GALLERY IN THE STACKS

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APRIL - JUNE, 2024

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The Amy Van Andel Library, in coordination with the Library Friends, hosts quarterly art exhibits in the main lobby area, with a focus on local artists. The  Spring, 2024 exhibit features the work of five local artists who met through their love of painting and their pursuit of continuous learning and growth as artists. Their exhibit is appropriately titled "Friday Morning Brushwork."

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Attend the opening reception/"meet the artists" event on Saturday, April 13, from 10 am - noon, and enjoy complementary snacks/beverages while you enjoy the art.

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Artists' collective statement, artist bios and sample images:

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"We met at a Friday morning art class and enjoyed painting together while observing and learning from each other.  We continued to paint together both in and outside of class. We all paint in oil on canvas.  The canvas sizes range from 8”x10” to 3’x3’ or larger.  Collectively we have 54 years of painting practice and subjects range from portraits to landscapes, realism to impressionism.  Our paintings are done both in the studio and in Plein Aire (a French expression meaning “in the Open Air”)." 

 

A little bit about the artists in our group…

 

Bob Buchanan – I’ve been interested in art most of my life with an emphasis on pencil drawing and cartoon art.  I am largely self-taught.  While I tried oil painting many years ago, I never had any instruction and there were too many mysteries surrounding the medium.  Eventually, I noticed Forest Hills Community Services offered classes in beginning oil painting so I signed up with artist Scott Kenyon.  I learned there really aren’t any deep mysteries at all.  That was about 2015 and I’ve been oil painting ever since.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                     

                                                                                                                               Roselle Park: Spring Flood

                                                                                                                                                                    Robert Buchanan    

 

I start by trying to capture the shapes of the landscape, not necessarily things like trees, fields or structural objects.  Details get added later.  I’m particularly fascinated by the interplay between the abstract shapes of sunlight and cast shadow.  I think I’m drawn to the mood long shadows create.

 

Scott Kenyon – “Light is beautiful wherever you see it;” this is the subject of my painting.  When I paint Plein Air or in my studio, my subject is always the light.  I have been painting most of my life but over the last 15 years I have been a student of the Hawthorne-Hensche approach to painting using color to create the effects of light.  In addition to painting my own works, I teach painting and drawing at The Forest Hills Fine Arts Center.

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                  Ada Bridge

                       Scott Kenyon

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Beverly Kerwin – I started drawing eight years ago when I had to sit still for two weeks following a surgery.  I had always wanted to have portraits of my daughters so I started drawing and watching portrait videos.  A year later a friend encouraged me to try painting.  This was the best thing I have done for myself in years!

 

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Turkana Girl

Beverly Kerwin

 

In my job I have traveled to Africa, Asia and many other places and have met wonderful people.  Painting their beautiful faces has been a great joy and it is something I can do in my spare time.  Painting is like a puzzle to me and I love putting the color shapes and pieces together.

  

Jim Bianculli - I started drawing and painting when I was a teenager in New Jersey in the early 1970s.  I took a number of art classes then, and experimented with oils, acrylics, and watercolor, as well as charcoal drawing. 

Upon my retirement in 2017, I was eager to start painting again, and attended several art classes over the ensuing years, primarily landscape painting in oils. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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                                                                                                   St. Thomas Bridge

                                                                                                                               Jim Bianculli               ​

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Today, I paint almost every day, and especially like to paint eye-catching landscapes on canvas in vibrant shades of blue, green and yellow.  Many of my landscapes incorporate international settings where my family and I have vacationed.  I also play golf and often take photos of picturesque golf holes which are later transformed to oils on canvas.  Finally, I also like to paint small studies that incorporate dogs or other animals in a natural setting. 

 

Shanna Handelsman – I am local artist with my focus on landscapes in oil.  I have always had a love of drawing and painting but did not pursue art until recently.  I had a desire to try oil painting and met this group of artists through a Friday morning painting class about 2 years ago.  My husband and I love to travel and experience all the beauty that nature has to offer.  I love to capture this beauty in photographs or small thumbnail sketches which I can later use for painting reference in my studio. 

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                        Bow River (Banff)

                               Shanna Handelsman

 

I enjoy all parts of the painting process including composition, drawing, color, line, and brushwork.   In each painting I strive to elicit a feeling from the viewer that they are transported into the painting and can feel the warmth of sunshine or the coolness of a cloudy day.

My style leans to impressionist with looser brushwork.  When I paint my goal is for the observer to feel the scene through the use of color and light.