Julia Dyche, George Hunt, Lynnette Knight and Michael Lynch were all students of George Rose at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri.  During that time, they also got to know George Rose’s wife, Rose Ventling. All of these artists have since remained Kindred Spirits.

Julia, George, Lynnette and Michael all went on to earn MFA’s after studying with Mr. Rose at NWMSU.

Bridget Marcus has been bird watching for most of her life and her wonder and love for birds is only increasing as the vulnerability of our avian neighbors becomes ever clearer. Growing up in South Africa much of her free time was spent in the “bushveld” resulting in a deep knowledge of South African birds. Since emigrating to the midwest United States, she has grown to know and love the birds of eastern deciduous forests and urban gardens.

About five years ago, inspired by her mother’s watercolor painting, she took watercolor and then pastel classes at the Des Moines Art Center. During this time she started doing a watercolor or sketch of the bird depicted on the Audubon ‘bird a day‘ calendar and has now a collection of about 1500 of these birds, some in sketch books and some on watercolor paper. A small sample of these birds are included in this exhibition.

Bridget loves intense, highly saturated color and so has been drawn to pastels. Jack Wilkes, her private teacher and mentor, has exposed her to the magic of this medium. The birds selected in the “Flight Patterns” series shown here are South African birds in flight. The backgrounds either represent an “African” pattern seen in fabric and in indigenous art forms, or seek to depict the birds’ environment, maintaining a tension between bird and background.

Elephants have been another source of wonderment for Bridget and she has been fortunate to have had numerous awe-inspiring – and on one occasion terrifying – elephant experiences in Southern Africa. In addition she and her family adopted a couple of elephant orphans at the Sheldrick Orphanage in Nairobi and were then able to visit this remarkable facility. The plight of African elephants is desperate and Bridget seeks to draw attention to their magnificence using charcoal which seems to capture their majesty particularly well.

As a part of Bridget’s commitment to aid in bird conservation, she will donate 30% of any sales at this exhibition or from online sales to the Audubon Society to assist them in the meaningful work being done by this important organization.

Learn more and purchase her artwork at
www.bridgetmarcusart.com

Life, The Universe and Rainbows
Artist's Statement:
"I am a mixed media artist.  The base of my work is created with alcohol ink on yupo paper. Also displayed are some ceramic pieces I created at my Paint Your Own Pottery Studio - Five Monkeys Inc.

I have loved rainbows since I was a small child.  There isn't a time that I see something with a rainbow on it that it doesn't make my heart smile.  Creating with the whole color spectrum just makes me happy.  This body of work is very circle centric.  The first few pieces had circles so I just kind of went with it.  Much of my work has cut out pieces which makes for lots of scraps of beautifully colored pieces and I don't like to waste anything, most certainly anything pretty, so you'll see bits and pieces of the same paper in multiple finished pieces.  "Life" is made from leftover pieces of paper from the last three or four years, it is also my largest paper piece to date. "

Welcome back to a more regular library and art gallery experience!! We hope you enjoy being in the library and take a little time to browse the gallery while you're here. Deborah Beenken's fluid art is in the gallery May 1- June 14.

Here's her artist's statement:
"I am a self-taught mixed media abstract artist currently working in fluid art. I was drawn to fluid art because of its free-flowing process. What I didn’t realize was I had to let go of any preconceived ideas of having total control over the movement of the paint. I had to “go with the flow” which has not been an easy for me to do. In my mixed media abstract artwork, I have control and a very specific direction of where each piece of work is going. In fluid art, the paint has a mind of its own and tends to go where it wants to.
 
I’ve always been attracted to lively, vivid colors. Most of my pieces showcase my love of color. Bright colors bring me joy and simply make me happy. It has taken a lot of trial and error to find my perfect product-to-paint ratio and finding which colors work well together and which ones do not. Fluid art has become a relaxing release for me. Release of everyday stress, emotions, and frustrations."

– Deborah Beenken, DeBe Creative Art

The library closed due to the Covid-19 outbreak just a couple days after Dina Bechman hung her artwork in the gallery. We're sorry we missed her show time. But she has agreed to share her work with us in 2021, again in March and April!

We look forward to when the library reopens and we can see local artist's work in the gallery. We hope everyone stays healthy until then!

The Iowa Watercolor Society was organized in 1977 by a small group of enthusiastic watercolorists. Which means they are 39 years old this year! IWS now celebrates well over 150 members and offers the opportunity for interested painters to network with artists statewide. Find out more about them at www.iowawatercolorsociety.org

This miniature show has become an annual event at our gallery and we hope you enjoy another year of wonderful little paintings. Get up close and enjoy!

Artists include:
Ann Pisarik
Anna L Conway
Carleen Hon
Connie Guillaume
Debra Garner
Jean McReynolds
Kathy Strohl
Linda Schanus
Lisa M Christensen
Marilyn Romine
Martha Rhoades
Mary Johnson
Mayela Fonseca
Rich Parker
Susan C Colby
Susan D Jauron

Exploring the visual differences between the less-traveled paths of both US coasts and the Midwestern "no coast," Direction depicts a desolate country of architectural landscapes and forgotten facades, with an occasional familiar landmark through photography.

Utilizing his professional background in graphic design, Jeremy Downs is influenced by principles including color theory and careful composition to create a unique portrayal of each location. He focuses primarily on the inanimate, while highlighting the subject's essense via use of exaggerated while often complementary color.

He enjoys exploring and capturing these pieces of history, while still possible. As a growing number of the buildings photographed are demolished, Jeremy feels fortunate to have witnessed the former effect on their surrounding and vice versa.

Gary and Kathleen are native Iowans, who currently reside near Madrid, Iowa.Gary has been photographing for over 50 years.  He began with film and moved to digital photography, enhancing his skills through photo workshops and seminars, and striving to understand more about the birds, insects, plants and animals that share our world. ​

Kathleen has had an interest in photography for several years, first taking snapshots of the gardens and pets, then becoming more active especially in landscape photography.

Gary enjoys photographing nature in any form, but also finds pleasure in capturing uncommon views of common subjects, with the Des Moines area offering many beautiful opportunities. His photos are primarily of Iowa, but he and Kathleen also enjoy traveling and capturing photos around the United States.  State, county and National Parks are favorite places to shoot photos. Weekend trips and vacations are always planned with photographic opportunities in mind.  Residing near several parks and their own bird and butterfly gardens provide opportunities to photograph birds and wildlife.

Visit www.garyhoardphotography.com for more information

Patrick is primarily self-taught. His work has developed over the past 20 years, starting with more representative work, and gradually becoming more and more abstract. This was not a conscious decision, it just happened. 
 
Patrick explains, "I rarely start a painting with any preconceived notion of where it will end up. I may have a specific color or shape in mind, but there’s very little forethought on what the final painting will look like. Instead, I begin painting and let the emerging composition direct me.  I continue to work it until it develops into a balanced, dramatic, and (hopefully) aesthetically pleasing form.  At that point, I know it’s done.  If it never gets to that point (and many don’t), I re-prime the canvas and start over.  This exhibit is a collection of work I’ve completed over the past year or two.  I appreciate you taking the time to look and I hope you like it."