RACHELSTEELY.COM

Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Caroline Mecklin’

Stutz Artist Open House 2009

While visiting the Stutz Artist Open House on Friday night, I got my temporary fill of art.  Of all the artists that I saw that night, I am going to mention the following few: Caroline Mecklin, Derek Powell, Vicky Shaffer White, Mark Pack, and the artists in Suite B240.

I was introduced to the work of Caroline Mecklin two years ago when I visited the Stutz Artist Open House for the first time.  I have not forgotten  her work, and was looking forward to seeing her studio again this year.  Her dynamic figures are rich with the life she sees in her live models.

Derek Powell has a studio tucked away at the end of the third floor.  His work mostly consists of soft, misty landscapes painted with limited palates.  There were also three black and white ink drawings that were reminiscent of Rouault without the color.  Their titles, The Last Supper I, II, and III also added to their connection with Rouault.

This past spring I have been drawing on Friday mornings with a group of other artists.  One of the artists is Vicky Shaffer White.  Vicky presented a slue of nice flower pieces from the past few years; however, I preferred her calm, elegant, clothed figures that she had placed outside her studio.

Mark Pack is one of the artists in residence this year at the Stutz.  I have seen his work before and due to my love of the natural world, am fascinated by the intricate designs in his carved acrylic paintings.

Three diverse artists share studio B240.  Kate Oberreich had a series of small paintings entitled “A Happy Home”.  I met Kate last summer when she was a part of Elegant Funk.  Her work is a collage of words and images that provoke thought.  She uses realistic images in an abstract manner.  Ginny Taylor Rosner photographs empty interiors giving insight into what contemporary man abandons and leaves behind.  Carol L. Myers is a print maker who is newly exploring watercolor as a way to express her visual ideas.  Themes of snail shells and trees run through her present work.

It was a great night at the Stutz and that is just a taste of what I saw.

I have always been drawn to natural, organic objects and choose to portray them with oil on textured surfaces. Often, I present my subject in "dynamic still life" with a shift of time through movement or growth-decay. I am originally from the rust-belt city of Rockford, Illinois. I left the manufacturing town to study fine art at Asbury College and find inspiration among the rolling hills and forests of rural Kentucky. Although consistently representational, I strive to create subtlety layered visual and philosophical metaphors. In 2005, I returned to the country's heartland where I am active in the local art community of Indianapolis, Indiana. Next to oil painting, my greatest passion is helping others appreciate art by teaching private classes.