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April Issue 2005
Sumter Gallery of Art in Sumter, SC, Offers
Work by Jane Todd Butcher & Lars Janson
by Jill Jones
For landscape painter Jane Todd Butcher, mood is everything.
"I'm really not interested in painting the traditional view of Cooper River Bridge looking west," says Butcher, whose work is featured Apr. 7 through May 6, 2005, at the Sumter Gallery of Art in Sumter, SC.
Now painting the "feel" of that same scene is another matter. Here, Butcher is in her element, describing light and shadow in intricate pattern and luminous, jewel-like color. Although most of her paintings begin with reference photographs, the artist moves quickly to her mind's eye for inspiration - thus, the title of the show, Places I Remember: Watermedia and Collage by Jane Todd Butcher.
Keeping the emphasis on feeling rather than fact lets viewers bring memories of their own to her work, she believes. Her simple yet dramatic compositions reinforce this. "I don't paint the Grand Canyon. What I'm drawn to are the small things out your window - the things you see every day." Light filtering through a forest canopy, a tree line backlit by a smoldering, setting sun - these are the subjects that engage her.
A lifelong naturalist, Butcher describes a hike through a forest as a spiritual event - one she recreates over and over again in her quietly fantastical paintings. She finds that mid life - and the realization of her own mortality - heightened her appreciation of the regenerative capabilities of nature. Trees, especially, earn her reverence, so it's not surprising that she refers to herself as a "passionate recycler" who puts to use every scrap of paper she comes across.
Given her unusual technique, that's a lot. Although the artist describes her pieces as watermedia collage paintings, they begin as Japanese rice papers that she dyes and stains with acrylic paints and inks. She then tears or cuts the papers into shapes and adheres them in layers on an acid-free support board or paper. It is at this point that she picks up her brush or pastel to add the finishing details.
"Although I usually begin with a general idea, a lot of what happens after that point is accidental and dictated by the painting itself." Much depends on how the individual papers receive the color - subtle nuances of pattern or hue that suggest to the artist specific elements of landscape. Butcher says the technique gives her both vibrant colors and dramatic textures that she couldn't achieve with a brush alone. Torn edges and flowing dyes keep the work loose, echoing more closely the intricacies of nature.
Evident in all of her work is a strong sense of design - not surprising, given Butcher's background in graphic design and illustration. Originally from the Midwest, she earned a BA in Art from Illinois State University and has lived in the Greenville, SC. area since 1975. A signature member of both the SC Watercolor and Georgia Watercolor societies, she began exploring new mediums - specifically collage - about a dozen years ago.
Butcher stresses that her work doesn't fit the conventional idea of the medium. "When most people think collage, they think little pictures cut out and glued all over a board. For me, the end result is a conventional painting." Collage - especially the staining of the papers - is more a place to begin, a way to add richness to the work.
Studies in Light and Shadow, features an exhibition by the late photographer Lars Janson, of Washington, DC. The exhibit helps us see that everyone's vision is different, as is the light is always different, so photography results are never quite the same. Janson's interest in photography began as a hobby and he traveled the world capturing its beauty in his photographs. He studied photography with Ansel Adams. Included in this collection are images of Southwest, Ireland and Greece.
For more info check our SC Institutional Gallery listings or call 803/775-0543.
Jill Jones is an artist and writer in Spartanburg, SC.
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