Animal Kingdom open Feb. 28-April 3 at Gallery One in Ocean View
Animals are fellow travelers. They touch people in many ways, filling lives with wonder, joy, and unconditional love. This month, the artists from Gallery One observe and experience the animal kingdom.
Two Gallery One artists are captivated with cows! Mooving Cows, oil, by Mary Beth Patterson was inspired by cows in Ellendale. "The three cows were challenging to capture and caused me to take a breath, pause and find stillness within to capture their great energy." Artist Jeanne Mueller just wanted to paint a cow! "Mrs. Moo," oil, lives on Route 24. "She and her other relatives were in the field when I stopped to see if one of them would like their portrait done. Ms. Moo came over, stopped and posed for her portrait. Who can resist her eyes, lashes and cowlick?"
Painting in plein air can be challenging with wind, sun, insects and animals. Cheryl Wisbrock was painting on location as "two Assateague ponies named Fonzie and Laurie Anna stood nicely for a bit while I painted them, until they got bored. They sauntered over to me and Laurie Anna stuck her face in my tote bag, and then knocked some of my supplies off my easel. I was the interloper in their Animal Kingdom!" Lesley McCaskill also enjoys painting on location "finding ducks delightful in looks and sound. These ducks posed for me, not standing still, but swimming round close enough to observe while painting them. "Swimming by the Dock" acrylic, portrays the variety of angles and shapes of the ducks with their colors and shapes fractured in the movement of the water." Under water, Dianne Shearon's "Yellow Fish" acrylic, paints what is in "my mind's eye, bright and happy fish. Above the water, Eileen Olson's watercolor "Plethora of Pelicans" is inspired by a recent trip to Kent Island in search of Pelican Island.
"Intelligent and naturally curious, goats are among the first animals to be domesticated, probably over 10,000 years ago" says Dale Sheldon. "This friendly goat greeted me and I was instantly smitten! Concentrating on his head and expressive face, I placed ‘Smiling Jo,’ acrylic, in a field with a line of trees to simplify the composition. Laura Hickman loves alpacas and captures their sweet face in "Alpaca," pastel. "They are so sweet and shy and have such human-like expressions. They are a joy to be around, and really fun to draw!
"Even though they dig up my newly-planted flowers and gnaw on the cedar siding, I still love watching the squirrels and their chipmunk cousins playing in the yard," says Joyce Condry. "They have so much energy, chasing each other up and down the trees, and demonstrate incredible gymnastic skills in their quest to conquer the bird feeder.” "Chip Monk," acrylic, catches a rare restful moment in a chipmunk's day.
"Animal Kingdom" is on display Wednesday, Feb. 28 through April 3. The popular Artisan Room features exciting textiles, hand blown glass, pottery, glass jewelry and wood pieces by local artists. Gallery One is open six days a week, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Wednesday, and is always staffed by one of the artists. Visit Gallery One's website www.GalleryOneDe.com) For more information call 302-537-5055. The gallery is located at 32 Atlantic Ave. (Route 26), Ocean View.
