Page 22 - the NOISE March 2014

22 • MARCH 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
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ing a new audience to view his established work in print form at a two-month show at Vino Loco called “Just as Real,” offering many limited edition prints of what have become iconic images.
This showing gives Mr. Black the chance to connect with the public, discuss his cur- rent body of work, and build anticipation for the unveiling of new work in the spring. The featured image, Leaving, depicts a picnic- like dreamscape where the green apple ap- pears to hold court over the scene. It elicits thoughts of a far off memory of an enchant- ed day in the park, and is one of Mr. Black’s most sought after prints. Making the art more accessible to his ever-increasing audi- ence is the concept behind the show.
“For people that don’t know me yet, I’d like to make my images affordable and ap- proachable; get them out there and spread them as far as I can,” says Mr. Black. “I like to meet people, and as I grow as an artist, it might become harder to meet everyone.”
Strong central characters typify Mr. Black’s paintings, and animals have increasingly taken center stage. When asked about this, Mr. Black replies, “As I paint the piece, it is revealed to me that it is a she; it has a very strong feminine presence.”
I ask the artist, if he’s not always initially aware of what he’s doing with the imagery and figures, where he thinks they spring from.
“It’s like a giant aquifer that artists have ac- cess to,” he says. “Once you give yourself to that space, there is no self and you can ac- tuate and build images based on that.” Like picking apart a dream, most paintings are packed with metaphor and can leave the viewer eager for further explanation. How does he know when a piece is complete?
“When they are done, it’s a feeling I get, like ‘okay that’s the last stroke.’” A magician of waves, Mr. Black welds the paintbrush with
Sky Black’s surreal scapes are at Vino Loco this March.
Merlin-esqe wizardry.
Stop by Vino Loco wine shop and bar, 22 E.
Birch Avenue in Flagstaff during First Friday ArtWalk on March 7 to imbibe a dose of pure phantasmagoria.
ARTS BRIEFS
This month The Artists’ Gallery cel- ebrates a lifetime of painting in Northern Arizona by showcasing the regional land- scape paintings of Linda Russell, a Flagstaff resident since 1964 and landscape painter for 30 years. Working from her own experi- ences hiking, raising a family and touring scenic roadways with her husband of 52 years, Ms. Russell aims to capture the spirit of Arizona and its magnificent scenery. Es- pecially inspired and challenged by Grand Canyon, Ms. Russell uses warm colors and even light to depict expansive vistas from a bird’s eye viewpoint. She attributes the inspi- ration for her recent work to her fellow art- ists at the Artists’ Gallery, where her art has been on display for the past 21 years. Meet the artist during First Friday ArtWalk at the Artists’ Gallery, 17 N. San Francisco Street, FlagstaffArtistsGallery.com
NAU’s Studio Theatre presents theatre professor Mac Groves’ Forgotten Places: Looking for a Lost America, an homage to simpler times in the American landscape through stories, music and images. The play, written by Mr. Groves and directed by senior theatre student Jenna Worden, is a multi- media performance that weaves together the stories of a small Midwestern town as the residents trace a forgotten way of life and the people and events that brought them there, against a backdrop of projected images and the American folk music that de- fined a bygone era.
“It’s a series of stories that I’ve grown up with, some are real, and others are slightly