Monday, August 29, 2016

Current Exhibition: Pam Douglas, Andrea Kichaven, Shelley Lazarus

August 30 – September 24, 2016

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 10, 5-8PM

Artist Panel: Saturday, September 17, 3pm


Pam Douglas – Rhythms
Pam Douglas, The Pulse of Our Times, Mixed media on canvas, 31 x 77"
Pam Douglas’ newest exhibition, “Rhythms” began in a doctor’s office where she lay hooked up to an electrocardiogram – an EKG machine. As she watched the lines form on the scrolling paper, Douglas was fascinated with the cadences, the peaks and rests that described her heart. Those series of rhythms inspired this newest series of paintings.

As Douglas explored, she asked, “What’s happening in the world that makes the heart clench?” She thought about the fear and hostility in our current political and social landscapes. Those anxieties bred mixed-media works utilizing newspaper headlines intertwined with the EKG lines. She also asked, “What helps the heart release?” The answer led to a monochromatic landscape constructed from an EKG that flat-lines into light.

Douglas’ palette of materials increased as these layers of meaning called for tougher mediums – rope, string, sand, as well as newsprint and paint. Representational elements – hands and birds – joined with abstractions.

Exploring this series further, Douglas’ subjects extended far beyond heartbeats. Waves of sound make similar rhythms, as do phases of nature. From heartbeats to sound waves, our lives are measured in pulses of energy. We sense universal tempos in the timing of our days.

Andrea Kichaven – Waves
Andrea Kichaven, Imagine, Acrylic on surfboard, 72 x 18 x 9"
In her exhibition entitled “Waves,” Southern California-based artist, Andrea Kichaven, takes a simple Californian staple, a leisurely stroll on beach, and transmutes the concept into something tangible by way of recycling worn out surfboards. Not only have these surfboards earned thousands of dollars for charities, they have earned the attention of many collectors.

“Surfboard art” is a departure for Kichaven in more ways than one. Abandoning her usual colorful and geometric compositions, Kichaven quite literally “rides the waves” with this body of work, letting the ocean tides and her imagination whisk her away to new heights and even greater depths. Even with the medium change, one will always be able to identify a Kichaven artwork by “how it makes one smile.”

Kichaven has painted on many sizes and surfaces, yet none have excited her more than this current obsession. Keeping with ecological and environmental thinking, Kichaven repurposes the surfboard as her own personal canvas, navigating the curves and grooves with her brush strokes, activating the space of an object whose function was previously exhausted. The boards cease to be surfboards the minute they are painted. They become a different shaped surface on which the artist can paint. The result is a body of work with as much variety as the waves themselves.

Shelley Lazarus – H20 COLOR
Shelley Lazarus, Gossip, Watercolor, 16 x 12.5"
Shelley Lazarus’ new works go back to her days in Brooklyn spending wonderful sun filled afternoons on the beaches of Coney Island and Brighton Beach. Today she has traded in her Atlantic Ocean times for the Pacific Ocean in Ventura, CA.

Watercolor has always been her medium of choice from the time she started traveling the globe with her husband. "Find a bench and pull out your very portable gear and get lost in the splendor of seeing your colors shimmering on the white page depicting your newest vista." Her paintings are noted for the vibrant colors that she works with. Shelley has never been a purist watercolor artist and will incorporate new ways to use her watercolors. Today she works in all forms of watercolors including mediums, photo papers and the infamous Yupa, besides finding new ways to use the many watercolor papers available today.

Shelley is a founding member of TAG and has been on its board since its inception, serving as president in 2000. She has been teaching watercolor to adults at the Brentwood Art Center for twenty-three years and is a signature member of many art related organizations including the Watercolor Honor Society. The proceeds of her shows go to the Robert David Lazarus Rehabilitation Unit at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in memory of her son Robert.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

2016 California Open Selections -- Paintings, part 4

Enjoy some selections from the 2016 TAG California Open Exhibition, which runs August 10-26.
Artists' Reception and Awards Ceremony: Saturday, August 13, 5 - 8 pm

Chuka Susan Chesney, Coffee with Jesus, Watercolor, pen and ink, 18" x 24" 
Charles Karp, Degas' Little Dancer, Oil on canvas, 48" x 26" 

Christo Linquata, Death of Christo, Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 72" x 96" 
Robert Nelson, Deliquescence, Graphite, white pencil and acrylic on shaped wood panel, 24" x 24"
Carolin Peters, Soil, Oil on Canvas, 30" x 24" 
Teresa Shea, Spaceman, Oil on canvas, 36" x 29"
Judy Sklar, Seated Woman With Dog, Watercolor on Paper, 24" x 18" 
Fred Tieken, Uno in Love, Acrylic & found object on canvas, 24" x 20" 
Jodi Weitzman, Want Some?, Oil on Canvas, 30" x 24"

2016 California Open Selections -- Paintings, part 3

Enjoy some selections from the 2016 TAG California Open Exhibition, which runs August 10-26.
Artists' Reception and Awards Ceremony: Saturday, August 13, 5 - 8 pm

David Alvarado, Rivi, Oil on linen, 24" x 18"
Donna Bates, The Threat in a Blue Hoodie 02, Oil and Acrylic on Linen, 36" x 24"
Kathryn Donatelli, Portrait of a Stylist, Oil on canvas, 18" x 14"
Ja'Rie Gray, Blackface: Anthony Port, Oil on Canvas, 5" x 5"
Misty Hawkins, Resolution, Oil on linen, 28" x 28"
Charles Karp, Machiavelli's Daughter, Oil on panel, 24" x 18"
Ellen Levine, Old World, New World, Oil and paper 20" x 24"
Christina Ramos, Going to California, Acrylic on Canvas, 36" x 24"

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

2016 California Open Selections -- Paintings, part 2

Enjoy some selections from the 2016 TAG California Open Exhibition, which runs August 10-26.
Artists' Reception and Awards Ceremony: Saturday, August 13, 5 - 8 pm


Eunice Choi, Supper II, Oil on wood panel, 24" x 18"
Roger Hatton, Orchids in Gold I, Oil on panel w/ brass leaf, 24" x 24"
 Walter Impert, The Contents of Her Purse, Oil, 30" x 24"

Pamela LeGrand, Botanical Beach Life, Oil on canvas, 24" x 20"
 Shirley Peppers, Carrots #1, Watercolor, 15" x 22"
Linsley Lambert, Slumber, Oil on panel, 7" x 9"
Hayley Quentin, Pink Noise #3, Oil on paper, 16" x 20"

2016 California Open Selections -- Paintings part 1

Enjoy some selections from the 2016 TAG California Open Exhibition, which runs August 10-26.
Artists' Reception and Awards Ceremony: Saturday, August 13, 5 - 8 pm
Harold Cleworth, Pupuseria, Acrylic on Canvas, 36" x 36"
Brent Gibb, Heading Toward the River, Acrylic on canvas, 10" x 20"

David Grigsby, Morning in Alhambra, Acrylic on canvas, 21" x 31"
Macey Lipman, Freeway To Oblivion #4, Oil on Canvas, 16" x 24"
Michael Manente, St. Mary's Alley, Oil on canvas, 26" x 36"
Jon Messer, Eads Bridge, St Louis, watercolor 14" x 24"
Timothee De Place, Summerland, Oil painting, 10" x 20"
Loraine Veeck, Ranch Creek, Pastel, 12" x 26"

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

2016 Califirnia Open Selections -- Drawings

Enjoy some selections from the 2016 TAG California Open Exhibition, which runs August 10-26.
Artists' Reception and Awards Ceremony: Saturday, August 13, 5 - 8 pm

Michele Benzamin-Miki, Elevation, Pencil and sumi ink on paper, 51" x 36"
Jodi Bonassi, Broken Thread, Graphite and Colored Pencil on Arches Paper, 43" x 27"
Moses Hamborg, Santiago, Charcoal and white chalk on toned arches paper 29" x 25"
Catherine Ruane, Concertine, Graphite on charcoal paper,artboard, 36" x 36" x 2"
Catherine Ruane, July, Graphite, charcoal, 22" x 30" x 2"
Ruth Shively, What Do You Want. Charcoal and Graphite on paper, 24" x 36"
Petert Walker, Porsche Design, Graphite on paper, 24" x 14"
Ireland Wisdom, Ian, Charcoal, white chalk, ink, 28" x 22"

2016 California Open Selections -- Printmaking, Digital, Mixed Media

Enjoy some selections from the 2016 TAG California Open Exhibition, which runs August 10-26.
Artists' Reception and Awards Ceremony: Saturday, August 13, 5 - 8 pm

David Dumo, Gazer Lilly Pose, Digital Photographic Collage, 16" x 20"
Lee Dollison, Borderland, Pastel, mixed media 21.5" x 21.75"
Lee Dollison, The Queen's Shroud, Pastel, mixed media, 22.25" x 11" x 0.5"
Mercedes McDonald, Life After Life, Poured plaster, graphite, watercolor, ink, 47" x 24" x 1"
Lynn Doran, Frida, Linocut, 12" x 12"
Diego Lasansky, The Window (WS), Lithograph, 32" x 24"
Neil Shigley, George 70, Block Print Mounted, 50" x 36" x 1.5"