For the month of March, the South Street Art Gallery in Easton will feature the work of three new Gallery artists. “New Artists, New Voices” will include the work of Jill Basham, Debra Howard, and Barbara Nuss. Opening on March 4th and running through March 28th, the show will reflect the artists’ unique individual sensibilities, each quite different from the others. There will be a reception held during the First Friday Gallery Walk on March 6th from 5-8pm.
Jill Basham most loves painting landscapes. “I am particularly intrigued by how light creates mood. The landscape can be a country, city or ocean/water scene.” Her goal is to try and get the emotion of the scene across to the viewer by matching the mood with brushwork, color palette and value/temperature range. “I enjoy painting outside, often times in a large format. I paint in the studio as well, where I have more time for reflection and can produce larger works.” Much of her most recent work focuses on atmosphere, with simple design elements and a moody color palette. This recent atmospheric work will be included in the show, “New Artists, New Voices”.
Basham is an award winning artist. Honors include 3rd Place in Plein-Air Easton in 2012; “Best Landscape” for the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Association; The Salmagundi Club’s Thumb Box Exhibition Award Winner, as well as other honors and awards. Artwork hangs internationally, including the US Embassy in Sri Lanka, through the US State Department’s “Art in Embassies” Program.
Articles and biographies about Basham’s work include American Art Collector and the book 100 Plein Air Painter’s of the Mid-Atlantic, by Gary Pendleton. Basham’s work has been featured in PleinAir Magazine’s “Why This Works”, an analysis of what makes a particular painting successful. Basham is an artist member of the historic Salmagundi Club in NYC. Other memberships include: The American Impressionist Society, Oil Painter’s of America, The Working Artist’s Forum and The Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association.
Debra Howard has been an artist and adventurer her entire life. She spent her childhood in Miami, Florida, where she first discovered her love affair with color, light, painting, and sailing. She studied at Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, and began her art career in San Francisco, where she opened her first illustration studio. After 17 years as a successful illustrator, she closed her studio to concentrate on fine art painting. “I realized that the career I had found so satisfying was being taken over by the computer. I missed the feel of the brush on canvas.”
In response, she provisioned her Peterson 44 sailboat with art supplies, her old dog and her 4 year old daughter and began cruising. After almost 27 years of traveling, sailing and painting aboard, Ling Ling, she has come ashore and has turned her creative focus to painting the Eastern Shore.
Her introduction to the Eastern Shore came by way of Tangier Island. She lived there for 2years, as the artist-in-residence and then as the Executive Director for the Tangier HistoryMuseum. She accomplished the task of painting a painting a day to document theseasons and changes on this disappearing island. Her work was featured in The American Scholar Magazine. The experience changed her; “I paint now with more energy, passion and immediacy,” Howard says, “which coincidentally reflect the very nature of the island. The island is raw.”
Living and working in Crisfield, Maryland she has turned her attention to the Eastern Shore: the vast open farmlands, the growing seasons and Assateague Island. All of these subjects, featuring her distinctive and rich color palette, will be represented at the upcoming show at the South Street Art Gallery Debra is a noted award winning plein-air artist with a passionate collector base. You can
Debra is a noted award winning plein-air artist with a passionate collector base. You can often see her on location with her easel and paints. She was voted “Best Visual Artist,” forCharleston, SC in 2007.
Barbara Nuss is recognized nationally for her oil paintings of landscapes and still lifes. She is known for romancing the light whether on a peony, a clarinet, a picturesque creek, or an historic lane. “I attempt to give a contemporary response to the landscape with consideration to the environment in the still undeveloped areas that reveal the essence of my home state of Maryland. To achieve this, I use oil as the medium to create expressive and inviting paintings that will last a lifetime or more.” She paints from her heart.
Nuss began her career as an illustrator, immediately after graduating from Syracuse University with a BFA degree. Her journey encompassed many side trips including studying at The Schuler School of Fine Art in Baltimore, Maryland. The National Arts for the Parks exhibited many of her paintings, which launched her landscapes that have been in many other national exhibitions and won her much acclaim. She has participated in many plein air competitions, winning Best in Show and several Juror’s awards.
Barbara Nuss’ book, 14 Formulas for Painting Fabulous Landscapes published by North Light Books was recently reprinted in paperback under the new title Secrets to Composition.
Nuss’ paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States and are in collections worldwide. She is a member of the Salmagundi Club in NYC and other professional art organizations. As President of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters for 10 years, she was instrumental in the Society embracing the 21st century.
The “New Artist, New Voices” show will be an opportunity for art enthusiasts to get a firsthand look at some of the fresh work of the newest artists to South Street Art Gallery.
Please go to www.southstreetartgallery.com for more information.
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