Loosen Up exhibit to open at Gallery One May 1

Gallery One announced its next show, Loosen Up, will be open to the public Wednesday, May 1, through Tuesday, May 28.

In this increasingly complex and stressful world, people are constantly being encouraged, for their health, to loosen up. This month the artists are showing what it looks like to become more relaxed and less tense in their approaches to painting.

Eileen Olson’s acrylic painting, “Yellow House on the Hill” illustrates the vibrancy of a palette let loose “Use big brushes with big ideas and don’t go back into the painting. That’s my loosen up motto. And don’t forget to breathe,” said Olson.

In Marybeth Paterson’s “Spring Bouquet,” in oil, she challenged herself with painting a still life with a palette knife. “I made a quick sketch with my brush and let the opening blossoms direct my strokes and marks with the rich, vibrancy this color palette presented,” said Paterson.

Laura Hickman’s painting, "Fiume Greve," in oil pastel, presented its own challenge resulting in an accidental freeing of her technique. "My painting is an oil pastel on textured black BFK paper.  The oil pastels were not able to overcome the texture as well as soft pastels, leaving no possibility of detail and a rather loose composition of more abstract shapes of brighter color on the black surface,” said Hickman.

Cindy Beyer repeats the mantra, “stay loose,” while creating her loose pastel paintings. For “Popping to Light,” she said, “I started with a gamsol wash as an underpainting and had fun with color shapers to carve out the stems and a few flower shapes.  Then I finished it off with quick strokes with my pastel sticks. The brightly colored poppies seem to be twisting and turning toward the light. 

A loose approach to painting can also result ironically in a more realistic depiction of the atmosphere of a scene. In “Olive Orchard in Tuscany,” artist Dale Sheldon creates an illusion with her artistic approach. "Soft colors and loose brush strokes create the magic of light and airy clouds and silver leaves on the trees in an olive orchard in Tuscany."

Of course, “loosen up,” can have its more literal meaning, as it does in Lesley McCaskill’s acrylic painting, “Best Buddies on a Beach Stroll.” “When you are buddies each of you must compromise. Lesley says she has been watching dogs and their owners taking beach walks. You can tell by how loose the leash is who is doing the most compromising, said McCaskill.

Gallery One is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

For more information, call 302-537-5055, email art@galleryonede.com or go to galleryonede.com.