Page 34 - the NOISE July 2013

FROM TOP: Anne Bassett, Don Voss, & Jim Atkinson
JEROME ARTISTS COOP ROCKS THE MOUNTAIN WITH ANNUAL MEMBERS SHOW
The Jerome Artist Cooperative Gallery celebrates its bi-annual membership show kicking off Saturday, July 6th and running through August 1st.
This year’s theme is “Jerome Rocks!” and will feature atypical works by the 35 co-op members and local artists who work in mediums that include wood-working, fab- ric arts, painting, photography, sculpture, jewelry, ceramics, and glass. The member- ship show is particularly exciting because it is the artists’ only opportunity to exhibit work outside of the specific category for which they were juried into the co-op. A painter might show off secret talents in ceramics or a glassblower showcase a jew- elry series — the specifics of which will be kept secret until the unveiling at the grand opening party during First Saturday Art- Walk on Saturday, July 6.
In addition to the long-standing artists who have been members since the co-op’s inception 17 years ago, the group wel- comes two new member-artists, Don Voss and Christine Ryback. Mr. Voss’ acrylic paintings of sacred geometric manda- las, and Ms. Ryback’s delicate cement leaf sculptures are exciting additions to the gal- lery collection.
The 2013 Summer Membership Show, “Jerome Rocks!” opens on Saturday July 6th
with a reception from 5-8PM.
The gallery is located at 502 Main Street,
in the former Hotel Jerome, & open daily 10AM-6PM. For more information, visit jeromecoop.com or call 928-639-4276.
SMUDGES OF CHARCOAL
BY SARAH GIANELLI
and a portrait angles to life
Douglas Weber is slim-hipped and lanky, ing, looking and critiquing, and making sure worked on building up a portfolio of por-
with a small pointy mustache and a shirt opened low enough to reveal a gold coin medallion. Stepping back from his canvas, the artist runs a hand through his mussed up hair, holds his chin ponderously, and nar- rows his eyes into a menacing squint. Finally, brandishing a stub of pastel, he cocks his lip into an Elvis snarl and lunges back to- ward the canvas, laying down his first broad strokes.
Mr. Weber is practicing a variation of “sight-size,” a technique he learned from a master painter in Florence, in which the artist repeatedly steps back to assess his work and
then steps forward again to correct it, creat- ing the rhythm of a halting waltz.
While it might be unnerving to find your- self the object of Mr. Weber’s intense scrutiny on the street, sitting on the other side of his easel, in his funky, loft-like studio in the Old Jerome High School, I sense that it is not “me” he’s sizing up, but rather the lines, angles and proportions that add up to me. Besides, his vaguely smarmy style takes on a boyish charm when you notice the smudges of char- coal on his face, his skateboarding sneakers and half-untucked shirt, and learn that the gold coin was worn by his grandmother to commemorate his 1967 birth date. He really is a product of the 70s.
After the analytical stage of figuring out what makes me look the way I do, he can then tackle the task of transferring it from the three dimensional plane to the two di- mensional, drawing upon another learned way of observing called “flat-seeing.” Once the general outline is down, it is a process of refining and filling in, focusing on the in- terplay of light and shadow that give a face roundness, depth and definition.
“The light and the shadows are what build the form,” he explains. “Color comes in after the basic light shadow drawing is established. At some point you’re just reaching and draw-
it’s an accurate response to what you’re see- ing. Once it coalesces, you can surrender and it takes on a life of its own. You just have to show up and things fall into place.”
Mr. Weber, a Prescott native, is Jerome’s newest artist in residence and only self- proclaimed portrait artist. He took his first art class when he was nine years old and dis- played an innate talent, interestingly enough, in doing dog portraits. Following what he felt was his calling, he went on to earn a scholarship to study at Savannah College of Art and Design, and later transferred to Boston Museum School of Fine Art.
“I went into art school as an abstract art- ist and realized I had no idea how to draw the figure,” he says. “Once I started doing it I loved it. I really like the intimacy of connect- ing with a person, being very real, looking at them and figuring out why they look the way they do. And as you can see, I will keep going as long as anybody will sit for me.”
An almost hairdresser/client rapport de- velops between us as I settle in for the first of three two hour sittings. The scribbling sound of pastel on paper, the soft rays of light pour- ing in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, and our easy banter make the hours slip by unnoticed. I find it difficult to keep a fixed gaze with so much art around me. There are colorful drawings of animals on the old chalk boards; striking woodblock prints; and a series on duality where, working from old film stills, Mr. Weber created composites that upend the power dynamic between men and women.
Mr. Weber recently returned to Arizona af- ter a six month portrait tour that took him to Tucson, Austin, Portland, Asheville, Brooklyn, Denver, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz. He would often trade room and board for his culinary skills (at one point he cooked for 30 members of a sex-cultish urban commune that he prefers to remain unnamed), and
traits that, through social media networking, would line up his next stop.
The primary challenge for a portrait artist is to make it recognizable.
“If you don’t get those angles and lines and widths correct, it doesn’t matter how well you draw the eyes or the nostrils,” he says. “If they’re not in the right place, at the right angle, it won’t look like them. I want it to feel like the person and be recognizable to their friends and family — and be somewhat flattering. It’s nice to make people feel good about themselves, make them see them- selves as beautiful. Every time they look at their picture, it can become their mirror.”
He wasn’t exaggerating when he said he could keep working for as long as a model will sit for him and, after two hours, I am get- ting antsy.
“Alright you’re cut off,” I say, realizing I would have to be firm.
“You’re done Weber!” he mocks. “Stop! Hold the presses!”
“I have to get to work on this story!” I ex- plain. “It’s due, like, tomorrow.”
“Okay,” he says, relenting. “Get out of my chair.”
Douglas Weber is always looking for vol- unteer models in exchange for the finished sketch. He is available by appointment (928- 460-2584) or you can pop into his studio above Western Heritage in the Old Jerome High School complex. He will also be doing portraits on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Pas- sion Cellars, Jerome’s newest wine tasting room. His art is also on display at Old Town Cooperage in Cottonwood and online at douglasweber.net.
| sarah Gianelli may know more about fine culinary skills than she lets on. sarahgianelli@hotmail.com
34 • JULY 2013 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us