Soft Edges exhibit to open Feb. 28 at Gallery One

Gallery One announced its show Soft Edges will open to the public Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 32 Atlantic Ave., Ocean View.

The terms hard edges and soft edges are used to describe two different ways in which objects can be painted. A hard edge means the edge of an object is painted in a defined way. There’s a strong sense of where the object ends. A soft edge is when a figure is painted so it disappears or fades into the background. Typically, hard edges advance and soft edges recede. A third type of edge is lost, so soft the viewer cannot distinguish between where one shape stops and the adjacent one begins.

Artist Cindy Beyer’s watercolor painting, “Purple People Pleasers,” incorporates all these elements beautifully. Crisply painted green stems pop from the brightly backlit background, surrounded by an explosion of purple vibrance ebbing and flowing dramatically. Beyer said, “Watercolor is the perfect medium for our theme Soft Edges. It is the only paint that has a life of its own – where there is water, it flows (with a little help from me).”

Soft and hard edges naturally occur in the landscape, and a painter can use them to help create depth and atmosphere. Artists Dale Sheldon and Laura Hickman incorporate fog into their paintings to add mood and ambience. In Hickman’s pastel, "Sun and Fog," the morning fog is lifting from the field and catching the golden rays of the rising sun. The piece is full of atmospheric soft edges. which are well suited to the medium of pastel. In Sheldon’s acrylic, “Fog and Mist,” light fog hangs over the wetlands, softening the edges and shades of distant trees and grasses for a peaceful scene.

In Cheryl Wisbrock’s acrylic painting, “Meditation,” everything seems to melt into the horizon. The distance and middle ground become somewhat blurry, but this creates clarity where the grasses meet the cooler water and the blue sky is reflected vibrantly. Marybeth Paterson’s oil, “Soft Sails,” builds interest by contrasting the sharp lines of the boats and sails with the softness of the clouds and shoreline, and the water tones provide contrast against the more prominent white boat.

Lesley McCaskill’s acrylic, “Gliding Over the Pond,” uses the soft-edge technique to draw attention to the heron’s soft white feathers catching the sunlight on a bright day.

Edges orchestrate how the viewer’s eye moves through a painting, identifying the areas the artist wants to emphasize, and the secondary supporting areas. This can be a powerful tool, particularly in an abstract painting where the narrative can be more subtle and subjective.

For Eileen Olson’s acrylic painting, “Ode to Joy,” an explosion of nature’s colors in spring inspired this glorious, mosaic-like abstract. “Winter is wonderful, but spring brings rejuvenation to my soul,” she said. In Mary Bode Byrd’s acrylic, “Traffic Pattern,” soft edges reveal the play of black against gold and ivory.

Gallery One is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.

For more information, call 302-537-5055, email art@galleryonede.com or go to galleryonede.com.