The local Paint Box Guild opened an exhibit of works by its members at Bemis Library, 6014 S. Datura St., Littleton in the lower-level gallery.
The juror was Dean Buhler, who selected a colorful Colorado mountain landscape, “A River Runs West,” by Richard Simpson of Highlands Ranch as Best of Show.
Simpson said he painted it from a photo he shot in the San Juans almost 30 years ago. He wasn’t entirely certain of the location. But a viewer can hear water rushing and almost smell the trees lining the bank. Rock along the river is the red kind we often enjoy across the state and it has touches of lavender shadow indicating that it’s drawing towards evening, I thought. Skillfully painted, the work is about 16” x 20” and stands out on a color-filled wall. Simpson has been a member of this guild for about two and a half years, he said.
“If Walls Could Talk” by Sharon Rose is a mixed media painting that won an Honorable Mention. It is an image of a spooky gray house, with faces that could have been former residents, pink and lavender flowers and a pale palette. One wants to create stories about what went on there! “Yesterday’s Roses,” a pastel painting by S. Williams, presents a large bouquet of obviously tired pale pink roses. Did a bride carry them? Or her maid of honor perhaps? The work invites speculation ... where have they been? Some sort of festivity, I’m certain!
Third place went to “A Shady Corner, Glenwood,” a soft watercolor by Linda Lippert, while Second Place was awarded to a skillful gouache work by Mary Ellen Wolf, called “Morning Light.”
Roseann Gomez exhibits a watercolor batik (on fabric) called “Blue Mesa,” as well as a watercolor called “Stonehenge,” 2019.
Honorable Mentions included “If Walls Could Talk,” a mixed media work by Sharon Rose, that includes a clock, faces of people around it and a subdued gray house that seems to have a spooky story ...
B.J. McClean’s watercolor, “Last Leaves,” and “Camping Along the Colorado,” by Maris Vaiviane, rendered with oil paint show the artists’ feel for natural surroundings, while Harry Postlethwaite’s “Anxious” is a watercolor portrait of an appealing dog ... Probably a story there.
“Perennial Favorite,” a mixed media piece by Beth Narv,a depicts a weathered old farm with a windmill. It bears a green Honorable Mention Ribbon.
Patti Brougham’s “A Gentle Touch” is an oil painting depicting a moment of connection between two people-again inviting the viewer to invent a story ...
A fat rooster that will appeal to children was painted by Patty Broughan with oils.. He really struts! “Good Morning Lady!”
The First Place blue ribbon went to an oil painting called “Florence Reflection” By Pam Mason, who includes a carefully manicured garden. And speaking of Italy: Dan Vivick’s “Spring Blossoms,” an oil painting shows a Venetian canal, with a pink house behind — also an Honorable Mention winner. Third place was awarded to Pam Mason’s “Aspen Trail,” a 20” x 16” oil painting.
This exhibit will be open to visitors during library hours. Admission is free. It will give any viewer a pleasant brief trip into the imagination, from which they will emerge relaxed and happy.
