In the Gallery -- September 2009

Of People and Places

The sparkle of September brings to the Library's Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery a plethora of multi-talented artists sharing their talents in an exciting exhibit titled OF PEOPLE & PLACES: Artwork by Kathryn Clark, Kathryn Cox, Jimmy Cummings, Susan Doster and Nancy Hathaway.

For KATHRYN CLARK a good painting is more than the description of a place or an object. It's about how the weather feels, how the color of light changes the shadows, the beauty of reflections on water; and above all, the human response to nature. It is about the rhythm and tension of the abstract composition within a frame, the play of lights and darks and the calligraphic brush strokes on the canvas or handmade paper. There's nothing more exciting than a blank canvas, the ever changing scene in front of it and the question of what will emerge on that surface today. Kathryn was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana and received BFS and MFA degrees in fine art. Kathryn and her husband were instrumental in the revival of handmade paper in America when they founded Twinrocker Handmade Paper in Brookston, Indiana in 1971. In the 1960's and 1970's Kathryn developed many innovative techniques for using color paper pulps in the creation of finished art work. She has exhibited work in galleries, invitational exhibitions in the United States, Great Britain, Japan, at the Smithsonian, Exhibits USA, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Leopold-Hoesch Museum in West Germany, the American Craft Museum, U.S. State Dept traveling exhibit etc. When Twinrocker Handmade Paper began making watercolor paper in 1985, Kathryn began painting watercolors to test the papers. Today, Kathryn exhibits art work in watercolor, graphite, and more recently oil. She now paints out of doors, directly from nature, "en plein air", as much as possible. In the few years she's focused on painting, she's won several awards. In 2007, she won two "Best of Show" awards from the Plein Air Painters in New Harmony, and from Wabash Valley Watercolor Society. Though prestigious, Kathryn prefers letting her paintings speak for themselves.

KATHRYN WINDLE COX, of Lafayette's Wind Hyll Studio, tells us that art in some form or another has always been a large part of her life. Her earliest exposure to drawing dates back to her early childhood when her aunt drew a portrait of her at age four. Her mother also drew pictures of brides for her and her sisters when they were young. Kathryn's first oil painting experience came when she and her aunt sat at the kitchen table and painted a still life. Growing up, she took lessons from various artists, one of whom was well-known Crawfordsville artist Elizabeth C. Sharpless, her high school art teacher. Kathryn credits Elizabeth with leading her to Herron School of Art where she earned a BFA in Visual Communication. In August of 2004 Kathryn began "en plein air" painting in a workshop on her farm with artist friend Leo Neufeld. Because of her love of nature and desire to learn more about oil painting, she was easily attracted to this kind of painting. She has since studied with Ron Mack, Bob Eberle, Lois Davis, Diane Tesler, Jerry Points and many others. All of the landscapes Kathryn has chosen for this exhibit were painted "en plein air" or on location engaged with her subject. Sometimes a photograph may be used for visual reference, but soon a time comes to let the photographic image go and let your own imagination soar.

JIMMY CUMMINGS' love for drawing and painting started early. At the age of ten he placed in numerous local and state art contests. He was the art editor of the school newspaper in sixth grade. He was a fan of Big Daddy Roth cartoon characters and wanted to pursue a career as a Disney Animation artist. Although his love for painting and drawing never diminished, Jimmy's life went in a different direction for many years. Finally at the age of forty-one, he was able to pursue his goal of becoming a painter. He studied with award winning artist Hilary Eddy for three years and learned the basics of oil painting. Even though he had no formal college art training, Jimmy took advantage of every learning opportunity as a member of the Drawing Guild at the Greater Lafayette Museum of Art. He also participated in the Indiana Plein Air Painters paint outs. His work was accepted for two years running in the Grand Wabash juried art show and in the Swope juried art show in 2003. In 2004 his work was published in an International Artist Magazine publication named "How to Paint". Even though he already had a B.A. in ancient literature, Jimmy returned to college in 2006 and graduated with an A.A.S. degree in design technology. He now works for Belcan Engineering at Caterpillar Inc. in Lafayette, Indiana.
Jimmy's work is mainly focused on the artist's subjective response to life and includes Still Life, Landscape, Figures and Portraits. "Realism is merely a paradigm for subjective expression in the form of oil painting", he says.

SUSAN DOSTER grew up in West Lafayette, where she received a BA in Fine Arts from Purdue University. Her MFA came from the Graduate School of Figurative Art at the NY Academy of Art. A large part of her artistic training took place creating studies of the "Old Master" paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Gradually she began a return to the Midwest, living for two years in Bucks County, PA before returning to West Lafayette, IN. Part of her journey away from NYC was meant to re-introduce her to the landscape, as in living in and painting. The work in this exhibit reflects Susan's focus on the figure as well as a few examples of her landscapes. Two of her "Old Master" studies are included, one after Flemish artist, Anthony van Dyck, and the other after Frans Hals. She used these studies to further understand the layers of paint used in the creation of their work. She learned about their pigments, brushstrokes and even the weave of their canvas. Susan is also a sculptor who creates figures in clay which are then fired and become terra cotta. There are two portrait busts, one in terra cotta and the other a plaster cast made from clay in this exhibit. The plaster cast was made at the NY Academy. The terra cotta piece was part of her diploma project. She is also showing five small cabinets which she bought as raw wood and painted. She observed some beautiful golden mushrooms in Southern Indiana which became her inspiration when decorating these small cabinets. Back home again in Indiana, after 25 years away, Susan discovered, to her delight how many other talented artists also live here. Whether inspired by the landscape or a model posing, it has been a great pleasure painting with the other artists in this exhibit.

Born in Salem, Oregon, NANCY HATHAWAY received a BA and MFA degree in fine art before moving to Lafayette, Indiana in 1994. She is a practicing artist working primarily in collage and watercolor, frequently displaying her work in the Lafayette area and beyond. The watercolor and collage pieces in this exhibit entitled, Where is Monte?, are dedicated to everyone who has ever loved and lost a special pet. Nancy hopes you will find comfort in knowing that others do understand your pain and loss. You won't want to miss this golden autumnal opportunity to enjoy the fine art and diversity of these five multi-talented artists. Do come often and stay long.