Next gallery stroll———> January 17th
Halee Roth
I seek beauty in the land and in my art. The figures I paint express the grace of the human form entwined with the grace of natural forms. Many years spent wandering gardens, mountains, and deserts, ever looking closer, have influenced the organic lines and shapes used in my flowing compositions. There is a balance of beauty and decay in nature. The light that glows in human flesh and makes things grow is also in the dark earth, moving through the dead and dying, regenerating into life again. The colors I choose, while rich and bold in the light, are balanced by dark expressive forms of shadow and decay. The flesh tones I am drawn to represent a kind of inner glow and are not local skin colors, but color combinations created using thin transparent layers of color opposites. When blended optically, they create a third glowing color that cannot be achieved through mixing opaque colors. This light, glowing through layers of paint and layers of earth, is worth pursuing and I can find endless references to it in the human form and natural world.
Denise gasser
Denise’s paintings attempt to lift the veil on the appearance of things and reveal a kind of magical order within. Though subject matter varies, her work consistently embodies tension between organic and geometric, order and chaos, reality and dreams. Her work has exhibited in the US and Canada and is owned/commissioned by private collectors around the world.
Reconciling art and motherhood is an important theme in her practice and social presence. She founded the Art After project, a series of small paintings that occur in one sitting and must be ‘finished’ once she is interrupted. This project has had a large global reach on social media and acted as a catalyst to facilitate a larger conversation about the challenges and rewards of making art after motherhood. Art After has shown in galleries and the individual pieces are found in private collections on several continents. Denise has also extended her passion and creative experience through artist talks and workshops in the US and Canada.
Denise has lived and worked in the Bay Area, Vancouver, BC, and now resides near the mountains of Utah with her husband and four sons.
Maureen Merrell
I am a Utah Based artist and mother to four. I am inspired by contemporary realism, and feel drawn to themes of spirituality, humanity, and cityscapes. My hope is to bring beauty and meaning into the world through my artwork.
When I was a child, I dreamed of being an artist. That dream faded for many years as I pursued a career in healthcare, and in 2011 I received a BS in Nursing from Brigham Young University. Years later, in the throws of motherhood, I felt myself aching for a creative outlet. What began as dabbling with watercolor in 2017, has bloomed into an unexpected and fulfilling art journey.
Since 2020 I have studied at the JKR Studio Academy and continue to be inspired by many wonderful local artists. I have had the privilege to participate in various art shows, including the Spring Salon at the Springville Museum of art, JKR Gallery, and Writ & Vision.
Michelle Champagne
My name is Michelle Champagne, and I am a self-taught landscape artist based in North Logan, Utah. My artistic journey began in 2023, and I draw much of my inspiration from the tonalism and luminism movements. Primarily working in oils, I also occasionally explore other mediums such as soft pastels and watercolor.
As a passionate artist, I find myself constantly drawn to the beauty of nature and the ever-changing landscapes that surround us. My main focus is capturing the breathtaking colors and serenity of sunsets through my paintings. The process of blending and layering the paint to create a harmonious and dream-like quality is something I find truly fulfilling. My goal is to transport viewers to a peaceful place through my art, allowing them to escape and get lost in the beauty of the natural world.
Mike Erikson
Art has always been an extension of who I am. I love creating, surrounding myself, and learning about all aspects of it. I am always looking for new and innovative ways to express my passion.
A significant value I have that I incorporate into all my artwork is recycle/reuse. Whether reusing canvases and salvaging leftover paint for my paintings or using discarded materials to create my sculptures, I love breathing new life into what would have ended up at a landfill.
I enjoy the process of sculpting in reverse. I start with a pile of miscellaneous parts and materials and then design the sculpture from what I have, versus designing a sculpture and then acquiring the supplies to make it. Although I do both, I like the challenge of transforming "junk" or leftover materials into upcycled art.
Alison H Spencer
"I have my dad to thank for my love of birds, wildlife, and all things beautiful. Since I was a child, he has taken our family on many adventures worldwide to hunt for birds with our binoculars. We'd often explore wetlands around our home in Utah to watch the shorebirds, pelicans, eagles and osprey, cranes, terns, meadowlarks, ducks, herons, and owls on still winter nights. The birds we have in Utah are equal in magnificence to birds anywhere in the world.
Recently, passionate discussions have been held about the future of our lakes and their surrounding marshes. While land development and growth are essential to our state’s growth, we remain responsible for ensuring this growth is done wisely to minimize our impact on native plants, insects, birds, and other sensitive wildlife.
With these portraits, I hope to introduce you to a small handful of the hundreds of remarkable, beautiful species of birds that depend on Utah's lakes and the “messy,” marshy lands surrounding them. As we discuss the future of our home, let us remember what we stand to lose—permanently—with each decision.”
