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GALLERY HAPPENINGS September 2016

September at Gallery Moab
by Larry Thomas

The guest artist at Gallery Moab for September is Moab resident Nichole B. Taylor. With a background originating in farming and with a love for agriculture and small town America, Nichole Taylor began creating art in her childhood as a means of expressing the world around her. While acquiring a Bachelor’s Degree at Southern Utah University, Nichole launched her art career and soon discovered Colored Pencil Art and Realism.

Realism plays a dominant role in Nichole’s work. From the grass rising through the course sagebrush to the morning light gleaming around gaps in the rough-hewn logs of a saddle shed, Nichole strives to capture the fine details that abound in the ranching and agriculture heritage. Her inspiration stems from the stories of the ranchers, farmers, and families who have committed their lives to some of the most demanding but rewarding industries in America. The lifestyle is the art, rugged and harsh but beautiful with a gritty simplicity.Nichole Taylor

If you think colored pencils are just something schoolchildren use for coloring you are in for a surprise. Colored pencils in the hands of an artist turn into a terrific medium for fine art work. Nichole Taylor presents paintings that catch every beautiful detail of her subjects.

In addition to a B.A. degree from Southern Utah University she studied in London and Paris. She a winner of the Colored Pencil Magazine art challenge – pro/advanced competition and is featured on the back cover of the August 2012 issue of the magazine. Her work has been shown in exhibitions in Tacoma, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia in addition to Utah, and she had a piece featured in the inaugural exhibit for the newly opened Southern Utah Museum of Art. She has been in six publications and is in private collections in the U.S. and New Zealand.

Nichol Taylor’s work will be on display in Gallery Moab 87 N. Main. from September 9th through October 6th.
Each month the Gallery Moab features one of its permanent members with the guest artist. This months featured artist is Michael V. Porter, a conceptual ceramicist. Michael brings the light and sounds of post industrial culture to ceramics; He feels clay is a stimulating vehicle for creating the new and original.Michael V.Porter

With a Bachelor of Arts degree from Utah State University and a Master of Fine Arts from BYU Michael is well grounded in his chosen field. His many awards including the latest 2014 Four Corners Arts Awards Best of Show attest to the mastery of his work. Mike is currently exploring his license plate series of mugs, bottles and oil lamps. License plates are pieces of history, ownership and identity. They are symbolic of mans individualism and freedom that is connected to the automobile. License plates are stamped out by the millions yet each has its own identity.

Michael toils away in southern Utah and was selected as “Utah Art Educator of the Year” in 2009 while teaching art at Whitehorse High School on the Navajo Reservation.

The gallery at 87 N. Main joins the Moab Art Walk on Sept. 10th with a reception for Nichole Taylor and Michael V. Porter. Gallery Moab is a co-op gallery with 23 members. All items in the gallery are hand made in the local Moab & southeast Utah area. You will find fine art paintings in oil, watercolor, pastel and alcohol ink. Stunning photographs of our red rock country grace the walls. Woodcarvings, molded glass, jewelry, ceramic figures and mugs inspired by license plates complete the varied offerings.

Open 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Wednesday – Saturday; Sunday 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Closed Monday and Tuesday
87 North Main Street. 435/355-0024
gallerymoab.com
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Moab Pastel Guild featured at the Bighorn Gallery

The Moab Pastel Guild will return to the Bighorn Gallery at Dead Horse Point State Park from September 1, through February 1 with a new show entitled “MelodicThea Nordling Lines.” The Guild is a group of like-minded local artists who meet regularly to paint, offer mutual support, inspire one another, and critique each others’ work.

The group has been working together for several years, enthusiastically embracing opportunities to learn and experiment with different techniques and approaches to composition. All share a deep love of the surrounding landscape and its ever-changing light, moods, and colors. Over time, each member has developed a unique personal vision and style. Several have received awards for art entered in shows in Utah and Colorado. The artists all initially focused on honing their skills with pastel, but now some are expanding their repertoire by working in watercolor and oils as well.

Pastel is often mistakenly confused with chalk. It is quite different. Pastel is pure Sarah Hamingsonpigment mixed with just enough binder to hold it together in stick form. The purity of the pigments lets their brilliance glow. Pastel is a very vibrant and versatile medium that mixes well with other mediums. Some artists use only dry pastel on paper. Others apply it over underpaintings rendered in watercolor, acrylic, or pastel dissolved in turpenoid or alcohol on heavier, textured surfaces. The resulting works are varied, ranging from detailed realism and more loosely rendered impressionism to abstraction.

Subject matter includes our beloved local landscape, as well as animals, flowers, and more distant landscapes which have inspired the artists. Works on display will include both paintings created in the studio and en plein air. During the exhibition the original paintings will be available for purchase, as well as prints and note cards.

Mary CollarThe Guild members invite you to join them for an opening reception at the Bighorn Gallery on Saturday, September 10 from noon to 3 p.m. Entrance to the park will be free for those attending the reception.

The participating artists are Helen Becker, Mary Collar, Victoria Fugit, Sarah Hamingson, Peggy Harty, Margie Lopez-Read, Marsha Modine, Thea Nordling, Charlotte Quigley and Larry Thomas.

Dead Horse Point is located nine miles north of Moab on US 191, and 23 miles south on SR313. The visitor center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Park admission is $10 per vehicle for three days. For more information, please contact the park at 435-259-2614 and be sure to mention you read about Dead Horse Point State Park in the Moab Happenings.

 

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