Moving Trees: An artist statement from Helen Shulman

Gallery Director, Tiffany Hay, sent the following artist statement to me this morning from our very talented Helen Shulman. Discovering the many "hidden" layers of an artist's past is one of the most enjoyable part of the job for me. Often the more you find out about an artist (their history, background, and experiences), the more you understand and appreciate their work. Enjoy this nice read into the world of Helen Shulman's painting...also a video of Helen can be found on her artist page on our site by clicking here.

I was about 8 years old, sitting with an art teacher on an Ohio farm road. We were drawing a barn. Near the barn was a huge pine tree. The teacher suggested it would look good behind the barn. "But it's over there," I said. "It's your painting; you can put the tree wherever you want it," she responded. 

That was it. I was stunned. I was in love. I was free. If I painted, I could put the tree wherever I wanted! My path was determined. 

There were, however, many side journeys. In order to show my scientist father that girls could succeed in an area he respected, I earned a Master's in Mathematics. I was on my way to a PhD until I realized I wasn't sure where I needed to be. 

After leaving graduate school in LA, I moved to NYC and took a job teaching math to bright kids with emotional disabilities. Eventually, this lead to a Master's in Social Work. I had a series of jobs in mental health and finally started my own private psychotherapy practice which was extremely satisfying and which has influenced the way I paint. 

Art was never far away. My husband and I looked at art. We bought art. We had friends who were artists. But making art was something for others. Making "crafts" was okay for me, but not making "art." I wove and worked in clay, but I didn't pick up a paintbrush until I finally began to wonder what I was waiting for. As silly as it sounds now, entering an art supply store took some courage as did signing up for classes and eventually entering the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston where I studied part time for four years. 

Now I'm living a dream. I spend most of the time working in one of my two studios. I have shown up and down the east coast. My work is in corporate and private collections in the US and Europe. My husband, Ephraim Shulman, who is a great support to me, and I have been happily married for 40 years. We split our time between Quechee, VT and Naples, FL.  --Helen Shulman 

Thank you Helen for sharing the wonderful details with us! To see more of Helen Shulman's available work at Pryor Fine Art, click here

We look forward to seeing you soon! Summer is an exciting time at the gallery with many new works arriving each week from our fantastic artists.

Beautiful Design: Catherine & McClure Interiors, Newton, MA

I have mentioned before what a treat it is to see installation photos of finished design jobs (both big and small) wherein our artwork is incorporated. Finding these photos today on Catherine Skaletsky's website, Catherine and McClure Interiors, was an extra special treat because so many pieces from different artists were used. 

Under the discerning eye of Catherine and her daughter, Danielle, a classic Boston brownstone was transformed into an elegant yet vibrant and contemporary enclave. 

Color was a major roll player in Catherine and Danielle's vision for this project. The artwork chosen, by Susie Pryor, Helen Durant, Kenson, and France Jodoin, blends beautifully into the sophisticated setting.

They mixed canvas pieces with works on paper, as seen in the two Kenson works on paper above. 

Thank you Catherine and Danielle for sharing your beautiful photos with us! 

"Your needs, lifestyle and tastes are the building blocks of the our design process. To your unique tastes, we add layers of texture and refined luxury, creating functional and exquisite spaces that reflect you, at your very best. Whether dialing up or down the traditional glamour or modern panache, we will create the space of your dreams—and you'll have more than a little fun along the way." -Philosophy of Catherine & McClure Interiors

2013 ASO Show House featuring paintings by Jenny Nelson

photo credit Jeff Roffman

The 2013 Atlanta Symphony Show House and Gardens is underway and is definitely worth a visit.

Designers went above and beyond this year using innovative design coupled with a beautiful aesthetic. There was not a room that I did not enjoy, and will most likely revisit the house before the closing on May 12th. 

click here for a link to hours and directions to the house

We are especially grateful to the designers that chose to incorporate artwork from Pryor Fine Art into their design. Traci Rhodes of Traci Rhodes Interiors was dealt the task of transforming the upstairs hallway 

from a simple corridor connecting two sides of the home, to a cozy and inviting space that 

commands pause. Traci was more than up for the challenge and the hallway and adjoining spaces 

are beautiful. 

 Traci used two 60x60 Jenny Nelson paintings to anchor the high walls opposite the railing. The size and coloring are stunning. click here to see Jenny Nelson's page on our website

Thank you again for your wonderful design Traci and for sharing these photos with us Traci!

Everyone should visit the show house and look up when you walk in to the front door! 

We look forward to seeing you soon in the gallery, Christina, Tiffany, Ann, Paul, and Susie

Studio visit in Sonoma, CA with Brigitte McReynolds

It was my absolute pleasure to drop in on one of our artists, Brigitte McReynolds, last week while in Sonoma, CA. My husband and I were staying in nearby Glen Ellen, so it was a mere 10 min drive into the Sonoma square to meet Brigitte in her studio.

 

And, I was able to get a sneak peak at the new work that will be coming to Atlanta soon...

I have been a long time fan of Brigitte's work, both figurative and abstract. She has a unique process of layering color in such a way that implies subtle movement, allowing the figures to be free instead of stiff or stagnant. Though she was formally trained, many decisions in the studio are intuitive, which I find fascinating.

 

Thank you Brigitte for the warm welcome and refreshments! I hope to visit you again in the future. To see available work by Brigitte McReynolds, click here.

 

Life's Journey I  30x30 mixed media on panel

 

We look forward to seeing you in the gallery soon, Christina, Ann, Tiffany, Susie and Paul

Introducing Geoff Mitchell

We are pleased to introduce to you a new artist at Pryor Fine Art, Geoff Mitchell. 
Geoff's paintings intrigued us from the start, but it was after reading his artist statement and learning more about his influences and process, that I more deeply appreciated the work. PFA link to Geoff Mitchell artist page

 Order of the Amaranth 2 48x36 mixed media on panel 

Typical blog protocol would call for more images and less text, but if you will bear with me, Geoff's artist statement and "Under the Surface" web interview (which can be found on his page on our website) are worth the read. I will leave all in Geoff's own words as he is a gifted writer and story teller in addition to painter. Enjoy...

Seeing the Elephant 60x60 mixed media on panel

MITCHELL (b.1971) was born and raised in Gulfport, Mississippi. He received a BFA in Painting from Western Michigan University and an MFA in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. After living in Chicago for several years, he moved to California in 2005 where he founded White Apple Studios in Los Angeles. The studio name stems from the ideas of white being a pure and empty state, the beginning, innocent and open to any creative possibility; and the apple, the symbol of temptation, as well as a symbol of life, death and rebirth.

ARTIST STATEMENT 

 As a guide map for how one could approach my work, I often like to tell a
story from my childhood to create an analogy. When I was a young boy of
five or six years old, my family was living in a trailer park in the deep
south. Behind the last trailer of the front row, there was a narrow dirt
trail that ran alongside the property fence. One day while playing on
that trail, I discovered a faint and peculiar grey handprint on the back
of the metal trailer. The handprint appeared to depict elongated fingers
and a small palm that melted away at the wrist. The nails were abnormally
long, grotesque and eerie.

There was a palpable connection in my mind as to where this handprint had
come from. At my grandmothers house, there was a childrens bible that I
would look at when visiting her. On page one hundred and one there was an
illustration of Lucifer being cast from heaven. He was a brown creature
with a partially human form and a long thin tail. His legs mutated into
hooves instead of feet. He had webbed wings of a bat that resembled
semi-transparent membranes. Much of his body was covered in fur and his
ears came to a tipped point. He had dark arched eyebrows with well-defined
cheekbones and lips. He was almost handsome in the face. Then, there were
his hands. He had long unkempt nails in the image. His nails matched
exactly to those of the handprint behind the trailer. In my childs mind,
this strange impression on the back of the trailer was the handprint of
the devil.
This pivotal event of my childhood is a classic example of the illusions
and misperceptions that characterize the sensation of pareidolia. This
experience is defined as a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and
random stimulus, often an image or sound, being perceived as significant.
Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds or
hearing hidden messages on records played in reverse. Our man in the moon
or the moon rabbit of Asian cultures can also be considered a product of
this phenomenon. It is an idea that has driven my endeavors as a visual
artist and it is an excellent place to begin when talking about my work.
The paintings I make do not appear abstract, and in reality they cannot
be. I use representational imagery within each work to a varying degree.
What may be considered peculiar is how I use representational imagery in a
free associative and purely intuitive manner. I mix and layer images
together in a way that is reminiscent of an abstract painter layering
color. And I always find it fascinating to see what will happen in the
amalgamation.
I choose imagery based on a number of considerations including the mood I
am striving to create, compositional concerns and the texture of the work.
Most importantly however, it is an affinity for what I find beautiful and
a sheer curiosity about the eccentric associations these disparate
elements attach to one another that drives me.
Over time, I have become increasingly aware that as an artist I make it
simultaneously easy and complicated for my audience. My paintings are
often perplexing in that they present questions with no explanations. Yet
they are simple when one discovers that the questions have no right
answers. I see myself as the designer of an expanse of clouds. Each member
of my audience will find their own images and stories within these clouds;
and discover their own handprint.

Geoff Mitchell's paintings are currently hanging in the gallery. We look forward to seeing you soon, Christina

Elise Morris paintings featured in the 2013 DC Design House

We were thrilled when Washington DC designer, Andrea Houck, approached us about working together for this year's DC Design House. The 14,000 sq foot home in Wesley Heights showcases DC's premier talent in design and architecture, and benefits the Children's National Medical Center. click here for more info on this year's show house.

 

Thank you Andrea for your great vision and for beautifully incorporating the paintings of

Elise Morris into your design!

 

Enduring Hatch II by Elise Morris is stunning against the rich Farrow and Ball wall color

 

Another view of the room...

 

The show house runs from April 14th to May 12th

 

We hope to see you in the gallery soon, Christina

 

Paintings--Take me away!

Venice After the Flood by Susie Pryor 48x60 o/c

 

Despite the stresses of packing, arranging for child or pet care, and the inevitable airport delay, traveling both domestically and abroad is (in my opinion) one of the most worthwhile expenditures of money. Memories can be made only once and live on far beyond many of our material items.

 

We still joke in my family about the lengthy slide shows (using an old projector onto the living room wall) that followed a vacation taken by my grandparents. Avid travelers well into their 70s, my grandparents have traveled most of the world, and the slide shows were fun reminders to them of their good times and often accompanied a history lesson for the rest of us (the younger set).

 

Aix En Provence 48x36 o/c

 

My point: When Susie Pryor brought new work into the gallery this past week, I felt like I was back in my grandmother's living room looking through travel photos. I was transported back to Aix (where I have been) and to my imaginary Venice (since I have not yet visited). It was a wonderful feeling to have a break in my day to imagine these wonderfully romantic cities. After all, if you are going to have artwork in your home, why not have artwork that evokes such good thoughts...

 

We hope to see you soon, Christina