GO Paint! Chippewa Valley 2020

“Art is something seen and felt, interpreted for the public through the painter’s aesthetic sense, plus the artists technical knowledge to make this understandable, so that the observer’s reaction is what the painter intends.” - John Folinsbee

I would like to congratulate all of you for your courage and passion to go forth and paint in nature’s elements, especially in times like these. Plein air painting is demanding, even in the best weather but it is a catalyst that issues the greatest concentration and a unique kind of focus that transcends time, cold, rain and heat. Have you ever thought you were out for an hour and it was closer to four hours? I can see in your images that sweet embrace of nature, where you only shiver a little when you pack-up to go home. I am pleased by all your efforts and deciding who gets an award out of such a variety of good work was very difficult. I think the winner is anyone who takes paint to canvas and stands by their art, just as you did.

With any image I’m most interested in value, color and composition but with plein air sketching there is slightly less emphasis placed on composition because it’s the impression that counts. The sketch is, after all, an abbreviated statement. From these bits of painting shorthand knowledge is gained along with an improvement of our skills and all last week you did just that. So, like the quote by John Folinsbee and having viewed all your work, I can say you speak most eloquently! Thank you.

- ROBERT HODGES BONAWITZ

Bottom of the Bowl  

Oil on Panel, 12x24  | $850

Juror’s Notes: I know this view well and I’ve painted it many times, but in this sketch, I think it has been captured beautifully! The direct and economical approach to the application of paint and placement of the elements in the composition strengthens the main focal point, a silver rivulet of water. Truly a well abbreviated statement. 

Quarry and Birches, near Durand 

Gouache on paper, not framed, 12x16 | $350

Juror’s Notes: What a fresh and no nonsense approach with careful placement of elements but wonderfully frosted with juicy complimentary colors. It reminds me of a Pietro  Annigoni study. 

Artist’s Statement: My painting is both realistic and abstract, it is on that elusive edge between there and not there.  On first look everything is in place, then all dissolves.  I want realism and abstraction to take turns.  I want a painting sometimes very evocative of time and place, sometimes overwhelming in abstract, structural logic. I look for a surprise, a drama, a different way of seeing. I try not to see anything for itself alone, but as a part of the whole. In this context, my subjects take on meanings other than the accustomed ones.  They are more than still life and landscape; they are comments on thinking and seeing. 

I am a graduate of the school of the Art Institute of Chicago. On an Art Institute fellowship, I studied in Europe with the Expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka, winning the top award for my work. Later, I left Chicago for life in rural Wisconsin, a move that took me out of the “art world”, but left me free to work and develop in isolation. More recently, I began spending winters in New York City, and found friendships and acceptance for my work there. I have participated in shows at the Art Institute of Chicago, Milwaukee Museum of Art, Wustum Museum in Racine (WI), Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, El Paso (TX) Museum and many others.  My work has been in over 450 regional and national exhibitions. It is in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum and the British Museum Library and has recently been acquired by Harvard and Yale libraries. 

Creepers on Red Pine: Carson Park  

Oil painting, framed, 9.5 x 14 | $295  

Juror’s Notes: A very good “all in” alla prima wood scene. The color harmonies cheer up a gray, damp day, nicely. The paint and brush work all join hands in unison! 
 
Artist’s Statement: Jean Accola has been a painter most of her life. In 1980 she moved to rural Western Wisconsin where she lived a creative life with her musician husband and two children. 
 
In 1985 she opened the Accola Gallery in Durand WI, where she continues to work and exhibit. She has studied with many influential artists where she established her skills in watercolor, oil and finally acrylic. Jean Accola founded the Fresh Art Tour in 1998 and the Go Paint Plein Air painting event in 2013 and is now looking forward to years of 'just painting'. 

Big Falls 

Watercolor on paper, 12 x 18 | $250 

Big Falls 1 

Acrylic, 16x20 | $1150 

Pablo Portal

Watercolor, ink, 12x12 | $125