Equilibrium - Childers West

When legendary art critic Clement Greenberg first championed Jackson Pollock, he advertised Abstract Expressionism as a movement that cut straight to the essence of painting. He argued that the spheres of art ought to boil down to their cores, that painting should diverge from sculpture by doing away with illusionism and embracing abstraction.

The five abstract painters in our “Harmony” show have rather (post-)postmodern views on the matter. Can abstract painting mix with sculpture, or even follow the melody of a musical composition? At Waxlander, the answer is “Certainly!”

Josiane Childers and Justin West are a husband and wife team who approach abstract painting from a decidedly cross-disciplinary angle. Josiane is a trained fine artist who works with acrylics on canvas, and Justin is a metalworker with a passion for automobiles. Their collaborative Plexiglass and steel “wall sculptures” hang somewhere between painting and sculpture. The painted panels have striking depth and texture that is enhanced by their shapes—they often push out from the wall and into the viewer’s space, making for ever-shifting optics.

On A Wing - Paul Cunningham

Michael Ethridge has been an artist for his whole life, but he wasn’t always a painter. Michael is a trained classical pianist, and his first career was as a performer on cruise ships. When he took up painting full-time, everything he learned as a musician came with him.

“You know there are degrees of tone in music, and there is tone in paint as well. Music goes hand-in-hand with art,” Michael says. “Painting really is a voice, though, it’s just communicated through the brush.”

Paul Cunningham’s paintings splice delicate figures into abstract color worlds. The fish and birds that he paints on his large canvases take our eyes as traveling companions, guiding us through airy clouds and murky pools of color and across the stark lines that often divide Paul’s compositions.

Turquoise Rain - Nancy Eckels

Nancy Eckels is perhaps the most traditional abstract painter of the bunch, but her creative process is also tied to another medium. Nancy grew up in Los Angeles and worked in television production for many years before picking up a paintbrush. Perhaps that explains the striking visual punch of her vibrant canvases. Her works often start out smooth at the bottom but explode near the top into splintered textures that look like fantastical city skylines. It’s as though she’s directly challenging Greenburg’s idea of the essential “flatness” of painting.

Come experience these five incredible artists’ exciting twists on abstract painting in “Harmony,” open through October 15th, and meet them all at our reception this Friday, October 5th from 5-7 pm at Waxlander Gallery and Sculpture Garden.

 If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!

There’s a reason abstract painters often work in series. When colors are the stars of your show, painting is all about finding relationships between them. The best hues, tints, shades and tones leap from work to work, having conversations and creating communities until the canvases form a sort of rainbow genealogy. The artists in our upcoming abstract show “Harmony” know that, in art and in life, this is the key: keeping it in the family.

Nancy Eckels

Urban Prism - Nancy Eckels

California artist Nancy Eckels was born into her craft. Her parents met in an oil painting class, and her sister, aunts and uncles are all artists. Nancy received a homegrown art education from her folks, but she didn’t pick up a paintbrush until much later. True to her home state, she preferred her art in technicolor.

Nancy’s first career was in television. She was working as a director on the CBS daytime drama “The Bold and the Beautiful” when she decided to switch to painting. It must be in her blood, because this self-taught artist was soon creating abstract compositions imbued with stunning emotional immediacy.

Michael Ethridge

Releve - Michael Ethridge

Michael Ethridge also started out in show business. He worked for many years as an entertainer on cruise ships, but never forgot the painting lessons he received from his mother, a landscape painter. When he started painting again, he quickly took a liking to abstraction. His works are swirling seas of color that often press out from the canvas with dazzling twists, ripples and ridges of paint.

Paul Cunningham

Perseverance - Paul Cunningham

Paul Cunningham kicked off his artistic career very early in life. His first studio was the floor of his family’s apartment, where he watched television and copied dogs and horses from John Gnagy lesson books. Though his high school guidance counselors steered him away from art, Paul eventually took an introduction to oil painting at his local community college. The rest is history.

Paul is an adept plein air painter, and has mastered watercolor and figure drawing. His paintings often hint at the figurative, showing birds or fish immersed in brilliant color fields.

Childers-West

Dreamscape - Childers-West

Arizona artists Josiane Childers and Justin West certainly know how family fits into art: they’re married. Josiane grew up in upstate New York and started seriously pursuing an art career after receiving training and encouragement from her high school art teacher. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Purchase College in New York.

Justin West lived in Colorado, Germany, New York and Arizona as a chid. He had a natural inclination for all things metallic, especially old cars and truck, which translated into a career as a metal artist.

When they work together, Josiane’s painting skills and Justin’s metalworking abilities are distilled into unique paintings on steel and Plexiglass. The choice of materials lends the works interesting textures, while the adept paintings display incredible depth. This team is truly in harmony.

Come join the families—of people and pigments—at our reception for “Harmony” on October 5th, and see the show October 2nd through October 15th at Waxlander Gallery and Sculpture Garden.

If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!

Majestic Morning - Michael Ethridge

Michael Ethridge is a painter, but he could also be classified as a visual chef.

“The abstract is like a food to me, a really good food,” he says. “When you have a good food and you can’t stop thinking about it, and you can’t sleep for it.”

Ethridge’s recipes are elaborate: he’ll mix up a batch of paint and apply a layer, let it set overnight, and then paint another—and another. He works from light to dark, from flat to highly defined. A pallet knife is his spatula as he blends and folds thick ribbons of paint together.

“I try to draw the eye to a single focal point,” he explains. In the final confection, the centerpiece is often a particularly defined twist or swirl of paint. These flourishes look like whimsical ideas that were caught on the brink of taking shape, or maybe they’re peculiar flowers atop a vibrant layer cake.

Like any good chef, Ethridge is also a bit of a showman.

“So many artists are introverts, but I’m the opposite,” he explains. “When I paint in public, I feel like I’m giving a gift to the people.”

Every day this week, Ethridge will be sharing his visual feast on the sidewalk outside Waxlander. Come meet this award-winning artist and watch him paint. The week will culminate in an Artist’s Reception at Waxlander on Friday, July 13th, from 5-7 p.m. Delicious!

 If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!

My Journey Home - Michael Ethridge

There is something special about Michael Ethridge’s abstract expressionist paintings. Perhaps it is the way that bright and soothing colors combine on his canvas so enchantingly, so organically. Perhaps it is the implied landscapes that these colors hint at, elegant forms that rise within the canvas. Perhaps it is the way that looking at one of Michael Ethridge’s paintings feels exactly like conjuring up a happy memory from the past. A sense of peace falls over the viewer as he observes Ethridge’s work.

A native of Arkansas, Ethridge will be visiting Santa Fe for the entire month of July. From July 10th through the 16th, Ethridge will be painting on the sidewalk outside of Waxlander Gallery. The week will culminate in an Artist’s Reception held on Friday, July 13th, from 5 to 7 PM. Ethridge hopes to meet and converse with as many passers-by as possible. “The interaction with the people on Canyon Road is huge to me,” Ethridge says, “I’m not reclusive at all. Many artists are introverts; I’m just the opposite.”

During his years as an entertainer on cruise ships, Ethridge drew inspiration from the energy of those around him and from the many conversations that he had with travelers at the piano bar. Now, as a painter, he finds inspiration in connecting with other artists and chatting with those who stop to view his art. “It creates new energy,” he says.

The chance to converse with the good-natured and renowned artist is a treat for viewers, as well. Ethridge’s representational abstract landscapes are shown in galleries across the country. His work was even selected to be in the movie Nothing But the Truth, starring Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, and Alan Alda. The bold, uplifting colors that Ethridge utilizes—as we all the sense of movement that he creates in all of his paintings—combine to fulfill his mission as an artist: to “bring good feeling to the people who collect [his] work.”

Ethridge is excited to immerse himself once again in Santa Fe’s lively art community. “The nature of the surroundings and the energy that I feel when I come [to Santa Fe] is quite impressive to me,” he says. We have reason to believe that Santa Fe feels the same way about him.

Michael Ethridge will be painting outside of Waxlander Gallery from July 10th-16th. The week will culminate in an Artist’s Reception held at Waxlander on Friday, July 13th, from 5-7 PM.

 If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!

The 3rd Annual Waxlander Gallery Art Auction is in full swing! The auction runs through next Saturday, February 4th with bidding coming to a close at 4:00 p.m. MST.

With the first two installments of the event available just to Waxlander collectors, we have opened this year’s event to all bidders to allow as many people possible the opportunity to add beautiful pieces of art to their collections. With the works set at the lowest prices of the year, it is a great chance for you to add them to your home or office at a great value.

There are close to 200 pieces up for auction this year featuring the work of many of our artists. We are very happy that this year’s participating artists includes many who have been with us for some time, such as Bruce King, Matthew Higginbotham, and Andree Hudson. We are also very pleased that some of our newest artists, including Christopher Owen Nelson and Phyllis Randall, are taking part as well!

Here is a full list of the participating artists: Lori Faye Bock, Childers-West, Jim Cohen, Paul Cunningham, Suzanne Donazetti, Michael Ethridge, Georgia Gerber, Sandy Graves, Higginbotham, Walter Horak, Hudson, Tony Jojola, King, Ana Lazovsky, Bernard Marks, Sharon Markwardt, Nelson, Marshall Noice, Sangita Phadke, Richard Pankratz, Linda Prokop, Randall, Slava TCH, Jono Tew, Chris Turri.

Additionally, we are happy to announce that special works from artist and gallery owner Phyllis Kapps’ personal collection will also be available!

A few tidbits about the bidding process: The opening bid for paintings has been set at 40% off the retail price. For sculptures, the opening bids have been marked at 25% off. If the opening bid for a piece has started at less than $1,000, then the bids increase in $50 increments. With pieces starting at $1,000 or more, the bidding increases in increments of $100. If there is a piece you absolutely must have and you do not want to take the chance of losing it to another bidder, you can purchase it at our ‘Buy It Now’ price which is set at 10% off retail.

For information on the artists and which of their pieces are available, please visit their artist page at http://www.waxlander.com/artists-santa-fe-art-gallery. Auction Items will be marked in red and will be the first images on each of the participating artists’ page.

For questions on the auction you can call the gallery at 505-984-2202 or email us at art@waxlander.com. To make a bid, the same telephone number and email address apply. The winning bidders for each piece will be notified by phone following the conclusion of the event.

Once again, we are very excited for this year’s auction. It gives us great joy to be able to offer so many great pieces and such great prices.

Happy bidding!!