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Three Artists - Three Mediums - Three Works

No, we aren't a country music trio, we are a trio of artists.Several months ago Brad Edwards, photographer, Michael Bolton, acrylic artist, and I, watercolor artist got together and decided to do an art show unlike any other we've done.  I mean, come on, if you are like me, I've come to dread art shows.  The ones where you are intimidated by the stark white walls, okay wine and you feel more comfortable standing in front of the plate of cubed cheese than a painting. Yes, you know what I'm talking about it.  And as an artist, if I don't like going to them, why would I want to be a part of one.  So we decided to try something a little less intimidating and a LOT more fun.  Urban Chestnut Brewery is a new micro brewery here in St. Louis.  With an amazing selection of beers and tasting plates to accompany their great brew assortment.  Recently opened and in a fabulously renovated building - it was perfect for what we were trying to do - which was....

• Have Fun
• Make Art more approachable and available
• Show our guests how each artists works and interprets what he/she sees
• Support and express our vision for St. Louis - a city with immense history, beauty and potential who seems to be limping at the moment

So here's how it happened.  Brad took several photos of St. Louis and each of us chose one photo Michael and I painted the three selections using our method and style.  These three would be displayed at the brewery.  Then on the night of the show, we did a live painting and had a silent auction. 

Black and White Flight

This was my favorite painting that I did.  It was quite a departure from my normal more realistic paintings.  There are so many dilapidated buildings in St. Louis.  You can see that many of them where once quite magnificent and I look at them and see beauty and sadness.  I painted this from Brad's black and white image, and it was just too depressing for me to paint the image using greys and blacks.  I saw so many great textures and to me that's what made this interesting.

Relic

 and finally

Make sure you go to Brad's website to see the original images. 

This experience was really wonderful for me as an artist too.  Even though I love painting flowers, I found this to be a challenge I needed -- pushing me toward the abstract and to thinking about meaning and what my work says about the world around me.  I strongly encourage artists to collaborate when possible, it truly is a growing experience and I hope to help bring more of these types of shows to St. Louis.