infused into each painting.Dan has recently relocated to Denver, Co where he has opened a studio gallery & private tattoo space, Atelier 71. Dan is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, an in demand demonstrator and on this years faculty at the Plein Air Magazine's 6th Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo as a featured demonstrator/ lecturer and field painter.During the show, Scarlow's hosted two gallery receptions and Dan conducted a very successful 2 day workshop.

Dan was a frequent visitor to Wyoming while residing in New York City, grateful for the escape from city life and finding an unexpected connection to the local landscape. Feeling just as comfortable in the country as the city, he is constantly inspired by the duality of these surroundings and is driven to paint his experiences on both sides of the spectrum. This led him to move to Denver, where he has convenient access to both, while still traveling back to NYC very frequently to paint his old neighborhood streets and beloved Central Park

'HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE...WE'VE BEEN AROUND'

December 2016 - January 2017

The Scotch and Watercolor Society was formed in 1972 with four artists who desired to share their interest in watercolor painting. They gather together every month to critique and share thier experiences in this medium with one another. Since then, members of the group have shown and competed in many international and regional juried shows. They are currently a group of five artists -- Barbara Barella, Barbara Kuxhausen, Skip Larcom, Michele McDonald and Dave Sneesby. 

October 2016 - January 2017

Variety is the Spice of Life! This group exhibition featured over 25 artists working in a wide variety of media from the mountain states, including Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana, Colorado and Arizona. 

For list of artists and artwork information, please contact us. 

ARLO ENGLISH + SUZETTE MCINTYRE + JEREMY JONES

July - September 2016
 

Each artist drawing inspiration from the generations before, the English Family have collectively spent over 175 years honing their respective passions in art.  

Arlo English, Suzette (English) McIntyre, and Jeremy Jones (English) - Father, Daughter, Grandson - reunited in Casper for an exhibition entitled ‘ECHOES’.  This exhibition featured a convergence of all 3 artists, their unique styles, and how each artist evolved through the years to create their own masteries in art.

The July exhibition of 'ECHOES' featured Arlo English, who at age 88 has been cultivating his artistic skills since childhood.  For several years the family gathered his artwork from South Dakota, Montana, Colorado and Wyoming for this exhibit, which included a 60 year retrospect of his original oil paintings, sculptures and murals. The month of August highlighted the work of Arlo’s Grandson, Jeremy Jones - sculptor/potter from Nashville Tennessee - while the work of Arlo’s Daughter, Suzette McIntyre - photographer/fine artist from Windsor Colorado - was featured in September. 

A gallery reception was hosted for each artist during their respective month. During each shoe, a piece of each artist’s work was raffled off with the proceeds benefitting the non-profit of their choice:

Arlo’s painting ‘Abstract 1’  proceeds benefited The Disabled Veteran’s of America (DAV).

Suzette’s ‘Sunrise in the Tetons’ proceeds benefited The Nicolaysen Art Museum.

Jeremy’s ceramic pieces benefited the Casper College Foundation.

'GUIDED VISION'

March - June 2016

"My work is the visual product of my perceptions, musings, thoughts, struggles, yearnings. It grows from, and gives voice to, the daily processes of life, as filtered through my own sensibilities and idiosyncrasies; as such, it is as untidy and disorderly as is my own mind. Each picture, whatever its styles and methods, strives to be an honest explication and embodiment of the ideas and impulses that gave it birth. I was an art teacher for 36 years, and have since retired from full-time teaching in order to focus entirely on my own work, though I still find myself teaching an occasional class. I continue to find art and teaching to be inextricably intertwined, each demanding of me the same daily questing, and questioning, about the nature of existence and its manifestation as visual expression."-Chris Amend

The exhibit included two artist talks and a demonstration with water soluble graphite.

For more information on Chris Amend, visit www.chrisamend.com

Currently on Display

Zachary Pullen has been illustrating for magazines, newspapers, ad campaigns, and children’s books for over 20 years. Everyday begins with warm up sketches. Some find the bottom of a waste basket while others turn into something, and are kept. These are examples of the keepers.

“I go in phases. The subject matter that I choose are usually something personal to me or something that is very topical. The drawings that are here exemplify some of both.”- ZP

TAKING SHAPE: A Polaroid Exhibition From 'A Garden Not Lost To Us'

January - February 2016

“A Garden Not Lost to Us” evolved from a few Polaroid photographs of abandoned structures into a large, sequential narrative.  The film is a perfect counterpart to the contours of this story about loss, the development of insight, and transformation; its beauty derived from the magical interaction between a special chemistry, unpredictable variables, and mysterious possibilities come to life.The properties of instant film make it the ideal photographic medium for exploration. As a vehicle for an unfolding narrative, instant film photographs are raw, mysterious, and unpredictable. No other form of photography so effectively pulls the artist into the process of illumination and discovery and makes him or her so directly a part of the story. The appearance of instant film photographs can vary, based on temperature, applied pressure, and the age of the film that is used.

For more information on 'A Garden Not Lost To Us' and Eric Distad's work, visit https://www.reluctantgodproductions.com/

October 2015 - January 2016

Drinks and Inks was a group exhibition featuring print making, collage and ceramic artists throughout the mountain states. Scarlow's Gallery partnered with local distillery, Backwards Distilling, for the opening reception. Specialty cocktails were created to suit the show theme and were included with the purchase of ceramic drinking vessel.

'A CELEBRATION OF THE AMERICAN WEST' 

June - July 2015

Buffalo Bill Cody once said, “A man can get closer to God out here in the big, free west.” There is really no doubt that that is a true statement. All one has to do is drive through the mountains near Cody, Wyoming to discover the veracity of that statement. 

Each of the photographs in this show was made in the Intermountain West region of the United States. The Intermountain west is a region of immense beauty and wild extremes, both in terms of geography and also climate. From high deserts to 14,000 foot peaks, from 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to -40 degrees in the winter, it requires raw toughness to survive in this place. 

You will see animals like the Bighorn sheep that can navigate unimaginably steep terrain and thrive in the brutal winter by rooting through the snow. There is the American Pika, a tenacious little mammal that lives in high altitudes in the mountains and spends the short summer harvesting grass to survive the long winter months. You will see other hardy inhabitants in the mule deer, bison, and raccoon.

You will see the men and women who shaped the west. I have striven to capture their toughness and tenacity, but also grace and beauty. Of course, a cowboy’s closest companion, his horse, is featured prominently in many of my images. No western celebration would be complete without the rodeo. 

Finally, you will see the landscapes that make the American West so iconic, and that have shaped its history and its people. 

Ultimately, this show is a celebration of people, places, and wildlife of the great American West. I have striven to capture the spirit of this place through my photography of its incredibly diverse wildlife, its tough but friendly people, its official sport, rodeo, which developed from actual working ranch activities, and its grand vistas.

Dr. Jason B. Whitman was born and raised on a small ranch just outside Cody, WY and is a proud 4th generation Wyomingite. He completed the first two years of his collegiate education at Northwest College in Powell, WY and finished his Bachelors of Science in Biology at Ferris State University in 1999. His Doctor of Optometry degree was earned at the Michigan College of Optometry in 2001. 

Jason’s photographic career began with the purchase of a Canon EOS Elan as a graduation gift to himself in 2001. He had always been a fan of fine art photography by the great landscape artists such as Ansel Adams, John Fielder, and John Shaw, as well as Arthur Morris‘ masterful bird images. Camera in hand, he began to explore the possibilities offered by the landscapes in Indiana and North Dakota while completing residencies.

It did not take long before the hobby became an obsession and the desire to move back to the West was overwhelming. After a short stint in Idaho, Jason moved back to Wyoming and began to develop a photographic vision for the people, places and wildlife of the American West.

In June of 2014, Jason was able to take a workshop offered by famous western photographer, David Stoecklein. This turned out to be a life-changing event, and he began to pursue photography as a potential career path. Mr. Stoecklein, and his sons, became good friends and mentors, significantly influencing the style of Jason’s work. Other influencers include artists such as Frederick Remington, C.M. Russell, Alfred Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Alfred Eisenstaedt, and Charles Belden. Several contemporary photographers have also been important in the progression of Jason’s work. Joe McNally and JoeyL have been instrumental in discovering and exploring new lighting techniques and concepts and Scott Kelby has been critically important in terms of editing and Lightroom expertise. 

The images in his portfolio reflect his passion for the American West and the western lifestyle. From Big Horn sheep to the landscapes in the Absaroka-Beartooth wilderness, from a cowboy roping a calf at a branding, to a cowgirl working the herd, each image is designed to tell a story. Jason’s goal is to preserve and share the spirit that makes the American West such a magnificent place.

Jason’s work has been featured in Photoshop User Magazine, has been sold at William Shatner’s Charity Horse Show Auction in Hollywood, and will be shown in Scarlow’s Gallery in Casper, WY in a show entitled “A Celebration of the American West.”

'VIBRANT COLORS OF NATURE'

 August - September 2015.

Deb Witte’s love of color is evident in every inch of her bold, vibrant artwork. She creates paintings on metal panels and cradled wooden panels with acrylic paint and finishes with 10-12 coats of urethane to give the work a reflective finish, which results in colors with intense brilliancy. Born in New Orleans in 1958 she moved to Wyoming in 1979 where she currently resides and has her studio. Deb has traveled all over the United States participating in Art Festivals. Her pieces, which have been shown in galleries throughout the US, can be found in private and corporate collections throughout the United States.

'THE ARTIST ABSTRACT ADJECTIVE BEAT MOVEMENT'

May 2015

"Growing up, my two biggest heroes were my grandfather, Albert Rittenour, and his brother, Byron Cunningham.  To me and many of the other family members, these men were legends.  Veterans of the great depression and the second world war, both were skilled and brilliant mechanical and electrical engineers. They knew no limits to their creativeness.   Their stories were every bit the movie “The Great Escape”. And their engineering ability set high standards in what was possible to achieve in life.  I was always fascinated with their lives on the homestead, as well as their lives in the years that followed.  I didn’t just want to know their story of life and where they were coming from, I wanted to know what made them who they were.

They taught me what life was like in their world, from the top upper elites to the bomber crew members, they, themselves, flying five miles high in their Boing B-17 Superfortes. From their stories of WWII, I was eager to learn about all of the notable individuals they spoke of. For me, I wasn’t just learning about the iconic individuals they spoke of but I was also collecting their iconic tanks, ships and planes in 1:72 and 1:24 plastic scale models.  

I was interested in everyone from Gregory Boyington and the famous Black Sheep Squadron of VMF-214 to Patton and his Third Army, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and his infamous Africa Korps and Michel Whittman, with his legendary attack at Villers Bocage.  After combing over the allied and the axis forces for people of interest, I made the questions that launched me into the next great area of focus.  Who was the man in the black berate?

I would come to learn of a different portrayal of the human story in what you could say as Beat.  I followed Che Guevara, starting with his motorcycle journeys of self-discovery, to his end as a professional revolutionary.  And in it, I watched society paint a picture of him while he too painted on with the diaries and photos he kept.  

And on a diverse spectrum, I also discovered the Beat writer Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson. The way they talked about how life was happening and how it was on the levels that no one wanted to talk about, I was hooked.  Was life really as crazy as it was being portrayed by these Beat, and Gonzo writers? What were we really saying as individuals? What were we saying as a society?  From that moment I started asking, where are the Beat and Gonzo writers of today, and what would they be saying? "

As a person who wants to be a part of everything and to be more than I could ever be in a dozen lives, I wondered how I was going to make that dream a reality.  With the heroes that taught me anything is possible, proving it time and time again with the ideas that came to life off of their drawing boards, I arrived at the conclusion, Art.  

To have and be everything I have ever wanted and to experience everything with great depth and intensity, Art was the answer. 

By being an artist and painting the beat to my generation in my unique manner, I can be part of all the various mediums life has to offer.  With each artist and their unique medium, I gain new insight and perspective without having to commit a lifestyle.  The joy of witnessing and understanding others philosophies is to paint my understanding bigger and brighter and with greater depth and meaning.

From here, as an artist, my goal is to go out into the world and capture it as if it’s being seen for the first time.  I want to start with a study of movement and space and our relation to individuals.  Starting off with the natural Wyoming landscapes, both scenic and city, I begin to look at how the two relate to one another, and how that impacts us in our being.  As for words and writing, I will continue to develop ways to interpret and fame the world.  With the hope I might continue to gain a broader understanding when it comes to looking at the world and the individuals.  Overall I seek, to push what words can express and what words can come to represent."

-Terry Rittenour

THE ARTISTIC ABSTRACT ADJECTIVE BEAT MOVEMENT

The Artistic Abstract Adjective Beat Movement is geared towards understanding the fundamental behavior and development of individuals and society through an artistic interpretation.   As each artists continues their personal journey down their own path, experiencing various Beat scenes of life, each artist's task is in capturing their part in society and societies role in them.  Beyond the interpretation of society, artists also take an introspective look at themselves and their development, to ask the tough questions we all do in life.  

Art, like poetry, is the expression of who we are, what we think and believe to be true.

The Artistic Journey looks at all societies and individuals iconic and not, to look through the different perspectives, almost like looking at the world through different lenses, in order to gain a new and fresh interpretation.  Looking at life with a philosophical approach, puts the artist at the advantage to state reality in terms that are true, but in colorful ways that are deep and impacting.  Combined with other artists interpretations, a larger picture of life is understood, a depth and complexity that is every bit the individual, as it is a portrait of all of us, and our society.  For that given moment in time, we paint that picture together, that poetry as a whole and as an individual.

As each person captures the beautiful happenings of life, art captures the unique way we see, understand, interpret and justify our being.  Through artistic interpretations, we can express feeling and emotion and know ideas by representing them in various mediums. Does not the sound of a symphony move us with passion? Does not a portrait frame an idea in which we might engage?  As fellow artists, it should be our goal to share and relate art in deep and meaningful ways.  

The goal to share and inspire is not just to inspire artists alike but to share with the world a constant and fresh way of looking at life. Each day is a constant inspiration to look and know yourself, with a certain depth and complexity, to go out and create art.  Though we might not be able to share our feelings in words, or express our ideas in thought, we can share our feelings and thoughts with an interpretation and representation of art.

MEANING WITHIN MEANING

Meaning Within Meaning is an attempt to look at reality by framing ideas into words. The iconic images represent a unique way of looking and interpreting others perception and understanding of themselves and the world. The idea of viewing the world and events through the lives of others; famous, infamous, known, and unknown, is not a new concept. By looking at the various lives and the way people took up action in their precarious situations, we gain new knowledge and wisdom as individuals. Looking at the metaphors and similes, we compare and contrast to formulate our approach based on the similar circumstances we face today. 

People in comparison to cubes are not one sided, but complex and in-depth in nature. Where a cube has multiple sides, human beings have complex depth. It would be unfair to judge someone based on one opinion, just as it would be wrong to judge a cube based on one side of what you perceive.

Too often we fail to develop a depth of true understanding and properly assign meaning to circumstances and events that accurately describe our being and state of mind. Every individual internalizes the world and its abstract reality in ways unique to themselves. The ways in which individuals make sense of reality often leads to them expressing themselves in enigmatic ways. 

When was the last time you went in your mind and gazed around looking and interpreting the various facets of reality you hold as true notions, with the same critique you use when criticizing others, and society? 

This critique, how does it compare and contrast in differences and similarities with the critique and process in which artists go when they look and interpret the various pieces of work the world’s artists offer?"

Meaning Within Meaning begins by looking at what goes into making us who we are. By asking the thought provoking questions and pulling back the layers that lead us to the bigger picture. As we begin to unravel a greater truth, about ourselves, culture and society, we gain understanding as to why we see and vision the world in the way we do. We can know and see the poetry in which we think and believe ourselves to be. We can frame reality and draw from it the metaphors and similes that allow us to compare and contrast, to make inferences and objective observations. We can apply this new information within ourselves in ways that either inform, provide insight or inspire. - Terry Rittenou

ABSTRACT REALITIES

Art is that medium that lets us break out of conformity by giving us the opportunity to express life in meaningful and heartfelt ways.  With each stroke of the brush, we paint depth and context, giving a sense of place and direction.  With each color added, the picture becomes clearer and the meaning understood. 

From the various individuals and ideas framed, I have come to ask these great questions or developed these philosophies in brief a psychological introspective and philosophical journey.

 “What then, not, when Atlas Shrugs, but what then, when Atlas walks away altogether.  For Atlas can just as easily do not just as Atlas does.”

Life is about having ideas in which you hold as values worth preserving.  You measure these values by the degree of virtue you naturally hold yourself accountable. 

Do you know why you do the things you do in life?  Because if you don’t know why you do what you do, and people do react to the things you do, then how do you expect anyone to be a part of anything you are? 

Act and operate like as a professional .  If you're unhappy with your quality of life, than compete at a higher level.

Have a dream you are willing to go all the way in reaching regardless of obstacles.  That each day in your journey of pursuing your dream, you are one day closer to making the dream that much more recognizable in the world around us.

Be willing to let everything go to allow the dream to change and carry you.

Answers are only as important as the fraction of the moment in which they represent.  I would much rather spend a single moment capturing the pure and amazing bliss of it’s random and perfect nature then try and make a single moment span a lifetime.

-Terry Rittenour

"WITH + WITHOUT"

February - April 2015.

With & Without is two exhibitions in one. The Aspen Country exhibition contains 18 color photographs made in Wyoming. The City Life exhibition contains 30 black and white photographs made in great cities of the world in the United States, Europe and China. 

Aspen Country

"The best time to be in aspen country is during the peak season for color. In Wyoming this is likely to be in late September. Aspen country is best experienced on foot in the backcountry where the only trails are made by elk, deer and other wild animals. Wyoming is rich with this kind of aspen country. In Wyoming, at these times and places, the annual ritual of elk rut is in full swing. The further one wanders from the jeep trails the more likely one is to experience the sounds of bull elk bugling, cow elk mewing and antlers clanging against other antlers or young trees. The sound of an elk bugle can quite accurately be described as ethereal. If one is even more fortunate one might see the creatures as they are making these sounds. To increase your chance of having such an experience it is advisable to leave your camp and begin hiking in the dark, while Orion is still looking down upon you and stars are shooting across the sky above. Having considerable experience being in such places during such times without a camera, I'd found myself contemplating the kind of photographs that I might make if I did have a camera. This year I made it a point to find myself in aspen country at such a time with a camera. Aspen Country is not about the wildlife, although aspen country is all the more special because of the wildlife. My Aspen Country photographic story is about the country itself. It is primarily, although not exclusively, a story about a trail less place experienced from before daylight and on through a long day spent traveling on foot up and down the hills and drainages. It is the kind of place that one might seek out if one was looking for an experience of the thread that holds the universe together."

City Life

"Great cities of the world have an energy that emanates from the life that is happening within them. That energy pulsates to the routines, events and patterns of human activity that are peculiar to a particular city. The energy varies by city and time of day. While it is possible to make compelling photographs within cities that do not include people, I tend to look for ways to respectfully include people in photographs. The people provide a means for capturing the energy of the city. While the people included in my photographs are individuals, I'm inclined to think of the people in the photographs as archetypes of various characters in the story of the city. All cities, in my experience, have the street musician character. A minstrel in Barcelona can be viewed an archetype of street musicians everywhere. Street musicians are compelled to make music and share it with others. Beyond that, most musicians are driven by a desire to create an income stream, however meager, by making music. Some musicians do better than others. The musician archetype practically defines the energy that unique to the French Quarter in New Orleans just as cable cars uniquely define the San Francisco experience. If you've ever been to San Francisco you surely understand that unreliability is a prominent part of the cable car experience. The same can be said of the trolley experience in New Orleans. Encountering music, cable cars or trolleys at night adds a noir atmospheric to the experience. Black and white night photography in cities provides a window into that noir atmospheric. Dark and rainy days have their own noir sensibility. Rainy days bring out umbrellas and Gustave Caillebotte's 19th century painting Paris: A Rainy Day forever associated rainy days and umbrellas with Paris. One way to get out of the rain on a rainy day in Paris is to hop on a carousel within the shadow of the Eiffel Tower or while ascending the steps to the cathedral on the hill in Montmartre. City Life is my attempt to convey these energies, moods and sensibilities of some of the world's great cities."

-Michael Flicek

Artist Website: www.MichaelFlicekGallery.com

Email: mflicek@MichaelFlicekGallery.com

mikefli@msn.com

Scarlow's Gallery opened in October 2014, showcasing a fresh exhibition of 15 local artists.

Pastels and Pottery with Brenda Short