April 2014

Tyler White O’Brien Gallery in Greensboro, NC, Offers Works by Ann Watcher and Amy Sullivan

Tyler White O’Brien Gallery in Greensboro, NC, is presenting Exploration of Individuality, featuring works by Ann Watcher and Amy Sullivan, on view through Apr. 20, 2014. Each artist has a bold statement that sets them apart from everyone else in the art world!

Ann Watcher offers the following artist’s statement, “I have loved nature and art as soon as I saw my first star,  followed several years later by seeing Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and realizing that nature can be painted on canvas not only how it appears exactly to the eye, but can be made more personal with broad brush strokes and bold colors. I would like the viewer to look at my paintings and feel a sense of time when seeing an old house or bridge. When painting flowers, I enjoy exploring texture, value and movement across the canvas, trying to share my passion for flowers -- not only for what they look like but also for how they make you feel. When painting figures, I try to capture the individuality of the subject I am painting and explore the push and pull of the figure as it relates to the environment. I strive to put modern touches of different colors around the canvas to express what I feel and see.”  

“Composition on the canvas is just as interesting to me as depicting subject matter. An active composition can reach out to a viewer just as much as subject matter. Often I will blend elements of realism and abstraction to create a composition and texture that I think is interesting and dynamic. I will often look for areas in which I can use geometric touches, like a pattern of shadows beneath the eaves of an old barn or the ovals and triangles that when painted just right, give the impression of a boat or a sail.” 

“I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Painting from the University of South Carolina,” adds Watcher. “I have also studied at the New York Studio School and interned at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Recently, two of my paintings were selected to appear in season three of the Showtime series, Homeland.”

Amy Sullivan offers the following artist’s statement, “My process is an intuitive exploration of simplicity. I am fascinated with negative spaces contradicted by positive mark-making.”

“I start with a very small palm-sized study in oil and wax. Then I select the pieces that contain the potential for paradox. Larger paintings, sometimes as large as 60” x 96” are designed to capture this intrigue and paradox. Carving into the wax and paint, penetrating masses of space with sharp edges, I respond to the tension of defining space and object in an almost sensual way.”

“Ever intrigued with the irony of painting, I wait for the voice that says, ‘hurry hurry,’ but slow down while you’re doing it,” adds Sullivan. “When I’m finished, and I know that the work is complete, there is a feeling inside that says you’re home and safe, and at the same time it screams, ‘run. [It is] Ever elusive, always familiar.”

For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 336-279-1124 or visit (www.tylerwhitegallery.com).

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