Rebecca Cuming has two major bodies of work.  One is more representational and the other is extremely abstract.  In both of these bodies of work, there is a common thread of colors and textures. In Cuming’s representational art, there is thick and thin paint and dramatic textures that strikingly represent extremely subtle atmospheres, landscapes and other compilations.  The color, texture, line and composition each have their own special meaning to Cuming.  Each brush stroke is a masterpiece.  This same mastery of the paint and painting carries over to her abstract art.

In Cuming’s abstract art, the caution and detail taken for her representational artworks carries over.  It is so extremely difficult to get the depth of feeling in color, composition line and texture when you aren’t actually painting any one thing.  Still, the variety of paint effects and boldness of every painting makes the representational pieces feel constrained by aesthetic.  The abstract pieces are where Cuming can really let out the painting techniques that are bursting to come out in her representational work, but the subject simply won’t allow it.

Placing two pieces, one abstract and one representational, next to each other one can find very similar, interesting color palates and textures.  The similarities prove her deliberateness of every abstract.  Meaning varies dramatically from abstract to abstract, however, Cuming does not share these meanings with us so we are left to create our own meaning.  She says that it does not matter what she attaches to the painting for meaning, like our own reflections, each person will see something different.

Well it is definitely difficult to photograph something that moves with the light and your eye.  That is why you need to come see it for yourself!  Cliff Barvoets works wonders with textured aluminum and ‘candy coat’ which is actually car paint.  He is a custom motorcycle and car painter who is bringing his talents indoors with this fabulous piece.

Come meet the charming Kasey Short March 12 at Teal Art Gallery.  Kasey Short is an emerging artist who just finished his degree in Austin.  I just love his abstract style full of atmosphere and confidence.  While you are down here, visit the other galleries on the Second Saturday Gallery Walk.

Evan Mann’s abstract surrealism creates fantasy worlds of interesting space and time.  This is a project that illustrates his own artwork in a different dimension.

If you would prefer to view this in a higher resolution, please look on You Tube.

It is nearing the Christmas bustle, and I wanted to share about a recent commission from the Teal Art Gallery.  Not too long ago, a lovely gentleman was dining at Ember, and saw the show-stopping piece by Kris Lee (not actually shown in link).  The light, colors, and uniqueness made him call Teal and see if he could get a custom piece for his very large wall.  Of course, Kris and I were very excited to work on the 4 foot by 6 foot piece.  Since it never hung in the gallery, I really wanted to share via blog post.  It is such a beautiful piece.

‘Nature Morte’, French for ‘dead nature’, and used in the artist world to mean ‘still life’, is one of the most often painted subjects.  This usually consists of flowers, pots, bowls of fruit and other things that don’t exactly make the blood boil.  However, it is in painting or drawing these things that really make a person understand such principles as perspective, light, shading, color, and composition.

Still lifes can also become more than a table top of house hold items.  Artists such as Cezanne, Morandi and Vermeer have revolutionized art in their own way through their use of still-lifes.  Their use of color, composition and light creates depth, moods and atmosphere that makes the painting more than bottles, oranges, or a bowl in a window.  The trick is to emphasize what is important.

Denis Roussel, a Parisian native and an artist here at Teal Art Gallery, titles his photography collection ‘Nature Morte’.  He is referencing both the static nature of the subject, but also talking about the subject: dead plants.  All of his photos of dead plants tell a story of life and death, and the perception of beauty.  In an O’Keeffe-ish way, he is insisting that people notice the things that are usually ignored.

In the title collection, Roussel photographs a single dead plant with color film.  Then, after developing the negative, he manipulates the film until the colors change and it warps in to something that looks fluid and alive.  The effect is that it makes the audience focus on the usually ignored plant and brings it back to the forefront.

In Roussel’s most recent collection, ‘Feuilles Sentimentales’, literally sentimental leaves, dead plants are once more brought to the forefront.  What differs in this collection is the use of black and white film, and also the type of plant is consistent through the photos.  The leaves are centered in the photo to really draw all of the attention to the leaf.  Also the black and white film is manipulated, but this time it is more difficult.  Black and white film is much more durable, and the crackle effect is very different from the fluid color negatives used in ‘Nature Morte’.  The overall result makes the viewer attach emotion to the almost abstract shapes of the dried leaves.  This effect is furthered by the use of only black and white which adds a feeling of nostalgia to the pieces.