Small Views

C. Chin, Stilling Street, Boston

 McGowan Fine Art announces the opening of “Small Views” featuring small works by Cathy Chin, Melissa Anne Miller, Shane Neufeld and Sandy Wadlington.

The show will run from November 30 through December 31, with an artists’ reception on December 3, from 5 to 7 PM. The public is welcome.   The reception takes place the evening of Midnight Merriment in Concord. The Main Street will be closed to traffic from Pleasant to Centre. Caroling and hay rides will be taking place to celebrate the start of the Holiday Season. For more information visit Main Street Concord.

Inspired by the most recent work of artist Cathy Chin, gallery director, Sarah Chaffee worked to put together a show featuring similarly sized works. “Cathy’s small, urban studies - motivated by a road trip - had a fresh feel that I thought people needed to see,” said Chaffee.



S. Neufeld, Green Fundy After Storm

It coincided with a recent batch of watercolor studies by Shane Neufeld who since becoming an architect has not had much free time to paint. A trip to Nova Scotia this past summer, with its sparkling light and dramatic bay served as an impetus to start again. This show is rounded out with the talent of artists Melissa Anne Miller and Sandy Wadlington.



S. Wadlington, First Snow of the Season

Landscape has a fascination for people as both a respite and a reflection of our place in it. In the respite category are the small pastels of Sandy Wadlington that minimize the human impact on the landscape. “Frosty Morning,” a view of a pine grove provides opportunity for Sandy to display her technique and mastery of atmospheric effects. A careful weaving of small strokes builds up a rich surface texture. The pale silvery grays feel like a winter fog settling over the dark trees. “Working small is also quite intimate and peaceful. You are in your own little world. Every little mark has a purpose, and you put it there, or erase it, or something in between,” says Wadlington.



S. Neufeld, Pines Over Studio,
Penguin Island

Another view of the landscape as romantic respite is Shane Neufeld’s watercolors of the Bay of Fundy. They are more color studies with their broad, wet strokes of pigment. “Pines over Studio, Penguin Island” is a symphony of greens contrasting against white, sunlit buildings.

C. Chin, Tailgating

Both Melissa Anne Miller and Cathy Chin take to the city streets for inspiration. Cathy’s diary of images provides us unlikely subjects of beauty- McDonald’s restaurants, old gas stations and exit ramps. In “Tailgating” her brush turns to a tangled mass of signs and phone wires dominated by the tail end of a car. The red of brake lights bleeds into the enameled blue of the trunk- a tour de force in color. In “Stillings Street, Boston” (at top) Ms. Chin breaks down the buildings and signs into sun-drenched planes - blues, viridians and grays. It is a veritable quilt of color.



S. Wadlington, Frosty Morning







Sandy Wadlington Caran d'Ache Demonstration

Many people showed up to see the Sandy Wadlington Caran d'Ache demonstration. Some people wanted to simply watch, others were here to participate, but all had fun.

It was fascinating to watch Sandy work. As you might guess, she starts off quite loosely and then begins to build up the contrasts- always mindful to leave the lights just as you would with watercolor. Closer inspection of some of the more finished pieces revealed that she doesn't use as much detail as many think. She gives the illusion of detail coupled with the beautiful surface texture that water mediums have. Spots, puddles and pools build up to create leaves, fields and ocean.

People picked up a few tips and then looked at her paintings anew- with the knowledge of how they were made.

There were many thanks from participants and requests for more events like this. I heard and I will try!

Studio Visit- Sandy Wadlington

One of the favorite parts of my job is going on studio visits. Artists often bring their personal vision of beauty to their homes and studios. They accumulate interesting things, have beautiful gardens and collect marvelous art from all of their friends.



Their studios are full of things too. There are often postcards, newspaper clippings and pages ripped from books that have images that inspire them. There will also be incomplete sketches or the sorts of drawings and paintings that they might never sell. This is all fascinating to me- like an opportunity to see how they think.

I visited the home and studio of Sandy Wadlington this past week to see how her show in September is shaping up.

Sandy's studio is small and cozy. It is full of the art in process. As pieces near completion they are put up on the wall for her to assess as she works on other pieces.

I am amazed at how many pastel sticks she uses. As you can see there are boxes and boxes of them. She has also tacked up paper bags underneath her work are to catch any pastel dust that filters down as she works. Pastels have very little binder in them to make them hold together or even hold on to the paper. Therein lies their beauty- they are almost pure pigment, giving a finished pastel unsurpassed color.

Sandy has also been working on a number of charcoal drawings which have the same same beautiful, atmospheric effect she gets with pastel but minus the color. For me they have the soft quality of a lithograph.

The show is shaping up nicely and Sandy and I decided on the images for the postcard. We are both looking forward to the show in September.

Sandy Wadlington Reception on May 9, 2008

There were a lot of people in to meet Sandy Wadlington and look at her new work. Fun was had by all!


Talking to the artist.