|
|
Behind the brush: Executive secretary showcases paintings in first solo exhibit |
| By
Jacob Corkins |
|
Jun 11, 2008
|
|
 |
| Scott |
Travel from Tuscany, Italy, to the Great Plains at Patsy A. Scott’s “Canvas Illusions” exhibit on display outside the Canaday Center in Carlson Library on Main Campus.
Painting since she was 12, the executive secretary in Faculty Labor Relations has always been interested in art. When she was younger, Scott would save the paints from her paint-by-numbers kits to create her own pieces rather than work on the pre-drawn images.
Creating beautiful landscapes such as “Layers of Tuscany,” “Sunrise on the Beach” and “Seaside Bluff,” Scott said since she hasn’t traveled much, this was her way of going to places around the world.
“I travel through books, magazines and movies … I watch a lot of the Travel Channel,” she said, adding once she sees the images, she doesn’t forget them when it comes time to paint.
Drawing inspiration from the great artists Monet, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, she has made attempts to mimic them in her painting, “Water Lilies of Monet.”
Like Monet, Scott paints mostly landscapes or nature scenes, but also has shown talent in painting portraits such as “Emperor’s Guest” and “Bailero.”
An artist who paints solely with acrylics, Scott made a change after she discovered the technique of underpainting; she mentioned she learned the method while watching a television series with Jerry Yarnell.
Underpainting is a technique where an artist works in layers to create an image. Painting in layers helps the artist bring out color schemes and shadows later in the painting.
Before Scott began each painting, she said, there would be an image in her head and she would look at the canvas without even picking up a brush and the image would reveal itself over time.
When Scott sat down to paint “Sins of Cotton Field Seven,” she said she was thinking about doing a piece with cotton flowers because of their simple beauty, but she also was thinking about the seven deadly sins, which are hidden inside the painting.
“I would like to think of [painting] as a hobby or a form of therapy … it’s very relaxing and you can get lost in it and hours will pass by,” Scott said.
Mostly painting by commission, Scott said she rarely has a painting lying around her house because she sells them as quickly as she paints them.
When commissioned to fashion a work of art, Scott said she likes to take photographs of the painting in the various stages of its conception, considering it a photographic journey of the creation of the work.
Most often, it is friends of Scott’s who will ask her to create paintings similar to the ones they saw somewhere, but would like to change a little. They rely on her talents and vision to create a piece that's comparable, yet different.
Though she often finds inspiration from the works of other artists, Scott always attaches the image inspiring the painting behind it as an attribution.
Scott said she also noticed her daughter has an interest in art. “When she would bring her homework home there would be doodling all over it,” she said, adding she had done that when she was younger.
“I think it may be genetic,” Scott said, pointing out an image in the office painted by her sister.
Though her paintings won't be officially judged by other artists, Scott said that this exhibit is one way for her to show that “you don’t have to have ribbons” to prove you are an accomplished artist.
Scott hopes to one day run a gallery featuring works by talented, non-juried artists to help get exposure for their works.
“Canvas Illusions,” Scott’s first solo show, can be seen throughout June on the fifth floor of Carlson Library Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
There will be a reception with the artist Wednesday, June, 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Paintings featured in the free, public exhibit will be for sale at that time.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
