Richard Davies - May 2011 Featured Artist

    ARTIST RECEPITON SUNDAY, MAY 1, 2011 5 - 8 PM

     The artist works that are presented in this exhibition consist of two elements: the oil painted images created by Richard Davies, and the unique frames crafted by Richard Benson. Davies and Benson are former colleagues at the Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory where they pursued efforts to explore the planets in our solar system.
     The images in the paintings are extensions of landscapes and skyscapes, all related to the various creations of Mother Nature. The oil painting techniques are several but the most easily recognizable is the use of pointillism. The paintings are contemporary in feel because of their abstract construction, but they are nonetheless about something natural.
     Once one of these paintings was begun, it took on a life of its own, leaving the painter Davies somewhat at a loss to explain to others his mental processes during the painting. Davies hopes a viewer will be instantly intrigued by the images and will wish to take a second look and a third and other longer looks.
     The materials used in the frames made by Benson are cherry and dark walnut wood that Benson took out of forestland his family owns in Michigan.
     Davies has exhibited elsewhere. Locally he has shown his work at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena and the Gallery at the End of the World on North Lake in Altadena.

Nancy Desmond Armitage March 2011 Featured Artist

Nancy is a landscape, figurative and contemporary painter.  Her recent series "The Adventurers Club" is featured at The Coffee Gallery and illustrates fascinating people, places and memories from around the world.  The layered paintings depict treasures and maps from a faraway land, local birds and fishes, people and customes from certain places - a pictoral journal.  Nancy received her BFA at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.  Additional works can be viewed at http://www.nancyarmitage.com/ or http://www.artslant.com/

Linda Ternoir February 2011 Featured Artist

Linda Ternoir is a local artist who works from her imagination. She paints with acrylics, uses collage, draws with ink, and uses a variety of color media. Movement is the most important aspect of her art. She invites those who view her paintings and drawings to engage, participate, and become involved. Linda is an award-winning artist who has exhibited in many solo and group shows.


Dates: February 1 through 28, 2011

Reception: Sunday, February 6, 2011 from 5 - 8 PM











Thank you in advance, best regards,



Kathleen

December Artists - Peter McDonald and Debbi Swanson Patrick

The Coffee Gallery is very pleased to announce our artists for December: watercolorist Peter McDonald and scanographer Debbie Swanson Patrick.

In the main room we have the wonderful abstract watercolors created by Peter McDonald.

Peter was a restless journalist when on a whim he took a painting class and discovered a passion he never knew existed.  "It was," the Australian born artist recalled after the first water color class, "love at first brushstroke."  He was immediately drawn to abstraction and his distinctive work is built on watercolor bases and random color and texture and transformed by intricate line work.

More than two decades later his work has been seen in both national and local shows winning numerous awards including the National Watercolor Society's Frode Dann Award. The late Dr. Alex Vilumsons, the prize winning abstract-impressionist, and Tom Fong, the California master teacher and artist were influential in his development as an artist.  He currently studies with ntoed watercolorist Fealing Lin and abtract artist and teacher Terri Balady.

"For me, life is a wonderful abstraction of elusive beauty, mystery and spiritual transformation I feel compelled to explore as an artist and try and make sense of in, well, the abstract," he explains.  He is a member of the National Watercolor Society and the Pasadena Society of Artists.

Visit his website at PeterMcDonaldStudio.com

In the conference room we have the intriguing scanography works of Debbi Swanson Patrick.

Of her work, Debbi states:

"Since the day my father brought home a Polaroid camera I've been in love with making images, the joy of discovery in capturing a moment that will never be again.  Now, I've embraced the art of scanography with it's incredible quality of light and detail to tell stories, capture mood, create a visual-sometime ethereal and whimsical-festival of life and death.  I'm intrigued with contrasts: life/death, old/new, dark/light, real/imitation, daily reality/eternal spirit to connect into our individual emotional waves, and how we manage to live, to cope, and laugh in spite of it all.  Ultimately my goal is to transform past challenges into the beauty of original "Still lives" that reflect joy and lifes' emotional layers by contrasting polished, raw, manufactured, natural and found objects in startling ways.

One of the best moves I ever made was the one to Altadena 15 years ago.  Thank you to all my Altadena/Pasadena friends and family who've been such great supporters and helped me through this past year! Special thanks to Dawn Stevens of Clickers and Flickers and Ed Martin, my scanography mentor and inspiration.  This show is dedicated to my late husband, Steven, for his never-ending faith.

Please visit Debbi's other work at:

photodeb.viewbook.com
AltadenaAboveItAll.com
AltadenaDailyPhoto.com
KPPC's The Freeway on Facebook
digiphotomag.com

Please join Debbie for an 

Artist's Reception on

December 16th 

from 6 pm to 9 pm

at 

The Coffee Gallery.

September Artists - Janos K. Lanyi and Dorothy Shepherd

In the main room we have the vibrant photography of Janos K. Lanyi.

Artist Profile

As a pre-teen Janos spent all his time drawing and painting, but made the decision to abandon art and turn toward science, which also fascinated him.  He never touched the sketching pencil again, but neither did he stop looking at the world with an artist's eye.  Now, sixty hears later, he has begun to create photographic images, which reflect all he learned from his visual experiences.

Just as every block of marble contains a great sculpture and one need only to trim away the excess, the world is full of great images and the task of the photographer is only to keep an open eye.  He keeps trying to catch those magical moments when form and content come together.  When they do, then there are no questions, no doubts, and no ambiguity: the image is just right.

There is nothing subtle in his photography.  Color or black and white, it is intended to grab your attention, and to demand a "wow".  Being a scientist in his other life, he strives for technical perfection, but that is only the first stage.  the second is when the image connects with the viewer.  He connects best with people, so his subject always includes people or a hint that people are nearby.  the third stage of the "wow" is the soul-crashing impact that is rarely achieved, but once seen never forgotten.  A photograph like that can be a life's ambition.  You have to aim high.

Visit his website at http;//www.janosklanyi.com  

In the conference room we have the beautiful watercolor paintings of artist Dorothy Shepherd.

Artist Profile

Dorothy has been painting in the Chinese brush style of watercolors since 1996, with Chinese 

 Brush artist Nan Rae.  She particularly likes to pain animals, landscapes and flowers.  For the last two years, she has been studying with master Chinese calligrapher Tom Shantian Chow and is learning to paint some of the Chinese calligraphy characters in cursive style.  Many of the brush strokes used in her watercolors are also used in Chinese calligraphy.  By practicing both forms of brushwork she hopes to improve her painting.

Janos K Lanyi's artwork will be on exhibit through September 29th.

Dorothy Shepherd's artwork will be on exhibit through September 22nd.

We Apologize for the Delay

Due to illness this site has not been updated for the August art exhibit.

In short:  In both the main room and the conference room we have the wonderful paintings of Gary Thomas.  Please click on the link below for more information on the artist.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gary-Thomas-Artist/108196752554239


We will have a proper announcements beginning again for our September exhibits.

Thank you for your patience!

June Artists - Zofia Kostyrko and Catherine Yu

The Coffee Gallery is pleased to present our June artists, Zofia Kostyrko and Catherine Yu.

In the main room we have Zofia Kostyrko's wonderful portraits of local residence from Altadena and Pasadena. 

Zofia Kostyrko, the Brainy Brush Diva: Fine Artist

Exploring the Yin & Yang Between Portraiture and Commercial Conceptual Design

A native of Warsaw, Poland who  escaped communism as a child.  Zofia Kostyrko has spent a lifetime telling stories.  A classically trained fine artist and designer and a graduate of the Art Center College of Design and the WDI Disney Masters workshops, she uses bold lines and dynamic colors on both digital and cloth canvas as her creative playgrounds.  Under her two separate companies, Zofia Kostyrko-The Brainy Brush Diva and deZign sKape, LLC, the artist offers fine portraiture and commercial conceptual design services respectively.

Lauded as an award-winning conceptual and experienced designer, illustrator and creative director, Kostyrko, as the creative lead behind deZign sKape, LLC, boasts an impressive career spanning over 20 years with a variety of international entertainment-based clients ranging from theme park, exhibit and stage design to network children's programming children's publishing and brand development.

Through Zofia Kostyrko - The Brainy Bush Diva, she is committed to using fine art portraiture as a catalyst to shatter stereotypes and social barriers to celebrate the human spirit and acceptance of others.  Her paintings are held in pultiple private collections and exhbited in both group and individual gallery shows.

Kostyrko has resided in Altadena with her family since the early nineties, where she continues to tell stories through art; drawing inspiration from her loved ones, her community, nature with all of its variations and quirks, music and modern pop culture.

For more details regarding these wonderful portraits please click on the following link:

www.youchangemyworld.com
 
ARTIST RECEPTION:


Sunday, June 13th, 7 pm - 9 pm.

Artist Website: www.brainybrushdiva.com

Artist e-mail contact: zofia@dezignskape.com

Artist Studio Phone #: 626.296.8686

In the conference room we have the lovely oil paintings of artist Catherine Yu.

Catherine Yu, an up and coming Taiwanese American artist, had shown talent in art since she was a little girl.  throughout her childhood and adolescent years, she won numerous art contests and plein air painting competitions in her homeland of Taiwan as well as in the United States.


She's a lady with a diverse background.  She holds two bachelor degrees from UC Irvine - one in Studio Art and the other in Environmental Analysis and Design.  During her time at UC Irvine, she was featured in many group shows as well as having a solo show on campus.  she then attended UCLA for a masters degree in Urban Planning.  Since graduation in 2004, she has been working full-time as an urban planner.


Although art is not her current full-time career, she continues to cultivate her art by taking classes, workshops, and association with other artists.  In recent years, she has studied with California artists Steve Criqui, Kevin Appel, Steve Metzger, and Tom Brown.  She is a permanent member of Gallery So Ho, a co-op gallery located in Pomona.  She also exhibits her paintings twice annually with the Taiwanese American Association of Art.  In May 2008, her paining was published by the City of Los Angeles.  In March 2010, she was invited to exhibit her work in her native country, Taiwan.


Her inspiration comes from American landscape, her travels to different countries, as well as simple daily happenings.  She hopes her art can evoke awareness to the daily blessing that we so often take for granted.


Both artist's work will be on exhibit through June 29th