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August Issue 2005
Capehart Beck, the Upstairs Gallery in Blowing Rock, NC, Offers Works by Dawn Emerson
Capehart
Beck, The Upstairs Gallery in Blowing Rock, NC, is presenting
the exhibit, Power of Horse, featuring works by Dawn Emerson,
on view through Aug. 13, 2005.
It's no secret that women of all ages have an organic connection with horses. In Native American lore, horse medicine connotes power so it follows that women wanting to access their own would connect with that of the horse. Here is an animal of immense size, power, speed, sensitivity and beauty. When we are on its back, it becomes an extension of us and we acquire those qualities. It's a magic that can't quite be replicated.
"I am no horse whisperer, but I whisper to horses as I paint them, urging them to materialize on my easel," says Emerson.
The Upstairs Gallery in Blowing Rock represents Emerson of Bend, OR. When she and co-owner, Kevin Beck were students, they met in a Taos, NM, workshop. Possessing the same gentle temperament and eerily similar brushstrokes, they became friends and colleagues. Emerson went on to specialize in animal art, Beck in landscape. Both have become acclaimed in their respective fields. Winner of numerous equestrian art competitions, Emerson also is juror for this year's animal category for Pastel Journal's annual competition; and has been featured in Southwest Art, American Artist and Artists Magazine.
Though superb in all animal caricature, it is horses that most capture Emerson's artistic time and attention. So immersed in their magic, she travels to distant locales to capture their distinctive allure. In her words, "Horses contain all the colors and materials of the earth, and the lighting can reflect off new sleek summer coats like shiny gold or dissolve into dull silver in the fog. They adapt to their surroundings and take on the colors and light of the environment. Honestly, I feel wild as I paint, as free and happy as if I were out there with them."
Viewing her work affords the viewer this same vicarious thrill. Not content to simply illustrate, Emerson infuses her work with all the power and energy of horse through iridescent primary color and vigorous brushstrokes.
Most recently, Emerson traveled to the Camargue
region of southern France in the delta area of the Rhone River.
Having read about its "wild white horses" in Hans Silvestre's
book Horses of the Camargue, she traveled with a photography
group to find and photograph them for herself. The horses are
born black and only turn white after 3 - 8 years. Only a select
few are allowed to breed and there is great pride in owning a
herd of certified stallions. While there, Emerson photographed
them repeatedly, while they were driven through marshes and pastureland,
morning and evening.
"By the end of the week, I could not close my eyes without
seeing moving white horses everywhere. . . the sight of manes
and tails flying, nostrils tightening. . . chests heaving as horses
strained to lift big hooves out of richly thick mud. . . I was
in heaven."
A viewing of this body of work is indeed, heavenly. Whether it's goose bumps, chills, rapid heartbeat or light-headedness, the viewer cannot help but be affected by Emerson's rendition of these mystical beasts.
For more info check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 828/295-6367 or at (www.capehartbeckgallery.com).
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