Serengeti Cheetah.
The Art Gallery at the Orinda Library will be closed through April 7. If the Bay Area’s shelter in place is lifted, the April exhibit will be installed on or near that date.
The artist reception has been rescheduled for 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. April 26 if restrictions are lifted. For up-to-date information on gallery exhibits go to https://lamorindaarts.org/current-exhibits/.
At the Wilder gallery, the current exhibit of Joel Tesch’s paintings will remain in place through the end of the month. No artist reception is scheduled in April.
The work of John Anderle, which was scheduled for April at Wilder, has been rescheduled for August.
The library gallery, once it reopens, is set to display “Out of Africa” photographs by Maggie Boscoe, David Fleisig, Pam Hall, Jeff Halliday and Maureen Rosati-Wee, along with the Bay Area Studio Artists group show entitled “Inspired By.”
Father and First Born by Suzun Almquist.
Boscoe, Orinda resident and Lamorinda Arts Council co-curator of the library gallery, organized the exhibit. She said so many people told her Africa was their favorite place to visit that she had to find out why. All group members agree with Hemingway who said, “I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.”
Each member of the group has been on different trips to Africa at different times. Most of the five-member group’s 72 photographs – all 8” x 10” in matte finish – portray exotic birds and animals with a few portraits and landscapes.
I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar recalls an unforgettable moment while Boscoe was on safari. “I’ve used a bit of whimsy in my titles,” she said.
Fleisig of Berkeley said, “I’ve been on three African safaris. I was and still am fascinated by being off road and seeing wonderful wildlife in its natural environment.” Fleisig’s Serengeti Cheetah was shot within the Serengeti National Park, a vast savanna spanning 12,000 square miles.
Halliday of Orinda is fascinated by the birds of Africa. When you view his African Darter photograph portraying this water bird’s 47 inch wingspan you’ll understand why. It is also dubbed “snakebird” (slanghals in Afrikaans) because it typically swims underwater with only its neck and head sticking out. This gives the bird the appearance of a swimming snake. It frequents fresh and brackish waters close to fresh vegetation in sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq.
Rosati-Wee of Orinda said she dreamed for many years of visiting Botswana because the country has done such a wonderful job preserving its wildlife. She also wanted to see and photograph the colorful landscape in different areas of Namibia. Her Botswana Leopard photograph is an up-close and personal look at this solitary, stealthy and shy animal. “When I finally went, I was so taken aback with the beauty of Africa and its people that I returned a second time to share this beautiful continent with my entire family,” said Rosati-Wee.
Ruth Stanton’s Blue is an acrylic on canvas.
Bay Area Studio Artists (BASA) is a group of painters who have been showing work and painting together since 2010. They work in an eclectic mix of subject matter ranging from figurative to landscapes, from realism to expressionism. Boring is not in their vocabulary.
Their theme for this show, “Inspired By” is meant to reflect the inspirational forces in the lives of each artist. This includes great cooks, nature’s wonders, fighters for freedom, the beauty of a garden, love of family, the sound of the ocean and icons of our time.
Suzun Almquist’s 20” x 20” Father and First Born is surprising as it is an acrylic painting reminiscent of a pen and ink drawing or photograph because of its monochromatic palette. Ruth Stanton’s 40” x 30” acrylic painting entitled Blue serves up a wallop of gorgeous blues.
Other BASA artists participating in the show include: Jeanette Crawford Baird of Walnut Creek, a self-described representational artist who paints in oil and acrylic; Lassie Colebourn of Lafayette who draws in pen and ink and also works in acrylic using a bold color palette in a post-Impressionist style; Ellen Reintjes of Walnut Creek who paints stories inspired by her favorite activities including raising dogs, watching birds and enjoying family and friends; Joanne Taeuffer of Berkeley who uses paintings to tell stories with thick creamy brush strokes and simple compositions; Sharon Tama of Orinda who works in acrylic focused on representational and abstract subjects often inspired by her grandchildren and is also an illustrator, and Marcy Wheeler of Walnut Creek, a career artist and painting instructor who paints figurative and landscape subjects.
To learn more about BASA, go to https://bayareastudioartists.com/. To learn more about the Lamorinda Arts Council, go to http://www.lamorindaarts.org.
The Art Gallery at the Orinda Library is at 26 Orinda Way. Regular hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. In light of the virus, check http://ccclib.org/ for updates, or call 925-254-2184.
