Gallery One to open Light Matters exhibit Nov. 28
Gallery One in Ocean View will offer its December exhibit with a theme of Light Matters from Wednesday, Nov. 28, to Tuesday, Jan. 1.
This month, the Gallery One artists embrace a theme intrinsic to all art: light. Light can be interpreted in many forms, from the straightforward depiction of its illuminating effects to the more metaphorical emotions that the word “light” conveys. Artist Jeanne Mueller said, “Do you feel happy if you wake up to a sunrise where the sun is peeping out as if to say, ‘Good morning’ rather than a gloomy, cloudy day? I know I do! Another day is dawning, and with it comes a new day filled with new adventures in life.” “Sunrise at Cape Henlopen State Park” is Mueller’s oil painting of the sun coming up over the ocean - always different and always beautiful.
“Lilac Cottage by the Sea,” an acrylic by Jan Moffat, is her newest painting in the Blue Door Collection. “Light matters in a landscape painting; it is very important,” she said. Light and shadows set the mood, tell the viewer the time of day, and whether it is warm or cold. Light highlights details that are important to the painting. For example, she notes the lace curtains on the blue door and the shadows on the path.
Light has been an ongoing theme in artist Laura Hickman’s work, and this month’s theme painting, “Light, Korcula” illustrates this beautifully. “I love the play of shadows and light on clear, sunny days, when light is literally bouncing off one surface onto another, creating reflected colors within the shadows,” she said.
Lesley McCaskill’s watercolor painting, “On the Move,” embraces the theme of light in both literal and metaphorical ways. The subject of the painting is a child filled with energy, Lesley’s grandchild in her bathrobe, moving toward and bathed in the bright morning light after the darkness of night. The painting’s deeper meaning is about the innocence, vitality and positive outlook of a child. McCaskill uses softly broken brush strokes to show the movement and youth of the figure, and her use of light and dark draws attention to the subject.
The oil painting “Water Lilies” by Eileen Olson was inspired by the view from her doctor’s office window. It shows part of a small art garden donated by a wealthy, appreciative donor to the Beebe Medical Foundation. The dazzling light reflected off the water to reveal exquisite layers of complexity with the sparkling juxtaposition of the life beneath and the foliage above. “I found the gardens offered me serenity and comfort. Life is good,” said Olson.
“Sunlit Crab Shanty” by Dale Sheldon is a work where, she said, “Light not only allows us to see and explore and appreciate our surroundings, it also describes shapes and gives us reflections and shadows.” In this painting, the sun shines directly on one side of an old crab shanty on Tangier Island. It makes that side clearly visible while the darker side recedes.
Michelle Marshall’s acrylic painting, “Misty Morning Light on the Marsh,” is a loving illustration of the ebb and flow of light. The lost edges and obscured definition brought by the morning fog show just how important the bright light of day is in defining the familiar shapes seen in the landscape. The morning mist turns familiar surroundings into a more abstract and impressionistic reality that is mysterious and delightful.
Gallery One’s Artisan Room features exciting textiles, hand-blown glass, pottery, glass jewelry and wood pieces by local artists. Gallery One is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week and is always staffed by one of the artists. Go to www.GalleryOneDe.com or call 302-537-5055 for more information. The gallery is located at 32 Atlantic Ave. (Route 26), Ocean View.
