The Shape of Things exhibit to open at Gallery One Oct. 31

In Gallery One’s next show, the artists go back to basics to explore The Shape of Things. The exhibit will be open to the public Wednesday, Oct. 31, to Tuesday, Dec. 4.

Initially, most people identify an object by its shape. Artist Joyce Condry said, “In a beginning drawing class decades ago, the instructor told us to look for shapes in our subject matter such as seeing a house as a rectangle, the roof as a triangle, an orange as a circle.”  

“Boathouse at Wash Woods Coast Guard Station," a pastel by Laura Hickman, shows a place that has no road access, far up the beach from Corolla, N.C. “I was attracted to this small Hopper-esque white building that reflected the sun's rays from its round, square and rectangular shapes. It seemed almost like a still life sitting beside the ocean, waiting to be painted,” she said.

The shape of things inspired Eileen Olson’s oil painting, “Imaginary Garden.” “Shape is one of five integral elements of a successful painting. I used shapes to form objects and to give them boundaries,” she said. A color palette of greens, blues and orange is used for harmony and eye candy. 

“Green sea turtles have the same protective shell as other turtles, only theirs is a slightly flattened shape in order to allow them to swim quickly, and their legs are uniquely shaped like flippers or paddles. They cannot hide in their shells like other turtles, but can move swiftly in the water to escape predators,” said Dale Sheldon. In “Sea Turtle III,” acrylic, Sheldon shows a turtle coming out of the surf to rest on the beach. “The rocks mirror the shape of the turtle, and the tracks in the sand accentuate the path from the water to the beach.”

The strong, bold shape of a boat against a sky of rapidly expanding storm clouds inspired Cheryl Wisbrock’s plein air acrylic “Open Window.” The contrasting powerful, solid shape of the boat and the gaseous shapes of the clouds compete for attention, and the boat’s purposefully open window to prevent dry rot adds detail.

A variety of forms coexist in nature and add meaning to the landscape. Lesley McCaskill’s watercolor “Pines and Tower” features the shape of a WWII tower built of concrete like a war helmet on a cylinder, and it feels strong and sinister. Nature provides tall pines, repeating the strong vertical shape, which soften and enfold the entire landscape with a graceful green canopy and a soft, flowing foreground.

“After a summer of painting outdoors, I love bringing everything inside to create a still life,” said Marybeth Paterson. “In this ‘Blue Vase Series’ oil, I was drawn to the whimsical shape of the eucalyptus leaves against the interesting vase and the relationship to the fruit. Sometimes, it’s not about smelling the roses.”

“Flowers are one my favorite subjects and provide countless shapes,” said Jan Moffatt. “We don't think about it, but we recognize or identify flowers by shape and color. ‘Imaginary Garden,’ acrylic, is a memory of the warm days and abundant gardens of summer that were full of color and shapes.”

Gallery One is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, at 32 Atlantic Ave. (Route 26) in Ocean View.

For more information, call 302-537-5055 or go to www.galleryonede.com.