Thursday, August 29, 2013

NEW TECAC MEMBER, JEROME STURM


TECAC Gallery welcomes our new member, photographer Jerome Sturm.  Above is an example of Mr. Sturm's wonderful work, and you can see more at TECAC Gallery or on his website: http://www.jsturmphotography.com.

Jerome Sturm is a fine art photographer who uses High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography to capture abandoned landscapes.  His work uses vibrant colors and mimicry of historic photographic techniques to create images that reanimate abandoned places.

His work has been exhibited nationally and his photographs are part of several private collections.  Most recently the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art accepted his photograph, Evening Comes, for the New Waves 2013 exhibition.  The Kiernan Gallery, Nelson Gallery, and several other galleries have accepted his photography for exhibition.  His photographs have also been published in Creative Quarterly, a national magazine of the arts, on a consecutive basis.

Mr. Sturm is a graduate of Radford University where he earned a Master in Fine Arts degree in photography.  While attending, he was the recipient of the College of Visual & Performing Arts Scholarship, the McGlothlin Study Abroad Grant, and the MFA Creative Thesis/Exhibition.

Additionally he has worked as a portrait photographer, university photographer, and photojournalist, before his pursuit of fine art photography.  His photographs have won several national and state awards and have been published in People Magazine, US News & World Report, The New York Times, and other national publications.  He has also served three times as the mission photographer for Operation Smile International when the organization traveled to Ecuador.

He lives in Bedford, Virginia, with his wife and children and is a member of the Bedford Photography Club, in addition to The Electric Company Artists Co-op.  Mr. Sturm is also an adjunct faculty member at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in Salisbury, North Carolina where he teaches photography.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Erni Houser's "Whiskey"


Above is a painting done by member artist, Erni Houser.  Erni works primarily in watercolor.  Her work has a soft and elegant look to it.  Come by and see more of her work at TECAC, and stop by to see her portrait of her dog "Whiskey" at Goose Creek Studio.  It will be on display through August.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Artist Suzanne Paddock's Thought Process For Her Painting "Profound and Ridiculous"


Profound and Ridiculous 2013 oil on canvas ~ on display until October 5th at TECAC gallery

My dog Jezebel has been a subject painted for several years.  This painting is an exploration of the fine line between what is profound, and what is often really just ridiculous.  Another example of this thought would be that moment when you don't know whether to laugh or cry.   This dog has put me in that moment many times over the years with her mischievous and yet protective ways.  Seeing this painting fresh with no context, I think of it as fun and her expression is comical.  However, the houses all have meaning. Like little poppets they sprout up as memories of places we've lived, places of personal memories, experiences, and also too~ thoughts on future memories to be made.  This linoleum floor she sets on has been repeated in several of the houses I've occupied.  The same but also different.  Nostalgic but also flush with possibilities. 

I used mostly a dry method of applying the oils.  I tend to use very little medium, but as I share with co-op members, I am beginning to explore once discarded techniques.  The floor has several layers to build up the white and keep it from blocking all the depth.  The dog is varying shades of red, yellow, and blue.  I like to work in an expressive, dreamlike style with strong narrative.  I feel my painting is a visual conversation and hope the viewer enjoys some thought or word to share back as well.



*** Please note that Suzanne will be teaching a class at the Bower Center in Bedford, VA, beginning in September.  If you are interested, please contact the Center for more information.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Home Portrait Done By Member Artist Nancy Brown


Above is a home portrait by Member Artist, Nancy Brown, done in colored pencil.  Nancy has been commissioned by numerous families and businesses.  If you are interested in having her paint a portrait of your home, you can reach her through our Gallery.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

TECAC member Dotti Stone and Lynchburg artist Bonnie Kinaird's Sculptural Mosaics class begins in October at Bower Center


Sculptural Mosaics class begins in October at Bower Center


"Deco Doll" - mosaic on mannequin



Students will work on a simple shape to mosaic each session of this 7-week class. During each session students will take part in demos to create substrates and armatures for different shapes to make a variety of forms and learn to prep ready made forms. Shapes may include pillows, spheres, ceramic animals, concrete garden critters, free form shapes, mannequins, cones, figures-human or animal.


"Earth Layers" in a 9 diameter gazing ball



The registration information should be on Bower's website very soon. Come join this fun class.

$170. ($140 tuition/$30 supplies)
Thursdays: 6PM-8:30
Oct 10, 17, 24, 31, Nov, Dec 5, 12

There are several dates skipped -- this will give students additional time for any projects they may wish to work on at home or at Bower Center between sessions.




Monday, August 12, 2013

Suzanne Paddock at Savoy-Lee Winery

TECAC member, Suzanne Paddock, is showing some of her wonderful and imaginative paintings at Savoy-Lee Winery.  If you go on August 25th, you will hear live acoustic music, sip wine, and see her artwork hung in the winery showroom.  It is located at 5800 Johnson Mountain Road, in Huddleston, VA.  Of course, her work is also at our Gallery in Bedford.  Stop by!


"Self Portrait Bed Head 2013" oil on canvas 24in x 20in


"Our Home 2013" oil on canvas 20in x 24in

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Rod Adams - Winner of the Bower Center National Juried Art Show, 2013

TECAC's member, Rod Adams, has won the Best in Show award at the 2013 Bower Center National Juried Art Show for his watercolor piece "Cat in the Hat Music Box."  Congratulations to a very talented artist.


Saturday, August 10, 2013

The members of the Electric Company Artists' Co-op (TECAC) include

  • Edrie Bays

Edrie has had the longest artistic relationships with photography and assemblage/collage.    Although she has experimented with multiple media:  oil, acrylic, watercolor, encaustic, clay, mosaic, and fiber -- she works mostly in oil, acrylic, and watercolor.  She is on an art journey after teaching English, theatre, creative writing, and journalism for 33 years in Roanoke County and managing a farm since 2004.  She is a native of Bedford County and returned here in 1998.

  • Nancy Brown
Nancy has been working and teaching oil painting for many years.  She is a plein air painter, but she also enjoys working in her studio in Bedford.  She is well-known for her colored pencil drawings of people's homes, buildings, and other structures.  Nancy has won numerous awards and recognitions in the arts community.


  • Erni Houser
Erni began painting in watercolor in the fall of 2008.  After taking a class taught by Rod Adams, she was immediately hooked.  She likes to paint realistically and credits her many years as a photographer and Adobe Photoshopper with helping her to visualize what she wishes to paint.


Shelley began painting in pastels and has now expanded to oils.  She primarily paints vignettes of everyday life, focusing on figurative work as well as landscapes.  Shelley's work has been showcased in regional and national juried shows, and she has won numerous awards.

Perri Mason is a watercolorist from Bedford who earned her degree in studio art with a minor in education in 1982.  She has had an open studio in the Electric Company Building since its opening in 2008.  The subjects of her work are varied but animals are a specialty and commissions are always welcome.

  • Donna Nevers


Nancy Ostroff taught art for a number of years and then decided to return to her love of painting.  Her art reflects her extensive travels and life around her.  She enjoys painting commissioned portraits of boars, planes, homes, pets, and especially people.  She also does plein air paintings and still lifes, animals, scenery, flowers, and anything else that interests her.  She paints in watercolor, oils, acrylics, pastels and ink.  Email Address: nansart64@gmail.com
Suzanne works in oils in an expressive and sometimes surrealistic manner using a minimalist palette.  Each painting tells a story as it explores ideas, questions, and emotions reflected from her own life experiences and influenced by spirituality found in different cultures both past and present.  Originally from upstate New York, she has lived in Bedford County since early 2012.

  • Dan Perkins
Dan is a potter whose work is organic and earthy.  He also creates Old Williamsburg reproductions from the Revolutionary period.  Dan has many talents, another of which is caning chairs.

Martha Rhodes is an art education and design graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University.  She has taught numerous classes and workshops in the Roanoke and surrounding areas and has paintings accepted in a number of national and regional juried shows and has won many awards for her artwork. She enjoys working with acrylic, watercolor, and collage, and experimenting with mixed media and found objects.

  • Jane Schafer
Jane is proficient in watercolor, acrylics, as well as mixed media.  She has received several awards, most recently Second Place at the SMAC show for an acrylic piece, and First Place at the Bald Knob show for a watercolor. She recently retired from a prosperous career in physical therapy and is now devoting her time to art and gardening.

  • Bryan Skinnell
Bryan's whimsical editorial cartoons highlight political and social events in a humorous manner.

Dotti works in mosaics, and her work has been showcased in a number of regional and national juried shows.  In addition to Dotti being a member of TECAC, her work is also featured at Cornerstone Gallery at the Bower Center in Bedford, Virginia.

  • George Wachob
As well as owning the Electric Company building and a quilting business, George is known for his whimsical digital artwork.

SAMPLES OF MEMBER ARTWORK

"When Life Gives You Lemons" by Perri Mason


Watercolor
SOLD

"Road Trip" by Perri Mason

Watercolor