Marcia Coppel Figures of Speech

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abstract painting, amusing figures, cafe table, classroom, color, communication, Corcoran Gallery of Art, creating art, DC art museums, drawing, figure, Greece, happy, humor, Italy, laugh, Marcia Coppel, Mexico, non-verbal, San Miguel de allende, sketching model, speech, speech terapist, Touchstone Gallery DC, travels, verbal, visual arts

Marcia Coppel Down Mexico Way

You might not have guessed it, but the quiet  artist we know as Marcia Coppel spent many years as a speech pathologist in the Montgomery County Public Schools.  As a child she was drawn to the visual arts, graduating high school with a major in art.  After that her studies at George Washington University took her in the direction of speech therapy, which became her major and her field of expertise after securing a post-graduate degree from the University of Maryland.

Born and raised in the District of Columbia, Marcia spent many an hour in the Washington’s premier art museums soaking in the colors and compositions of artists past and present. After graduating from college, she began to study art again with private teachers and at the Corcoran.  Beginning as an abstract artist, she and went through stages of geometric and expressionistic painting before her current series which she sees as figurative/abstract with a strong emphasis on color. She started making  sketches when traveling to Italy, Spain, Greece, and eventually Mexico and now uses the sketches as an inspiration for her current series.

                  Can I Trust You?

After Marcia retired from her career job, she found her way to Mexico and lived for four and a half years in San Miguel de Allende.  She studied at the Instituto Allende  as well as with private teachers.  At first when she drew the model, the models laughed at her.  As her drawings became more abstracted, they became more amusing and the models laughed with her, and she began making paintings from her whimsical drawings.  Her “career” had now transformed from speech therapy to painting “figures of speech.”  Figures communicating with one another on the canvas instead of in the classroom.  Painted people sitting at the café table speaking to one another.  Purple people talking with blue people under umbrellas of peach and green or  people sunning on a hot bright beach beside teal water. 

A keen observer of both verbal and non-verbal communication, Marcia says she likes to make people happy through colors and amusing figures in deep discussions, or listening to the latest gossip, or lost in thought.  ”In my Life Is Too Serious series,  she says, “I want to counteract some of the grimness of contemporary life.  I hope viewers smile and maybe chuckle at these painted conversations and ink sketches.”

          Could You Please Call a Waiter?

If you need a bit of cheering up–and we all do these days,  head on over to Touchstone Gallery and get a dose of  humor in Marcia’s paintings.  Then get a kick out of the scribbley ink nudes repeated across the composition .  They’ll be on exhibit May 3–June2, 2013; Preview: May 1 and 2, 11-6pm.  901 New York Avenue NW, Washington DC; 202-347-2787; Opening Reception: Friday, May 3, 6-8:30pm; Third Thursday: May 16, 6-8:30pm

                           Triple Play

Leslie Johnston Journeys to Sacred Spaces and Places

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journey, creativity, balance, Leslie Johnston, sacred spaces, Mile High City, mountains, beauty, wildlife, colors, natural wonders, analytiacal skills, intuition, Nepal, trekking, Sherpa, abstract acrylic paintings, memories, arid valleys, canions, prayer wheels, monasteries, Nepal's Forbidden Kingdom, blue sky, prayer flag, visible, invisible

Leslie Johnston Journeys

Growing up in the Mile High City with the mountains at her back Leslie Johnston developed an affinity for high places and the beauty of the mountains. As a kid she spent a lot of time out of doors observing wildlife and the colors in a world that would call her again and again to seek out natural wonders in high places.

NO.2

Thinking on one level at work and another in her art, Leslie’s life is about balancing her analytical skills with intuition and creativity. Inspired by the native fauna and flora, sacred spaces and places in the high mountains of Nepal, she recently traveled into the Upper Manthang region. Trekking with three Sherpa guides within the sight of the world’s two highest mountains, Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, is both physically demanding and stimulating for her art mind. The abstract acrylic paintings in her Touchstone solo exhibit “Journey to Lo Manthang” are imbued with memories of arid valleys, eroded canyons, rows of prayer wheels, chortens, mani prayer walls and monasteries.

NO. 9

Here in Nepal’s Forbidden Kingdom, the basic elements that surrounded her in childhood–blue sky, dry air, fire, yellow earth, and the rareness of water seemed magnified, seem imbued with the sacred as prayer flags flutter sending positive energy and blessings throughout the land and uniting with her innate receptivity to the visible and the invisible essences of Place.

NO. 9

Janet Wheeler: Dreaming the Circle of Life

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touchstone gallery, dreams, composition, boxes, masks, nature, ancient rhythms, Janet Wheeler, mythological motifs, Dutchess county NY, forests, wilderness, wood totems, natural forms, color, balance, collective unconscious, cultural artifacts, sense of the sacred, wood, seed pods, bamboo

Janet Wheeler

Janet Wheeler grew up in Dutchess County, New York, a place once inhabited by native Wappinger peoples before the Anglo-Dutch settled there in the 1600′s. Although Janet had no contact with those indigenous peoples, the wildness of the area and perhaps some Native dreams eventually worked their way into her psyche to be expressed in sculptural form. As a kid Janet loved exploring the forest and making art. As an adult, after obtaining her art degree from Stanford, she and her husband moved to Switzerland and then to Ithaca, New York. Home again she again “went wild” exploring the 30 foot waterfalls, pools and lakes in the natural world that called to her.

Mask for Exorcism

It’s a good thing Janet had that time to dwell amidst those finger lakes, incipient vineyards, and rolling hills, because in 1963 she and her husband moved to Washington DC, where Rock Creek Park seemed like Nature Abbreviated. Luckily for her, the nature wisdom Janet absorbed in New England found a way into her art and has been a constant from then until now. Luckily for us she regularly exhibits at Touchstone Gallery after helping organize it in 1975.

Totem with Magnolia Branches

Ten years ago Janet eschewed Plexiglas display boxes and began constructing narrow six foot wood totems incorporating unusual papers and colors. Then it was back to the box again, only this time they were natural unpainted wood boxes–perfect foundations for plant material compositions, intriguing metaphors for life on Earth. Janet’s affinity for natural forms shows up in her totems and boxes, which reveal a sensitivity and deep respect for humble materials: delicate seed pods, branches whose strength belies their slight form, feathers and all the shapes and pieces that come from the wild to tell a story of nature to the viewer.

Mask Box

As she works, Janet focuses on color, composition and balance, which, in the end, ultimately reveal inner dreams and powerful visions that are so compelling. Perhaps her imaginings sift in from the spirit force of nature’s ancient rhythms, or the dream world of Wappinger people whose feet walked where she walked, or the universal collective unconscious, that well of mythological motifs and primordial images we see represented in cultural artifacts, from ancient times into the present. That each composition exudes a sense of the sacred, there is no doubt.

In her newest exhibit Pagan Dreams: ceremonial constructions, Janet breaks out of the box again to build nine foot iconic and ceremonial constructions using bamboo, red osier sticks, iridescent oil sticks on Hosho paper, as well as smaller totems and collage masks to round out an exhibition, which is both ancient and contemporary.

PAGAN DREAMS

Ceremonial Constructions by Janet Wheeler

April 5-28, 2013

Preview: April 3-4, 11-6pm

Opening reception: Friday, April 5, 6-8:30pm

Steve Alderton’s ICONS

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art, art openings, artist, dc, dc art, icons, opening reception, painting, paintings, steve alderton, touchstone gallery, washington art, washington art opening, washington dc

Icon No. 4 By Steve Alderton

Vibrant colors, free flowing brushstrokes, enticing textures, and layers of interconnected geometry anchored amongst elegant shapes, this is the alluring realm of Steve Alderton. A true expressionist, Alderton, prefers for his paintings to speak for themselves. Figuratively, he lays out a colorful and emotive walkway, asks and demands nothing of the viewer, except to experience your own journey along his beautifully painted path.

Steve Alderton

Alderton lives in Washington, DC; he studied art at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. He has exhibited in numerous group and solo shows throughout the D.C. area. His works reside in both private and corporate collections. Touchstone Gallery is thrilled to show his solo exhibition this month.

Icon No. 10 By Steve Alderton

ICONS: Alderton’s new dynamic series of portraits, is influenced by the the ancient icons of Eastern Christianity (the word “Icon” is Greek for likeness or image.) The series includes studies of the human form ranging from portraits to full-body nudes; focusing on how the sacred, minimalistic works manage to convey – with just the slightest suggestion – complex aspects of the subject’s persona, spirit, and earthly accomplishments. With that in mind, he sought to capture the likeness of a subject, which alone can reveal much about a person, as did the ancient icons. One could say that in this series he blurs the lines between portraits and the still life of being human. He delivers impressionistic imagery that strips his subjects down to the bare bones of raw emotion, revealing unadulterated souls exposed on canvas.

Icon No. 4 By Steve Alderton

Alderton’s interest in icons extends to their symbolic imagery, in the form of seemingly random objects accompanying the central figure. A superlative stickler for detail: every stroke, color choice, and shape in Alderton’s paintings have a meaning. What do his ICONS have to say; what insights and secrets shall be revealed to you? Join us at Touchstone to find out. This coming Thursday you can meet Alderton and enjoy the exhibition. There will be refreshments, music, and art aplenty.

Third Thursday: March 21, 6-8:30 pm

Icon No. 27 By Steve Alderton

Timothy Johnson’s Single Figure Narratives

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canvas, caps and gowns, contemporary, disguise, Greco-Roman myths, heartbreak, humor, imagination, irony, It's Greek to Me, models, naratives, Narcissus, painting demonstration, picture framing, portrait, Rembrandt, road less traveled, Sargent, small town, storytelling, symbolism, Tim Johnson, Titian, toaster, Touchstone Gallery DC, tubes of paint

Tim paints a friend in the company of Mondrian and Wyeth

Tim could be your ordinary picture framer during the day, or a master of disguise at night–or maybe both. You never know with Tim Johnson. He’s a painter of human complexities using friends for models or capturing himself in mirrors and lenses.  What transpires in his imagination as he stands before a blank canvas and opens tubes of paint is anybody’s guess.

Observing the details of the world around him and encouraged by his parents, Tim was always drawing as a kid. His interest in storytelling probably started then, too, growing up in a small Kentucky town where everyone knew everyone else. The same kids who started first grade with him also filed across the stage with him in caps and gowns twelve years later. When it came to college, though, he was encouraged to head down a “practical” career path in engineering at  Morehead State University. Not wanting to struggle with calculus for another year, he happily switched to art as a junior and eventually graduated with an MA degree. We’re glad he chose the road less traveled, practical or not.

At first Tim was not impressed with the required art history courses, but that naïve attitude “became history” when Titian, Rembrandt, and of course Sargent, paintings captured his attention. From then on he was hooked on the painted portrait (or as Tim often says “single figure narrative”). Soon paint, color, and texture opened the doors to archetypal stories of ancient saints, gods and goddesses.

Daphne Savoring her Victory

Tim’s current work gives a contemporary twist to Greco-Roman mythological characters as expressed  through the personalities of his friends and associates–or himself. Cramming the canvas full of narrative object-hints, he tells the stories of Persephone reentering the upper world to bring warmth and life back to the earth, Hades who imprisoned her in the cold underworld, and Narcissus mesmerized by his own image in a chrome toaster.  Some of Tim’s  figures are perplexed while others show obvious discomfort or glee. Full of humor and irony, hubris and heartbreak, symbolism and sincerity, these portraits hold viewer attention and inevitably produce a smile.

Narcissus . . . Another Morning Coffee Distraction

Timothy Johnson’s new portrait series entitled, It’s Greek to Me is currently on exhibit at Touchstone Gallery from March 1 to March 31, 2013. You can see him putting paint to canvas on most Saturdays and Sundays throughout March. Call 202-347-2787 for specific hours.

Promethius . . .The Theft of Fire

Third Thursday Party

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art, art openings, artist, dc, dc art, leslie nolan, opening reception, painting, paintings, third thursday, touchstone gallery, unfiltered, washington art, washington art opening, washington dc, wine tasting

A special treat, for those of you that have not been able to make it to the gallery yet, here is a lovely glimpse of the show from the Artist herself. It’s a beautiful time to surround yourself by lovely art. Tomorrow, we are celebrating the fantastic Leslie Nolan’s “Unfiltered” at Touchstone Gallery! Her stirring exhibition is closing this week, and there is no time like the present to experience it.

Unfiltered by Leslie Nolan at Touchstone Gallery

All are welcome to come to the closing tomorrow. There will be music provided by DJ Tom Gavin, liquid refreshments, stimulating conversation, inspiring art, lovely ladies, and charming gentlemen. There is no cover, and this will be the last chance to see our all Members Show in February. We hope to see you there!

Third Thursday Event: 6-8:30PM Thursday Feb, 21st.

“UNFILTERED” by Leslie M. Nolan

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art, art openings, art studio, artist, dc, dc art, leslie nolan, opening reception, painting, paintings, touchstone, touchstone gallery, unfiltered, visual art, washington art, washington art opening, washington dc, wine tasting

Unfiltered By Leslie Nolan

Within each brush-stroke, a poetic tinge of mystery, a sophisticated flick of intrigue, a provocative expedition of color and form playing along the canvas: welcome to the painted world of Leslie M. Nolan.

See and Be Seen by Leslie Nolan

Expressing modern life through contemporary patterns, vibrant colors, and willful lines, her figurative style lends a unique voice to her subjects. She takes us on an emotional journey through her spirited themes, visually energizing and enticing the viewer to explore the deeper meaning of her compositions.

Inside Leslie Nolan’s Studio

Leslie M. Nolan is an award-winning figurative and landscape artist. She paints in oil, acrylic and watercolor. Her work has been in the collection of the American Embassy in Luanda, Angola and exhibited in London, U.K. She is a Virginia-based artist, exhibiting primarily in the Washington, D.C. area. Her works also appear in international and national juried shows throughout the U.S.

The Artist’s thoughts on her work and process: “I’m fascinated by people, but not interested in making a realistic likeness. Instead, I try to catch a glimpse of the inner person. In that sense, my work is all about feelings and emotions. This often requires skewing facial features, exaggerating the pose, and using color combinations that command attention.

While I’ve always painted, I had a “square” job, too. I worked at CIA, carried a gun and badge as a Special Agent with the Labor Department and US Information Agency, and served abroad as Regional Security Officer with State Department in high threat posts. I find that living and traveling in dangerous countries and investigating national security matters has had an indelible imprint on the artwork. Basically, I am in every painting.

My goal when painting is to create something new – never seen before. I want viewers to feel something, whether loathing or love. The worst thing that could possibly be said about artwork is that it is boring. I hope mine is neither.”

After seeing her latest body of work, you will no doubt agree, she is very skilled at reaching her goals. It is Touchstone Gallery‘s honor to house her solo exhibition “UNFILTERED” throughout the month of February. The opening is this Friday, so dust off your fun shoes and stop by, try not to miss the opportunity to meet this fascinating Artist.

Dis Six by Leslie Nolan

February 1-24, 2013

Opening Reception, Wine and Live music: Friday, February 1, 6-8:30PM
Music by Tom Rohde, Classical, Brazilian and Spanish Guitar

Third Thursday Event: February 21, 6-8:30

January Highlights

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abraham lincoln, anthony dortch, art, art openings, artist, barack obama, dc, dc art, harmon biddle, inauguration, judith lavender, metro weekly, obamaham, painting, paintings, photography, politics, shelley lowenstein, touchstone gallery, tré, washington art, washington art opening, washington dc, washington post

Blue Egg By Harmon Biddle

The Washington Post reviewed Harmon Biddle’s solo show “Earth’s Elements” and featured her lovely watercolor painting shown above.

A Resting Place by Judith Lavender

“Soldiers Without Battles” a solo show by Judith Lavender has been an emotional exhibit not to be missed.

“Politics as UN-usual,” our inaugural and political themed exhibition, garnered a lot of attention this month.

The Washington Post featured Tré’s graphite drawing “Obamaham” (a combination portrait of President Abraham Lincoln and President Barak Obama) on the front page of Sunday’s (01/13-13) Art Section, as well as inside, where it also recognized Shelley Lowenstein’s painting “The Haves and the Have-Nots” and Anthony Dortch’s piece “I Want Your Money.”

Art As Politics was an article written by Doug Rule for Metro Weekly, featuring Anthony Dortch’s piece and speaking of Janathel Shaw’s poignant sculpture ”Salt N Pepper N-Shaker.”

The Washington Post Express proclaimed “Politics as UN-usual” at Touchstone Gallery was the number one thing to do inauguration weekend.

All in all, it has been an exciting month, and a wonderful way to start off this year.

Uncovering the Magic of the Universe

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ancient myths, artist, artistic transformation, Bill Mould, ceramic, clay, collectors of ceramics, creativity, faint scratches, fatherhood, insight into the soul, inspiration, kiln, literature, magic, new discovery, Paris, Pompeo Pianazzola, responsibility, sculptor, text, touchstone gallery, universe

“Achiles & Patroclus” a portion of the story in stained and fired clay

Bill calls himself a ceramic sculptor — one who works at taking clay from the earth and transforming it into sculptures, which recall ancient myths. The clay, heavy to begin with, becomes light and intensely fragile as he works with it. He  makes art in order to stir new ways of thinking and experiencing the world both for himself and for those who view the finished pieces.

Bill was a professor of literature and a dean for 30 years. He worked closely with very bright students and watched them transform themselves into startlingly wonderful young men and women. It was like watching a butterfly emerge from its pupa.  Fatherhood is similar, but comes with a much scarier sense of responsibility.  Art is the same, except that the artist has a much more direct hand in the process.  If a student or a child goes awry, one works hard to correct the problem. If a sculpture goes bad or blows up in the kiln, you mourn briefly, toss the shards, and move forward.  It is much easier.

“I don’t think you ‘become’ an artist.  I think that we are all potential artists. It is when one decides to delve into one’s creativity that art can happen. When I was 40, I explored the possibility of becoming a professional actor/director.  I found that the more I did theater, the less I enjoyed it. The more I was paid, the more like hard work it became. Whatever “art” was in my acting became rote. In retirement, I was pressured into taking a ceramics course. It did not go well. I was terrible at the wheel, and I had no inspiration. On a visit to Paris, I had dinner at the home of friends who were world-class collectors of ceramics.  The rooms were full of dozens of stunning, exquisitely wrought pieces. One wall sculpture by Pompeo Pianazzola hung opposite my chair at dinner. Although, dinner was delicious and the conversation sparkling, my eyes kept going to that sculpture. Between courses I would get up and go to it, examining it in great detail. It was slightly curved, matte black, with a bright red mark in the lower right corner and faint scratches across the body of the piece, as if there had once been a text. I was fascinated. When I came back to my ceramics class, I knew what I wanted to do.  And that has remained the source of my inspiration ever since.”

For Bill, this Parisian encounter sparked a life in the visual arts. Every time he does a piece, it is a new discovery. The more he works, the more sure he is that a world without art is a world without insight into its soul. Not all artists can reach the highest levels, but all of us who work with sincerity and commitment will uncover at least a shred of the magic of the universe. And those of us who stop and absorb each piece are the richer for it.

“Invitation” glazed and fired clay

“Gilgamesh” glazed and fired clay

Touchstone Show Named in “Washington’s best art gallery shows of 2012″

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art, Bill Mould, ceramic, touchstone, touchstone gallery, washington art, washington dc, washington post, washingtons best 2012

Pandora’s Cup

Congratulations to Touchstone Gallery’s artist Bill Mould and his solo show “Spirit and Enigma” for being named one of Washington’s best art gallery shows of 2012 by “The Washington Post.”

Exhibited at Touchstone Gallery April 4-29

This Washington ceramicist neatly balanced modern technique and classical themes. He shaped clay in unusually thin layers, so it was easily accepted as being fabric, parchment or other foldable substances, and inscribed it with text from ancient, sometimes undeciphered languages. The works ranged from the ominous — a series of six inquisitors, including the infamous Torquemada — to the playful, evoking the lost words and vanished lives that underlie contemporary existence.

Read more at: Washington Post