Town Hall Arts Center's next musical is “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” with a singing girl group, set at a 1950s prom. Gallery coordinator Nancy Boyson and the four exhibiting artists for April have named their upcoming art exhibit “Art of Memories.” Each artist will exhibit her interpretation of that theme from March 26 to May 12, with an artist's reception planned for April 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Exhibiting artists will be Helen Matthews, Molly Squibb, R. Garriott and Kay Juricek, who will share the Stanton Gallery's walls with their varied paintings.
● Matthews describes herself as “an impressionist painter of landscapes, flowers and portraits who works in watercolor, gouache and oil. Her website speaks about inspiration from the “mystery and magic of the world around me …” She worked as a histologist, then drew pictures for children, then decided to seek formal training in technique with strong teachers. She has exhibited in local, state and national shows.
● Squibb said she “looks for beauty in unusual places. That means being curious about the `underside' of life. Yes, I paint traditional landscapes, but I also love a tangle of leaves on a trail or the colors in old oil cans by a shed.” She is an oil painter who experiments with watercolor and colored markers when traveling with her husband, loves travel and has lived in Spain and China.
Before turning to full-time art in 2005, she enjoyed a career in journalism and marketing communications. She studied at the Art Students Leagues in New York and Denver and with artist and teacher Kevin Weckbach.
● Garriott writes that she “is inspired by design in everyday life and takes common objects, adds in artful arrangement, a bit of implied narrative and renders in a contemporary realistic painting style.” She writes of taking everyday functional and novelty objects and using them as subjects of artwork to elevate them above the commonplace. “I enjoy visual puns backed up with a clever play on words …”
● Juricek said she “has been painting still lifes for a few years now.” She has been accepted in shows over the years and “enjoys painting reflective surfaces: water, glass, light with seashells, bugs, birds, ribbons and flowers — versus upright flowers in a vase …”
She grew up on a Nebraska farm and received a BFA from the University of Nebraska and a master's degree in library and information science from Columbia University. She has worked as a faculty member at the University of Wyoming and Colorado School of Mines. In 1990, she began panting portraits and still lifes and landscapes and has been a full-time artist since 2008.
