Meet the artists of Center's new exhibition
The Aiken Center for the Arts (ACA) will hold an opening reception for its November exhibitions on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The new exhibitions include Sandra Etherington Tucker and Dick Dunlap, Rick Reinert and the "T'is the Season Invitational" exhibition by ACA members. The exhibition will be on display from Wednesday through Dec. 30 in the main galleries. During November, the artwork of Marsha Shelburn will be on exhibition in the Aiken Artists' Guild Gallery.
Tucker, a Hitchcock Woods Foundation trustee, and Dunlap, a retired physician, are showing together for the first time as both friends and teacher/student. Tucker has studied under Dunlap and considers sharing an exhibition with him a high honor. Both are plein air painters and enthusiasts of their local natural environments, which have been the inspiration of their numerous paintings.
As a youth, Tucker began drawing and painting animals. After college where she majored in art, she painted many of the top equine hunter-jumpers. After a hiatus from her art in the 1990s, she returned to focus on landscapes in oils and watercolors. It is at this time she first met and began training under Dunlap.
"Never one to be happy indoors for long, I found a new artistic passion when Augusta artist Dick Dunlap became my teacher and introduced me to painting landscapes en plein air. Every time I go outdoors to paint, I'm awed by the magnificence of God's creation and feel gratitude to my teachers who have helped ignite my sense of joy and wonder in nature," Tucker said. "When I found out about en plein air painting, I thought this is something I might love. I was seeking a new challenge. Every time I go out, there are new challenges. It keeps me in touch with the outdoors. I love being out there in the elements, feeling a real connection with God and the universe."
Dunlap started his career with a passion for drawing in early childhood, although he didn't pursue his artistic passions until nearing retirement from the medical field. His interest was sparked by a birthday present of colored pencils. He recalls sitting down that night and drawing until 3 a.m. and remembers thinking how wonderful it was to draw.
"I came to en plein air painting by the frustration and anxiety related to four walls," Dunlap said. "The outdoor environment allows me to relax and get in a zone. I do my best work outside. When I go out there, I want to paint a masterpiece. You never hit a masterpiece, but the process is beautiful."
A few years before retirement, Dunlap took painting lessons from David Mascaro, followed by an apprenticeship with Jim Lyle, multiple art courses at Augusta State and plein air workshops. He continues to learn and grow, attributing these four activities to his success and production: daily - paint and allow time to think about the painting, teach others, read and look at the work of other artists often and seek critical appraisal of trusted friends.
"I paint what is right in front of me, what is surrounding me in the Southeastern environment," Dunlap said. "You have to paint what you love to paint."
A native of Indiana, Rick Reinert has exhibited and created art in several countries. He now lives in Charleston. His formal art training was at Western Kentucky University. He has changed his painting style through the years from independent study to large, bold expression works to his current focus on expressing light and shadowing nature while striving for purity in color and brush stroke.
"I have developed my own style of contemporary expressionism," Reinert said.
Much of his work is created en plein air, and recently he has developed a passion for following the light in night scenes as well as bright sunlight. He is exhibiting 32 works from 9-by-12 inches to 48-by-60 inches in size. His show includes everything from still life to scenes of downtown Aiken.
Reinert won national recognition in 2008 when his painting, "Ships of the Heartland," was a top 100 winner in the Paint America competition. His work has been included in "Oil Painters of America" 2008 National Exhibition, and he is a member of the American Impressionists Society. His works hang in private and corporate collections in most of the United States, and in Europe, Canada, South America and Asia.
Reinert will teach a one-day plein air painting workshop on Saturday, weather permitting, at an Aiken location with a backup location at the Arts Center. For more information, call 641-9094.
The "T'is the Season Invitational" exhibition is a group show open to only Aiken Center for the Arts members. Each participant submitted one or two current pieces of art (2-D only) that were required to be for sale and not previously exhibited at ACA in the last two years. A seasonal theme was not required, and each piece is priced at $300 or less.
For more information, call the ACA at 641-9094.
Want to Go?
What? November exhibitions' opening reception
When? Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.
Where? Aiken Center for the Arts
Cost: Free