It may too often be seen as a Pop Culture cliché of Modern Art, but there is genuine reality to the idea of art as a direct, frequently cathartic expression of raw emotion; perhaps a means of exorcising negative and even destructive feelings. When looking at the work of Shawn Marshall, it is easy to believe that the rich plasticity of her medium is affording her exactly this opportunity; the layered build up of paint resulting in a heavy impasto that begs to be touched, so seductive is the textured surface.

“My painting is a meditative practice,” states Marshall, “an outlet to release intuitive energy and let go of preconceived notions and self-imposed rules or judgments of how I and my work interpret and portray the world. My ‘practice’ and expression are restorative for me, and often for others, as I create what I refer to as ‘Inward Landscapes.’”

*"East Side" by Shawn Marshall, 48x24x1.5in, oil on canvas (2016)*

Yet for all the rough quality, there is great subtlety in the placement of mark and color. The catharsis occurs within an artistic process of discipline developed from years of experience, and an unexpectedly schematic underlying visual structure that may point to Marshall’s training as an architect, in which she holds advanced degrees.

Marshall is the Visual Arts Teacher at North Oldham High School, Goshen, KY. In 2016 she was chosen for the 27th Annual International Juried Show, Viridian Artists Gallery, New York, NY, curated by Tumelo Mosaka, Independent Curator, former Curator at Krannert Art Museum and the Brooklyn Museum.

The next opportunity to see Marshall’s work is Inward Landscapes - a Solo Painting Exhibit by Shawn Marshall with guest sculptor Jeanne Dueber at PYRO Gallery from February 23 through April 8, 2017. There will be an Opening Reception Friday, February 24 from 6-9pm.

In March 2017 she will also be participating in Gridworks Revisited at the New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY, and in the fall she will have work in the Contemporary Invitational Landscape Exhibit, McGrath Gallery, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 48
Education: 1992, Bachelor of Architecture, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; 1996, Master of Architecture, Minor Fine Arts, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; 2009, Master of Art in Teaching, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY
Website: www.shawnlmarshall.com

*"Excavating the Surface" by Shawn Marshall, 12x12x1.5in, oil on canvas (2016)*

*"Storms Pass" by Shawn Marshall, 12x12x1.5in, oil on canvas (2017)*

*"Halfway There" by Shawn Marshall, 48x30x1.5in, oil on canvas (2016)*

*"More Than a Climb" by Shawn Marshall, 24x24x1.5in, oil on canvas (2016)*

*"The Roots Run Deep" by Shawn Marshall, 12x12x1.5in, oil on canvas (2016)*

Are you interested in being on Artebella? Click here to learn more. — *Are you interested in being on Artebella?* *Click here* *to learn more.*

Painting

Vignette: Teresa McCarthy

Josh Jenkins · February 21, 2017

*"Geese Be With You" by Teresa McCarthy, 40x36in, acrylic on canvas (2016)*

Painter Teresa McCarthy has always painted landscapes and animal life, and in “Geese Be With You,” we see her developing even greater discipline in her composition and technique. The control in mark-making and balance between wildlife and environment place this work squarely in the Ray Harm school of nature paintings; seeking a pictorial harmony echoing spiritual that is expressed in the humorous play-on-words of the title.

McCarthy began by painting other people’s vacation homes in exchange for lodging - a happy merging of profession and inspiration. “I haven’t put the paintbrush down since that painting. I love painting with oil, acrylic and watercolor. Every painting I’m working on is my favorite. I know this is what I’m supposed to be doing. It is with such certainty of purpose that I paint; it is my vocation.”

McCarthy is currently represented by Kore Gallery in the Mellwood Arts and Entertainment Center. She is a Member of the Kentucky Artist Guild of Artists and Craftsmen and the Louisville Visual Arts. She has participated in the Junior League Tulips for Juleps, Highview Arts and Craft Fair, the Regeneration Fair “Plein Air” Paint Out, and the LVA/Hite Institute Open Studio Weekends.

"Fall Together" by Teresa McCarthy, 60x40in (polyptch), oil on canvas (2016), $1400 | BUY NOW — *"Fall Together" by Teresa McCarthy, 60x40in (polyptch), oil on canvas (2016), $1400 | BUY NOW*

Her professional life has been in office management and real estate (she works as the Office Manager at Seiller Waterman, LLC.), but even with dual careers, McCarthy has always felt driven to make art and one of the ways she is able to share her passion is being the fine art instructor at Michael’s. Recently she was featured in the Born to Run exhibit at the Brown Hotel Gallery, along with Jamie Corum and Melanie Osborne.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 56
Education: Attended St. Agnes and Durrett High School; obtained Broker’s License in 1986
Gallery Representation: Kore Gallery (Louisville)

*"Canoe On Golden Pond" by Teresa McCarthy, 30x40in, oil on canvas (2016)*

*"Winter Wolf with Full Moon" by Teresa McCarthy, 18x24in, oil on canvas (2016)*

*"Raccons" by Teresa McCarthy, 17x36in, acrylic on canvas in tree frame (2016)*

Illustration

Q&A: Jeff Dehut

Josh Jenkins · February 16, 2017

Jeff Dehut is a freelance Illustrator working in Louisville, KY specializing in tabletop game design and portraits using traditional mediums such as pen and ink, and watercolor. He is the creator of Pocket Dungeon Quest, a simplified, casual rogue-like tabletop adventure for 2-4 players.

When did you first think you would be an artist?

It was when I was just a small boy. I would sit at home after school and draw comics all afternoon. I knew I wanted to get into art somehow. At that time my thoughts were either as a comic book artist, or concept work for movies and games.

Who or what inspires you now?

I absolutely love Wesley Burt’s style; I could look at his sketches all day. I also love looking at concept art books of any kind.

If you could do anything else but make art, what would it be?

I would probably have to say making coffee. I just love everything about the coffee-making process.

*"Homes" by Jeff Dehut, 8x8in, micron pen (2016)*

What frightens you the most?

Getting stuck at a job that drains me creatively.

*"Enjoy the Little Things" by Jeff Dehut, 8x8in, digital (2017)*

What is your favorite music to listen to when making art?

Typically I listen to documentaries about various things, or audiobooks of all kinds. When I listen to actual music, it’s usually soundtracks or instrumental so I can focus on other things at the same time.

Vinyl or CD?

Neither. Digital.

Favorite movie?

Star Wars, IV, V & VI.

What are you reading right now?

Ha. I just finished the Magnolia Story, it was a super cute book.

What advice would you give a young artist just out of college?

Don’t wait for jobs to come to you. Go get a job - of any kind. Go make your own creative projects while you wait for something creative to turn up. Be proactive. Make the kind of work on your own while you’re not getting paid for it so that when a company is willing to pay someone for it you can be first in line with experience. Go! Do!

*"Illustration Samples" by Jeff Dehut, 3.5x2.5in, ink & marker (2017)*

Tell us about an important moment of transition for you as an artist?

The moment I lost my first salary job. It forced me into freelance for a while which forced me to learn many valuable skills I would not have otherwise acquired.

*"Watercolor Thumb People" by Jeff Dehut, 3.5x2.5in, watercolor & micron pen (2017)*

If you were given a $100,000 what would do with it?

Get a studio of some kind so I could finally unpack all of my art supplies and make bigger work.

What does art mean to you?

This is a huge question... Art is something you create - for me it is usually, to some extent, emotionally charged, and I hope my art makes other people feel that way. Usually I want people to feel happy to see my work.

What do you feel is your greatest flaw?

I typically bite off more than I can chew. I’m getting better at it…kinda.

If you could have a talent that you currently don't already have what would it be and why?

I want to learn about more art mediums or techniques because I always want to learn more about my craft.

If you could meet any celebrity who would it be and what would you ask them?

I would like to get a photo with Enrico Colantoni because I loved him in Galaxy Quest and I think we look very similar. It would be funny!

Does art have a purpose? If so, what is it?

Oh boy. I think it does. The purpose of my art is to make others feel encouraged to be better people.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 36
Education: Associates in Graphic Design with a specialty in Photography
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/explosivelimes/

*"Watercolor Faces" by Jeff Dehut, 8.5x11in, watercolor & micron pen (2016)*

Painting

Vignette: Catherine Bryant

Josh Jenkins · February 15, 2017

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas

"Yellow Villa" by Catherine Bryant, 12x9in, oil on canvas, plein air (2010), $395 | BUY NOW — *"Yellow Villa" by Catherine Bryant, 12x9in, oil on canvas, plein air (2010), $395 | BUY NOW*

Catherine Bryant’s outlook on life may best be expressed in a phrase she likes, “Art is the breath of life.” After experiencing a troubled childhood, Bryant used art to change her life, or at least get moving in a better direction. Armed with a sketchbook and charcoal, she set out to find beauty and record the wonders around her. This journey took her into a world of constant growth.

Bryant is a landscape painter, but she doesn’t restrict herself to panoramic scenes of nature. In fact, her compositions tend to be more intimate glimpses of the way the trees and vegetation frames our point-of-view on the bucolic environment. “Yellow Villa” shows the expansive view that reaches off to the horizon, the diminishing fields becoming more abstract as the distance increases, but in “The Trees Speak Softly”, the viewer feels hidden in the shade, poised to eavesdrop on whatever privileged moment might be about to transpire just beyond the trees.

Another aspect of landscape compositions is the still, unmoving aspect that is so common, but in “Warm H20” Bryant captures a spontaneous moment in time, the immediacy of the interaction between horse and human palpably communicated with certainty and skill. Perhaps it is the introduction of animals, always a favorite with this artist, that represents an opportunity to inject some modicum of unpredictability into her compositions.

*"Warm H2O" by Catherine Bryant, 36x48in, oil on canvas (2015)*

After a career in advertising as a Graphic Designer and airbrush illustrator, teaching classes at Ivy Tech, Bryant created her own business, working as a muralist for 25 years. Realizing she wouldn’t always want to climb scaffolding, she started honing her skills as a fine art painter.

"The Trees Speak Softly" by Catherine Bryant, 8x10in, oil on canvas (plein air), $395 | BUY NOW — *"The Trees Speak Softly" by Catherine Bryant, 8x10in, oil on canvas (plein air), $395 | BUY NOW*

Now, during the summer months, one can find the artist outdoors throughout the state of Kentucky and southern Indiana, painting “plein air” (painting outdoors). She finds “plein air” painting to be the best method for sharpening her quick decision making skills; an invaluable exercise for simplifying composition, value assessment and color acuity, all the while completing a painting in a matter of a couple of hours. These lessons carry over back in the studio during the winter months.

Ms. Bryant teaches her passion for painting at Preston Arts Center on Bardstown Road, and in her private studio.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BA, University of Louisville
Gallery Representative: Jane Morgan Gallery; Edenside Gallery; Kentucky Museum of Art & Craft, and Hoosier Salon (Louisville) Broad Ripple Gallery (Indianapolis)
Website: http://www.catherinebryantart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherinebryantstudio/

"1st Notes of Spring" by Catherine Bryant, 30x24in, oil on canvas, $2950 | BUY NOW — *"1st Notes of Spring" by Catherine Bryant, 30x24in, oil on canvas, $2950 | BUY NOW*

"Sweet Dreams Dear Light," by Catherine Bryant, 11x14in, oil on canvas, plein air (2016), $495 | BUY NOW — *"Sweet Dreams Dear Light," by Catherine Bryant, 11x14in, oil on canvas, plein air (2016), $495 | BUY NOW*

"Dance of the Texasbonnets and Indian Paintbrush" by Catherine Bryant, 48x36in, encaustic & oil on canvas (2016), $3500 | BUY NOW — *"Dance of the Texasbonnets and Indian Paintbrush" by Catherine Bryant, 48x36in, encaustic & oil on canvas (2016), $3500 | BUY NOW*

Mixed Media, Painting

Vignette: Patrick Donley

Josh Jenkins · February 14, 2017

Where our army has gone and established a long-term presence, there has sprouted an interest in America’s game…” – Patrick Donley

*“Taijitu (South Korea)" by Patrick Donley, 20x26in, mixed media on arches (2016)*

Not very long ago, we were discussing the use of flags in art, and their importance as symbols. Patrick Donley is a painter, sculptor, and collage artist who uses found materials to a significant degree. In his artist’s statement for his new exhibit at Lenihan Sotheby’s International Realty, he provides insight into his process, but also illuminates how the weight of memory in reclaimed objects can raise the artist’s own awareness through discovery, in this case, tying in to themes of geo-political influence.

“The Flags series began as an excuse to use the imagery of ‘America’s Game’ in my art. For years, I have been fascinated by the gritty, rugged, glorious, and often tarnished visual lexicon of baseball, a game full of heroes, heroines, legends, myths, successes and failures.

The choice to use the flag as an inspiration was somewhat accidental. I had been making collage paintings on paper that were made up of horizontal bands like the strata of the earth, or like the stripes on a flag. The paintings being on paper seemed appropriate, more ephemeral - more flag-like. I came across a cache of baseball images I had saved including some torn up baseball cards found while walking my dogs (the source for much of my collage). So the Baseball Flags were born (however, I never understood why the championship is called ‘the World Series’).

“The Girl Next Door (Aruba)" by Patrick Donley, 20x26in, mixed media on arches (2016) — *“The Girl Next Door (Aruba)" by Patrick Donley, 20x26in, mixed media on arches (2016)*

The first pieces were mainly suggestive of flags: very colorful with lots of random collage, words and letters buried in the paint. After making about ten of these, I chose to leave the idea for a while and venture elsewhere, as is my way of working. Several years and several very different bodies of work ensued.

One day last year, I decided to revisit the flags, but this time I thought to use flags of the world as the platform. I had done a large commission piece for Kentucky Refugee Ministries here in Louisville, and while cleaning the studio I came across the images of all of the flags that represent the refugees who have been resettled into our town, and thus, these were my initial inspirations. After completing several, though interesting conceptually, something just did not feel right about the flags I was using, other than their graphic nature. Where was the connection to baseball?

*“8 Men Out (Venezuela)” by Patrick Donley, 19x26in (framed), mixed media on arches (2016)*

So I researched how many countries are actually represented by players throughout the major leagues. The number varied, but twenty-something is the rough tally. From that point on, the flags became about countries that have contributed players to the sport.

One of the fun challenges of using ‘real’ flags as the departure point is that there is not a huge diversity of colors used in national flags. It is a fairly basic palette, which allows me the license to explore layering, variation, and texture.

*“Daddy-O” by Patrick Donley, 8x8in, mixed media on wood (2015)*

At this point, I began to connect the dots between our military presence throughout the world and the growth of baseball in many of those places. It made sense. Where our army has gone and established a long-term presence, there has sprouted an interest in America’s game: Japan, Korea, Germany, Cuba, and Vietnam. But the list extends well beyond that to some places that honestly I could not guess why players would come from there: Australia, the Netherlands, Aruba, Venezuela, Columbia, Greece Baseball, Taiwan, Curacao, Brazil. And the list goes on.

It fascinates me that although Soccer is the ‘World’s’ game, Baseball has ‘the World Series’, and now, for me, that phrase finally makes a little more sense.”

Flags: A World Series, New Work by Patrick Donley, is now on exhibit at Lenihan Sotheby’s International Realty at 3803 Brownsboro Road in Louisville. There is an Artist Open House Thursday, February 16, 5:00-7:30pm. On March 3, Donley will open The Memento Series: Travel and Leisure at Craft(s) Gallery in Louisville.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 54
Education: BA in Painting, Davidson College in Painting; MFA in Painting and Drawing, Northwestern University
Website: http://patrickdonley.wix.com/donleyart

*“Beer Is Food” by Patrick Donley, 8x8in, mixed media on wood (2016)*

Vignette: Shawn Marshall