Painters and Potters Instructor and Students

Painters and Potters is a very popular exhibition and one of the best attended here at Studio 23. There are many reasons as to why that is, but I think this is because of the relationships you see in the work of the instructors and students. These three images show the profound affect a teacher can have on their pupils. The first painting is done by one of our instructors Michelle Courier and the two other paintings are done by her students. What is so striking about the three of these paintings is the intense color.

Michelle uses color as a way to draw viewers in from a distance and once the viewer is closer to the work you see all of her layering and detail. Veryl uses color in the same way, except she paints in a more realistic way, where as Michelle’s work is more impressionistic and abstracted. Where Michelle and Veryl use realistic spaces done from photographs the third artist Denver chooses to compose his paintings from his imagination. His painting “Blue on Blue” is a dreamlike landscape where one looses sight of reality and is lost in the vast space that is at once both entirely abstract and a fully rendered landscape. He uses the intense blue as the main focus and the image takes the passenger seat. Both Veryl and Denver manipulate color in a similar way to Michelle. Most likely all three use paint straight from the tube so they don’t muddy the color. This makes for a painting that is imbued with color that is realistic, but taken to a much higher level than reality.

Historically students use similar techniques to their teachers in their own way. Denver and Veryl are both great examples of this trend. Michelle divides the spatial cues of the landscape up into smaller smooth sections of abstract lines and blended color. Veryl uses this technique in her own way, but her colors are less blended and her brush work has a coarser texture. Denver’s brushwork is smooth like Michelle’s, but he uses almost purely long horizontal strokes and tints of pthalo blue to break up his space.

All three pieces are connected and separate in their own identity, and that is what makes their work, as well as Painters and Potters such a fantastic exhibition that you should not miss.

 
 
Posted 11 November 2022

21st Annual Back & White Affair and Art Auction

21st Annual Black & White Affair and Art Auction December 9, 2022 6 – 9 p.m. The Black & White Affair is returning this Friday, December 9, and we are excited for an evening of drinks, hors d’oeuvres, live music, and a live auction of artwork by local artists. The annual Black &...

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Posted 8 July 2022

Congratulations to the winners of our Summer Solstice Art-a-Thon Plein Air Paint Out!

On Saturday, June 25, 13 artists visited 12 farms growing sugar beets for Michigan Sugar and spent the morning and afternoon painting the fields, buildings, and scenery of the farms. Artist checked in at Studio 23 beginning at 8 a.m. and had paintings finished and framed by 4 p.m. the same...

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