“Barns and Beyond”-Watercolorists Unlimited (Lisa Walsh)

 “Barns and Beyond”-Watercolorists Unlimited (Lisa Walsh)

By Bob Gilbert

see pictures from the show on Facebook: Gourgaud Gallery

By June 3-24, 2012 “Barns and Beyond”-Watercolorists Unlimited (Lisa Walsh)

Lisa Walsh, who heads the group “Watercolorists Unlimited”, will have a showing of her group’s paintings. The reception is June 3 (1-3 PM). Refreshments will be served.

The following is an interview with Lisa Walsh:

How and when did you get interested in forming this group?

I've been involved with this group for 12 years. The original group formed 25 years ago, this being our 25^th anniversary year. There are still two members who are original members. They are Bernice Fatto, and Wilma Shimer.

Have you had formal art training?  If so, describe.

I majored in art in college at The Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore. Many of the painters in our group have been professional artists working in fields such as textile design, graphic design and as art teachers.

The work is in watercolor.  Why do you prefer this medium?

There is luminosity to watercolor that you really can't achieve in any other medium.

How does the group select subject matter for paintings?

We discuss it at every meeting. We've kept a list of the subjects we've painted over the years, and sometimes we'll go back to one we've done before.

What artists have influenced or inspired the group?

 Lucille Geiser was the original member of the group and she is still quoted in some of our critiques. Also, Biff Hines was a great influence to many of the members. But we are regularly influenced by one another in our critiques.

In your opinion, what is the relative importance of “raw talent” vs. training when it comes to becoming an artist?  Can a person with modest talent benefit substantially from proper training, and does a person with great talent require training?

I personally believe that you learn through doing and seeing. I think we all get better by looking at the other paintings in our group, and by hearing what others say about our paintings. Critique is a great learning tool.

As part of the non-profit CAC, the Gourgaud Gallery donates 20% of any art sales back to the CAC and its programs that support and promote the Arts in our community. The Gallery is located in Town Hall and is free and open to the public Mon- Fri from 9 AM. – 4 PM. and the First, Third & Last Sunday of the month from 1-3 PM. New exhibit receptions fall on the First Sunday from 1-3 PM , unless otherwise specified. You can meet the exhibiting Artist(s). Refreshments are served at the Artist Reception. Anyone wishing to exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery can obtain an application at the Gallery or at www.cranbury.org. For information on upcoming programs and events, join us on FACEBOOK: GOURGAUD GALLERY, and on the GOURGAUD GALLERY BLOG at www.Gourgaudgallery.blogspot.com . If you are interested in CAC membership or participating in any way, please email us at cranburyartscouncil@gmail.com.

"An Evening with George" at the Gourgaud Gallery

"An Evening with George" at the Gourgaud GalleryThe Gourgaud Gallery will host a one night art exhibit, featuring nearly 30 paintings by the late George Stave. This event, "An Evening with George," will be held in the Gourgaud Gallery on June 1, Friday evening from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. The public is invited to view these privately owned paintings and visit with the families who loaned the pieces. The exhibit was curated by Mr. Stave's wife, Mabubeh Stave as a memorial to George and it offers a rare opportunity to see Mr. Stave's work from private collections.

Mr. Stave was a prolific and highly respected painter. He was born July 29, 1923 in Los Angeles, CA. After growing up in Salinas, CA, he returned to Los Angeles at the age of 17 as a scholarship student at the Chouinard Art Institute. In his early 20's Mr. Stave worked as a set painter in the art department of Paramount Studios and as a painting instructor at the Jepson Art Institute. In 1949, he moved to Paris where he studied painting at the Academie Julian. Mr. Stave was awarded a Fulbright Act grant in 1951 for a year's study in India and then traveled throughout Southeast Asia and Japan, where he studied and collected art. In the mid 1950s he returned to New York where he was a student of the abstract expressionist painter Robert Motherwell at Hunter College. A member of the United Scenic Artists union, he worked for most of his career as a set painter for NBC Studios and later, Lincoln Scenic Studios, in New York.


In 1958, he and his wife Mahbubeh Stave moved to Cranbury from New York City.


This is Mr. Stave's third exhibition in the Gourgaud Gallery. He was actively involved in saving the building that houses the Gourgaud Gallery from demolition in 1966 and he and his wife served on the committee that chose to use the space as a gallery. Mr. Stave first showed his work in the inaugural exhibition in 1976 and then again in 1981.

The exhibit is open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The pieces in the exhibit will not be available for purchase, and the exhibit will be removed that evening to allow for the upcoming exhibit of Watercolorists Unlimited to be displayed for their regular Sunday opening on June 3.

2012 Art in the Park Plein Air Series offered by the Cranbury Arts Council

Welcome to the 2012 Art in the Park Plein Air Series offered by the Cranbury Arts Council. This is the tenth anniversary of the free plein air event and offers new locations to paint in the open air from May - October on Sundays from noon to 4 pm. The series ends in October in Village Park in Cranbury, which was the very first location that began the series ten years ago. The artists who participate will have the opportunity to share their work from the series in the December show in the Cranbury Arts Councl's Gourgaud Gallery located in Town Hall, Cranbury. The events are rain or shine with no rain dates.

Art in the Park 2012 Schedule:

CHECK ON LINE FOR DIRECTIONS TO LOCATIONS

May 20 – 39 Cranbury Neck Rd. Cranbury

June 17 – Mt. Lakes Nature Preserve, Princeton
July 15 – Sayen Gardens, Hamilton
August 19 – "Paint on Main" Main St., Cranbury(between Evans Dr. & Plainsboro Rd. and the West Property)
September 16 – Plainsboro Preserve, Plainsboro
October 21 – Village Park, Cranbury