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Innersport's Spring Art Show
Our spring show defied all themes; you just had to see it for yourself! Innersport's
spring art show showcased works by
Scott Courtenay-Smith, Sally Kiehn, and Nita Moreno.
And, for the first time, Innersport participated in East Bay Open
Studios during the
first two weekends in June (June 4&5, 11th & 12th) from 11-6. We featured works
on paper by Lila Wahrhaftig and art by Scott, Sally and Nita.
Scott Courtenay-Smith
www.scottcourtenay-smith.com
scott@scottcourtenay-smith.com
I am interested in the things that go un-noticed or overlooked — the telephone poles, the construction sites, or the accidental sculpture of an old piece of barbed wire on the corner of a building. I am drawn to things so common that they have become invisible.
I look for the underlying structure of things — the unseen energy beneath the outer skin. I like buildings going up or buildings coming down — because their skeletons and guts are exposed.
Furthermore I am interested in how — in an urban environment — the man-made things define the land and the sky that is around them - how they create these new "places". I am always imagining, however, what this place would be without the things. So there is a duality going on — of what is and what lay beneath.
Whether what is beneath actually exists, or if I am imagining/ remembering/ dreaming it, is unclear to me.
I embrace this lack of clarity, however. I like that paintings can create places that exist, but do not exist… or that exist in our consciousness and sub-consciousness at the same time. I like the idea of being awake and dreaming.
Because of this, my technique is a balancing act between the intentional and the accidental—the realistic and the abstract. On one hand I want the work to be accessible to people — for them to say; "Oh — I know that place." But then I want to challenge them, subtly, to look deeper — see fully. I want them to stop and say; "But wait a minute — do I?" "Or is there something more that I’ve been missing?"
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Sally Kiehn
Skiehn2001@aol.com
Over 20 years ago I remember turning around in a crowded exhibition and being “hit” by the magic of a painting. My eyes had unexpectedly alighted upon a painting by Monet - “Grain stacks at Noon.” It glowed in its sun and the summer day washed over me. I was awestruck. When I viewed it moments before I appreciated it but had not experienced this wonderful impact.
A painting can instantaneously throw us into our real selves, out of our conditioning and beyond the limitations of words or habitual thought processes. We have a pure experience. We come alive and life is intensified. Perhaps my paintings in their own way can generate a similar response so that a piece of life opens up which would otherwise go unnoticed or forgotten.
Nature is a teacher and a healer for me. From nature I get wisdom and solace. I see it, I smell and touch it and it revives my spirit. I paint to express that which I notice and feel. When I paint I am in joy. I am always reaching for the luminosity of life, the Light - the life contained in a single moment or object whether it is the softness of a petal, the new green of a bud or a sweeping landscape. I am intrigued by the changing cycles of nature and by the concepts of time which govern our lives. It is all magic and full of mystery. It’s about recording a quality: a longing brought to the present, or a dream touched upon, or memories and emotions rekindled.
So, it is a process of translation, a transferring of feelings and associations onto a visual format, making the intangible and fleeting held for longer than a moment for the mind to rest upon and rejuvenate. I am interested in simplicity, the essence of something, the relationship of light and shape. My subject matter is taken from around the Bay Area, frequently being landscapes of California hills and the marshlands and trails of Point Reyes. The lotus continues to captivate me with its beauty, mystery and spiritual symbology. To me, the cycle of the lotus is an ever continuing explosion of creation, proliferation and confusion. Like life itself. Mediums affect me differently. I love the translucency and spontaneity of watercolor, the immediacy and fun of pastel, and with oil, I feel I am touching into a serious medium.
I have exhibited with the East Bay Watercolor Society (now California Watercolor Society) and the Pastel Society of the West Coast.
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Nita Moreno
jmoreno_art@yahoo.com
Nita Moreno received her B.F.A in Design/ Illustration
from the Illinois Institute of Art. A Bay Area fine
artist and educator, her individual works reside in
several cities across the United States, and she
handles commissions regularly.
Nita has always been drawn to the tranquility in
nature, and the beauty of the water and waterfront
towns. Her interest was born near the Chicago
lakefront, nurtured by warm waters in Key West,
Florida, and began to bear fruit near the San
Francisco Bay.
Where water meets land is an always changing milieu,
where subtle differences in light or color make a
location look different each time one attempts to
capture its' beauty and diversity. Nita's personal
interpretation and style have developed in response to
the coastal beauty, and the colorful character of the
Bay Areas' unique setting. Working near the water
promotes her creative and personal renewal.
Nita combines plein air painting with studio work from
travel sketches and photos. She employs loose,
colorful, "wet-into-wet" washes as a base for her
paintings; then gradually works from light to dark to
create high contrast and intensify drama.
Nita is a member of the California Watercolor Society.
Recent Exhibitions:
Pro Arts East Bay Open Studios, Group
Exhibit, Oakland, Ca.
Art Span Open Studios, Group Exhibit, San Francisco,
Ca.
Morning Brew Coffee Company, Solo Exhibit, San
Francisco, Ca.
San Mateo County Fair, Fine Art Exhibit, San Mateo,
Ca.
Recent Commissions:
"The Georgina," JoJo Espinosa, South San
Francisco, Ca.
"Landscape 1" painting, Robert W. Baker, Egg
Harbor, N.J.
"Bay Bridge" painting, Laura Martin, San
Francisco, Ca.
"Wire work" paintings, Lisa De Mattei, South San
Francisco, Ca.
Teaching and Lecturing:
Private instruction in watercolors, Francis
Griffith, South San Francisco, Ca, 2005.
Instructor in watercolors, City of South San
Francisco Parks & Recreation, 2001-present .
Instructor in watercolors, Kollage Community Center
for the Arts, Belmont, Ca., 1999-04.
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