TRANSITIONS TO ABSTRACTION; Five Painters
Exhibition at the Great Falls Library, Large Meeting Room
September 3- 30, maybe a few days into October.
M & Tu 10 - 9, W - Sa 10 - 6
A collective of local painters are pleased to show their work at the Great Falls Library. The show features a group of experienced artists who began working in more abstract painting after exploring other mediums and styles. Featured artists include two sculptors and an architect. We are a part of the Great Falls Studios group.
Parinaz Bahadori is a former architect-turned-artist who has always loved calligraphy, poetry, words, and fonts. Besides color and shape, she is intrigued by the abstract shape of letters as well as their meanings. Sometimes she incorporates Persian poetry and letters in her work, or she might be inspired by a word or song in English or another language. Peace in Pieces, a 9-part painting, can be moved to create various abstract permutations.
Roberta Pruett Beasley’s acrylic and mixed media collages are her current focus, inspired by travel photographs. “In Santa Fe, the skies and mountains lent themselves to the color-blocking and layers of paint and paper...Shapes become abstracted rather than realistic, capturing the feeling of a location. Colors create the atmosphere of a place and time of day. They reflect the beautiful light in those large, open spaces.”
Elizabeth Freire writes, “A landscape is a composition of forms, colors, scent, light, and other natural elements that make each artist’s experience and reaction to it unique, whether it be expressed in a figurative or abstract format. In these very trying times when being “Outside” was not often an option for most of us, turning inward meant visiting the gardens of thoughts and places where the heart is happy. Mine was creating a landscape with colors and shapes.” Elizabeth is also a sculptor.
Linda Jones writes, “My paintings reflect an intimate relationship with nature, and although my style tends towards realism, it portrays impressions of my perceptions, sometimes leaning to more abstract paintings derived from nature. I work in a variety of media: watercolor, acrylics, pastel, and mixed media. The paintings in this exhibit result from wandering along the shore beach-combing, beside ponds and creeks, and through the woods in my own backyard.”
Jan Heginbotham writes, “This has been a highly experimental period for my art, even before the pandemic. These oil paintings use my bronze and plaster sculptures, made over decades, as a starting point. Sometimes they are quite abstracted. Other times they are part of an interior or landscape. I was trained as a figurative sculptor and then transitioned into more abstract sculpture. I've done the same thing with painting, except the paintings are sometimes even more abstract.
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If the room is locked, please ask someone at the information desk to open it. Since it is a meeting room, if you want to visit at a specific time, please call ahead to be sure a meeting is not taking place.
With many of us having spent so much time in our homes for more than a year, the artists hope to open a window into other landscapes and images for viewers to enjoy. The artwork is available for sale and guests will learn how to reach the artists if they wish to do so. (Check the price list or individual work of art for artist contact information.)