COMBINING COMPASSION AND ART
|
|
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being." -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
|
 |
| Ascension By Bill Mack Limited Edition |
|
|
ARTIST BILL MACK
He has no mentors. There is nowhere to go to learn his art. No one teaches his technique. Sculptor Bill Mack works in such a rare art form that coming up with a name to describe it has been only slightly less arduous than creating the art itself.
"Calling my artwork bas-relief," Mack says, "is incorrect since bas-relief technically refers to low relief sculpture. My art, in fact, has more physical depth than high relief; it incorporates various elements in full-round rising toward the viewer as in my "Illusion" image where her leg leaves the background extending into space. Technically, sculptures combining various levels of relief and full-round parts are called 'Alto Relief' sculptures. A similar technique has been used on classic Roman and Greek buildings. However, until I offered my current collection of sculptures, this art form had not appeared to any extent in galleries." Combining low and high relief, incised lines, and elements in the full-round in sculpture works that are light enough to be hung on a wall, Mack directly involves the viewer in a 3-dimensional experience, both textural and tactile, that is often startling real.
"Mack's art elicits an immediate emotional response," notes one critic. "A moment in time is stopped, a familiar face revealed, the grace of a body in motion captured. The viewer becomes more than an observer; he becomes a participant in the drama unfolding before his eyes."
Limited Edition Bonded Marble Framed Size 47" x 26" For inquiries 816-753-8808 |
|
|
All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.
Henry Ellis
|
 |
| Ade Mave W 40" x 38 1/2" |
|
| All artwork by Robin Caspari are donated by local gallery.
Robin Caspari is an equine artist -- she paints horses and nothing but. Her mixed metallic paintings are created at Running Mare Studio in Manakin-Sabot, Va.
Caspari, 30, was born in St. Louis, raised in Virginia and spent most of her late teens and 20's in Colorado and Idaho. She was raised around horses and had an artist-mother who encouraged her sketchwork and talent for artistry early on. So it only seemed natural she would marry the two passions.
After high school, Caspari enrolled at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., an innovative liberal arts college. In one of her classes, a professor asked the class to select a subject that would be the focal point of all their paintings for a semester. "He told us to pick something that we were emotionally and spiritually connected with," Caspari remembered. "For me, it was an easy decision." She's been painting horses ever since.
For Robin, the horse is the perfect expressive vehicle for creating an aesthetic response and touching people on an emotional level. "The horse holds a certain power, freedom and wildness that has never gone unnoticed by man," she said. "Historically, almost every culture has been bonded to the horse through our most monumental experiences. He's been responsible for our survival in many cases."
Not to mention the sheer beauty and majesty of a horse. "I can't think of anything more beautiful than a horse," she said, adding that by riding, she stays connected with her subjects. Riding, in fact, is about the only preparation she does before beginning a new painting.
"I don't pre-plan, I don't pre-sketch, I don't pre-anything," Caspari said with a laugh. "And that's what I think keeps it fresh and alive. Nothing is pre-determined. It's all just straight from the heart. Besides, I get bored trying to plan a painting."
Typically, Caspari begins a painting by working up "a nice, thick surface" on a blank board. "I start laying on color and images start to come out," she said. Sometimes, it will take a while for a painting to evolve, but that's OK. Robin isn't afraid to cover what she's done and begin again. "I try not to stay too committed to the work I've already done," she said.
As for materials, Caspari uses metallic, luminescent and interference media, a combination she says has been "a phenomenal aid and has catapulted my work into a new era." And she likes the way metallic and luminescent paints shine and cause the light to bounce off the canvas at different angles.
"I'm really taken with the way the colors can change in the light," Caspari said. "It's almost like a living being when it's in your house and it changes every hour of every day. What you see is completely dependent on what your light source is doing."
Caspari paints on a wall-mounted easel that can be raised and lowered with a pulley system. She works with a mirror behind her to reflect the painting. "When I create a composition," she said, "I always see it backwards first. As I apply paint to a work in progress, I look over my shoulder to see how it looks. The 'zone' that everyone speaks of in art and sports is definitely part of my daily routine. Some days it's harder to get to than others."
Caspari tries to be fresh when she gets to her studio, "so I can get to that spot." Outside the studio, that's her internal time. "I visualize a lot," she said. "My paintings are almost alive in my head and in my day. Overall, I think of my style as a mixture of abstract expressionism, realism, impressionism and fantasy. Actually, if someone could come up with a name for my style, I'd love it!"
Painting is a career that involves much more than just paint and brushes, Caspari said. "It's a mindset, a lifestyle. It's a long road that's excruciatingly emotional. It's intertwined with every function of the day. It never leaves you. You could say that artists are haunted, but one can only imagine the terror and the void without its omnipresence."
In September 2003, Robin was selected as one of the top 21 emerging artists in the country in an annual Southwest Art magazine competition ("21 Under 31: Meet the Next Generation"). She has been selected as the cover artist for the prestigious Menlo Charity Horse Show, Aug. 10-15, 2004, in Atherton, Calif., a benefit for the Peninsula Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (an AA-rated show).
Caspari will be exhibiting at an upcoming show on Mother's Day weekend (May 7-8, 05) at the J.M. Porters Gallery in Leawood, Kansas (for information, call 816-753-8808). Also, she is currently working on a commissioned painting for the Bayer Aspirin headquarters building in Kansas City, Mo.
|
 |
| Miracle 43" x 38 1/2" |
|
|
 |
| Legacy 43" x 48" |
|
|
|
“Life on earth is our opportunity to learn unconditional love as Jesus taught it, to serve and sacrifice personal welfare in behalf of others. Part of Jesus' mission was to die for us…ours is to live as he did.”
The Ripple Effect, p. 31
|
|