JOHN VANDER
TOURIST SEASON
September 27th-October 15th at Gold/Smith Gallery
TOURIST SEASON by JOHN VANDER
John Vander has painted for many years in Italy. He has painted a series based on Formal Gardens, Tuscan landscapes, architecture as well as remembrance of a trip to Mali and, of course, many paintings based on his experience of the Maine coast. “ I realized that although I had been looking at the summer scene in Boothbay Harbor almost every year of my life, I had never done much directly with making drawings and paintings of it.”
Over the past ten years, when there was a quiet moment at the gallery, he has been observing and making mental notes of the passing show of people going by his gallery’s double doors. “ These started as notes for my own entertainment, the challenge of capturing something constantly moving and changing. A friend watching me draw told me that my. technique was to make three lines and guess the rest. Since models stand still and real people move, the sketches were done as much from memory as observation. This can be an advantage because memory retains the essential and forgets the irrelevant details.”
This is a lighthearted look at people on the street. Small paintings of folks enjoying the summer sun, a man with an appointment checking his watch, a lady with a sunbonnet and red lacquer lips, husbands following their wives. Everyone breezing along and content in their location on planet Maine. This is a small celebration of summer and it’s visitors.
Tourist Season by John Vander will be featured at Gold/Smith Gallery, 8 McKown Street, Boothbay Harbor, now through end of October. The gallery is open every day from 10 am to 5 pm and can be reached at 207-633-6252 , goldsmithgallerybbh@gmail.com or www.goldsmithgallery.net. There will be a reception for the artist at Gold/Smith Gallery, Friday October 7th from 4 to 7 pm along with many other galleries celebrating First Fridays in Boothbay Harbor.
John Vander has painted for many years in Italy. He has painted a series based on Formal Gardens, Tuscan landscapes, architecture as well as remembrance of a trip to Mali and, of course, many paintings based on his experience of the Maine coast. “ I realized that although I had been looking at the summer scene in Boothbay Harbor almost every year of my life, I had never done much directly with making drawings and paintings of it.”
Over the past ten years, when there was a quiet moment at the gallery, he has been observing and making mental notes of the passing show of people going by his gallery’s double doors. “ These started as notes for my own entertainment, the challenge of capturing something constantly moving and changing. A friend watching me draw told me that my. technique was to make three lines and guess the rest. Since models stand still and real people move, the sketches were done as much from memory as observation. This can be an advantage because memory retains the essential and forgets the irrelevant details.”
This is a lighthearted look at people on the street. Small paintings of folks enjoying the summer sun, a man with an appointment checking his watch, a lady with a sunbonnet and red lacquer lips, husbands following their wives. Everyone breezing along and content in their location on planet Maine. This is a small celebration of summer and it’s visitors.
Tourist Season by John Vander will be featured at Gold/Smith Gallery, 8 McKown Street, Boothbay Harbor, now through end of October. The gallery is open every day from 10 am to 5 pm and can be reached at 207-633-6252 , goldsmithgallerybbh@gmail.com or www.goldsmithgallery.net. There will be a reception for the artist at Gold/Smith Gallery, Friday October 7th from 4 to 7 pm along with many other galleries celebrating First Fridays in Boothbay Harbor.
“My painting seems immediate but in reality they can take me years to completely satisfy my goals. They are not romanticized in the least. They are the vision of what was and is, the once and the future. I am constantly amazed at the beauty that surrounds me. It can be a daunting task to capture that quality. I hope I have succeeded. I am never finished with a painting. The deadline of an exhibit pushes me to finish them,” says Vander.
John Vander has been invited to have a solo exhibit at the foundation of Marino Marini in Pistoia, Italy for the month of February in 2017. Pistoia has been named the Cultural Center of Italy for 2017 and Vander is pleased to be a part of this very important honor. |
John Vander has been painting since he was a little boy. He splits his year between Boothbay, Maine and Lucca, Italy where he maintains two very diverse studios. His painting, mostly very mixed media, are vibrant, immediate and full of emotion and understanding of their place in the Universe. Each piece may take years to complete and yet they maintain their feeling of spontaneity. His use of colors are a joy and his bold calligraphic black lines only enhance his use of these colors. He has been represented by Gold/Smith Gallery for 24 years.
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