Exhibition Dates: April 17th - June 7th
Spring exhibitions featuring various artists, Jay Kemp, Kim Karelson, Mary Ann Klimek, Marie-Helene Gardelle, Eleanor Stecker, Pat Burns, and Bambi Rogers.
Wildlife and Gainesville native artist Jay Kemp "Into the Wild" will feature Jay's original work with the perfection of detail, exquisite coloration, and, above all, the unique style that juxtaposes illusion and emotion with superrealism. Sculpture, raku and bronzes featuring artist Marie-Helene Gardelle and Mary Ann Klimek in "Art Reflections". Atlanta artist Kim Karelson first solo exhibition "So Here We Are" and her surreal landscapes. "Out West in Georgia" featuring various artists Eleanor Stecker, Pat Burns and Bambi Rogers western art.
Wildlife and Gainesville native artist Jay Kemp "Into the Wild" will feature Jay's original work with the perfection of detail, exquisite coloration, and, above all, the unique style that juxtaposes illusion and emotion with superrealism. Sculpture, raku and bronzes featuring artist Marie-Helene Gardelle and Mary Ann Klimek in "Art Reflections". Atlanta artist Kim Karelson first solo exhibition "So Here We Are" and her surreal landscapes. "Out West in Georgia" featuring various artists Eleanor Stecker, Pat Burns and Bambi Rogers western art.
JAY KEMP
"INTO THE WILD"
With artistic mastery far beyond his years, Jay Kemp’s work is highly sought after by art connoisseurs for its perfection of detail, exquisite coloration and unique style that juxtaposes illusion and emotions with super realism. His acrylic, oil, watercolor and gouache paintings capture the very soul and spirit of nature. Created from his experiences and travels in nature and coupled with his unique vision of art, his paintings are developed and based on abstract principles of composition where he pays careful attention to the relationship and arrangement of shapes and forms. Kemp says he does not pursue a painting of any subject without a solid artistic foundation.
After attending Anderson College on a baseball scholarship and graduating from North Georgia College and State University on a full art scholarship, Kemp dedicated his life to pursuing what had become his passion in life----wildlife art. He began his career as a professional artist in 1991. Knowing that there was nothing better than experiencing nature first hand, he began to invest as much time as possible in the outdoors learning all he possibly could about nature itself. The intensity of the sun, the different lights of the seasons, the wind, the rain, the snow, the fog and even the smells all became a part of his artistic vision and are drawn upon firsthand to create his paintings.
An avid outdoorsman, Kemp paints subjects he knows and enjoys most----wildlife, nature, and the outdoors. Although he may use up to five hundred reference materials for a single painting, Kemp draws from his experience outdoors to create his realistic works. With each painting, he carefully plans every element, recreating momentary images through hours of work to produce incredibly realistic still life shots. “I strive to capture those images that pass quickly in our lives, leaving a fleeting yet memorable impression,” says the artist,
Among several other best of shows and excellence awards, Kemp was chosen as an artist to watch by U. S. Art Magazine and won the Nature Works Art Show’s “Award of Excellence”. He also received the Florida Wildlife Exposition’s highest award, “The People’s Choice Award”, and most recently has been chosen as the Featured Artist for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston., South Carolina for February 2013.
Kemp, along with his wife and two sons, live in Gainesville, Georgia on Lake Lanier, a 38,000 acre lake surrounded by wildlife and nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He has traveled throughout North America in search of reference and artistic insight, and yet his paintings are developed from experiences within a few miles of this home.
When asked about his artwork, Kemp will tell you he is most excited about the use of his art to help raise awareness and monetary support for many conservation groups, nature centers, and environmental groups as well as related charities. He continues to be very concerned about our environment and hopes that through his work, he can continue to inspire, educate, and influence people to support environmental causes around the world ultimately helping to protect our planet from destruction.
Ask Jay Kemp what his ultimate goal for his artistic endeavors is and you will hear an answer straight from his heart: “I want people to experience the power, the beauty, and the infinite possibilities that nature and art have impressed upon my very soul. If I can accomplish that, I will feel I have succeeded as an artist...”
After attending Anderson College on a baseball scholarship and graduating from North Georgia College and State University on a full art scholarship, Kemp dedicated his life to pursuing what had become his passion in life----wildlife art. He began his career as a professional artist in 1991. Knowing that there was nothing better than experiencing nature first hand, he began to invest as much time as possible in the outdoors learning all he possibly could about nature itself. The intensity of the sun, the different lights of the seasons, the wind, the rain, the snow, the fog and even the smells all became a part of his artistic vision and are drawn upon firsthand to create his paintings.
An avid outdoorsman, Kemp paints subjects he knows and enjoys most----wildlife, nature, and the outdoors. Although he may use up to five hundred reference materials for a single painting, Kemp draws from his experience outdoors to create his realistic works. With each painting, he carefully plans every element, recreating momentary images through hours of work to produce incredibly realistic still life shots. “I strive to capture those images that pass quickly in our lives, leaving a fleeting yet memorable impression,” says the artist,
Among several other best of shows and excellence awards, Kemp was chosen as an artist to watch by U. S. Art Magazine and won the Nature Works Art Show’s “Award of Excellence”. He also received the Florida Wildlife Exposition’s highest award, “The People’s Choice Award”, and most recently has been chosen as the Featured Artist for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston., South Carolina for February 2013.
Kemp, along with his wife and two sons, live in Gainesville, Georgia on Lake Lanier, a 38,000 acre lake surrounded by wildlife and nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He has traveled throughout North America in search of reference and artistic insight, and yet his paintings are developed from experiences within a few miles of this home.
When asked about his artwork, Kemp will tell you he is most excited about the use of his art to help raise awareness and monetary support for many conservation groups, nature centers, and environmental groups as well as related charities. He continues to be very concerned about our environment and hopes that through his work, he can continue to inspire, educate, and influence people to support environmental causes around the world ultimately helping to protect our planet from destruction.
Ask Jay Kemp what his ultimate goal for his artistic endeavors is and you will hear an answer straight from his heart: “I want people to experience the power, the beauty, and the infinite possibilities that nature and art have impressed upon my very soul. If I can accomplish that, I will feel I have succeeded as an artist...”
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KIM KARELSON "So Here We Are"
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BAMBI ROGERS "Out West in Georgia"
I
knew, I always knew, I was here to create art. I can still remember that thrill
of
seeing those amazing colors in my Crayola box. Their smell, their feel filled
me with excitement. That thrill and that excitement is amplified every time I
open and see those amazing pigments in my watercolor palette knowing the
potential that awaits me.
I am eternally grateful to have this life as an artist. To have a community of artist’s comrades whose creative energy only ignites my own. Being a part of an artist community has enriched my life and career in untold ways. The colors of nature have been my passion, as art has been the focus of my life, driving me to paint nature's awesome beauty. Nothing in nature stays the same there are always new skies, new colors in the changing light in the landscape. Always something new and divine to discover that fuels my passion to paint. I am blessed to wake up every morning filled with a passion and excitement to keep exploring nature’s beauty.....chasing that beauty of life and nature and expressing it in my paintings. |
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ELEANOR STECKER "Out West In Georgia"
My journey as an artist is that of a romantic storyteller. My art illustrates the stories that explore the fantasy worlds that people create to express their inner most selves. I am an artistic voyeur, a "fly on the wall." I use my skills of drawing, painting and observation to create a moment, a picture, of people engaged in their own passionate humanity.
I have been an artist now for 50 years and in that time I have explored many genres of artistic expression. I have always been interested in creating a world with my art that tells stories that elevate everyday life into a special and magical world. I search to find that divide where romance and fantasy merge to become one. Over the years, I have been a courtroom illustrator, an art director in the field of 2-D and 3-D digital design, a children's book illustrator, a portrait painter, an abstract fantasy painter, and now, I am a painter of "impressionistic realism". In the group of paintings exhibited here in this show, "Out West in Georgia", I explore the unique world of The American Cowboy and Cowgirl. This is a world complete with horses, branding, cattle drives, ranch life, chuck wagons, cowboy poetry, cowboy music, and even a "Cowboy Philosophy". I became aware of this world through a dear friend, a fellow artist, and an accomplished horsewoman. This world of people who pursue traditional, Cowboy life is the world I am currently exploring in my art. People express their connections, desires, and their deepest emotions in how they live their lives. For me, discovering and painting these romantic, fantasy worlds is always an adventure, and worthy of my journey as an artist. 
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PAT DEVANE BURNS "Out West In Georgia"
I’m changing.
My art is changing. Always a lover of animals and nature, they will continue to be prime targets for my creative expression. But more and more I’m intrigued by ‘slice of life’ venues. Perhaps it simply took a lot of living to really notice the nuances of living. Not grandiose, not glorified… simple, honest. Not dark, not negative… sometimes tongue-in-cheek, always upward. And juxtapositions... Organic shapes against strong geometrics Saturated color against muted neutrals. Bright light against strong shadows. There is beauty in the everyday. Our ability to see it and share it forms a human connection that is, at once, timely and ageless. |
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MARIE-HELENE GARDELLE "Reflections"
Marie-Helene Gardelle began her artistic education in Paris where she studied art history and museology at the renowned Ecole du Louvre. She pursued her formation in Germany and in Italy with the sculptor Rosanna Costa. Marie-Helene exhibited in the Loire Valley, in the south of France and Canada. She lives now in Georgia and her works are currently on display at Raiford Gallery in Roswell and Daedalus Gallery in Savannah. Marie-Helene’s preferred medium is clay, “Working with earth requires one to strike a balance between boldness and humility. I always remember when my hands are working in clay that I am a mere link in the chain. Clay encompasses absolute memory therefore it holds each passage, each gesture.” “When I cut into clay, it is as though a small window in time has been opened. Clay has the ability to capture the purest of emotions. Manipulating clay allows me the privilege to work with the four life sustaining elements: earth, water, air and fire.” |
MARY ANN KLIMEK "Reflections"
Mary Ann Klimek, founder and president of The Artists Mission Inc., a non-profit corporation, has pursued her God-given artistic gifts and talents her entire life. Mary Ann’s present artistic medium of choice is ceramics, specifically ceramic sculpture. She taught ceramics classes at the Quinlan Visual Art Center in Gainesville, GA for several years. After founding The Artists Mission in 2013, Mary Ann began mixing her ceramic sculpture with kiln-formed glass. Her passion and goal with The Artist Mission is to use the arts to raise funds for other non-profit organizations. Mary Ann is a devoted wife and mother with 8 children and 10 grandchildren. She enjoys international mission trips to share the gospel around the world. |
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