Page 17 - the NOISE August 2013

Raven’s Rest by Dawn Sutherland. Ms. Sutherland is one of three
artists featured in the window of the Artists’ Gallery this August.
Gallery.
Painter Dawn Sutherland tells me at
heart, she’s a Wisconsin farm girl. “I am de- lighted Stan and I found our way to Flagstaff,” she says. “For what it’s worth I am an avid gardener which is what I did before I got into painting at the age of 47 ... that means I’ve been painting for nearly 13 years now. I was recently asked to place paintings in the Grand Canyon Association Visitors’ Cen- ter and Kolb Studio. I get up to the Canyon every chance I get to paint and can’t believe my good fortune being so close to this mar- velous place. I painted there on Christmas Day which probably was the coldest I’ve ever been while painting.”
Ms. Sutherland paints with Plein Air Art- ists of Northern Arizona and enjoys work- ing on site. The art travels with the artist, who tells me of recent trips. “Last November, I took my painting gear on a trip to France,” she says. “Locally, I hiked down the Hermit Trail to Santa Maria Spring with watercolorist Bob Dalegowski in late June.”
“Cliff Roses and Blue Shadows is based upon a small piece I painted at the South Rim early in the morning when the shadows are a beautiful blue,” Ms. Sutherland tells me about a painting. “The cliff roses were responding to recent rains with showers of blooms that scented the morning air with a fragrance that is indescribably all their own. The South Kai- bab Trail follows the ridge of the landform in the painting and anyone who has hiked this route knows the wonderful views up and down the Canyon from this trail.”
“Recently, I’ve been working on nocturnes: night paintings,” she shares. “I’ve done two of Lookout Studio at Grand Canyon and just finished one of Desert Watchtower. The first
two sold almost immediately. I’ve also been working on a series of water lily paintings. It’s fun to play with color, design, and reflections in the water. And as always, I paint frequently at Grand Canyon and have some paintings that come from some great inspiration.”
Ms. Sutherland has many shows already planned for 2014 and will be part of Flagstaff Open Studios where she will be showing new work. Also look for her in “Prelude,” at the Coconino Center for the Arts.
The Artists’ Gallery, 17 N. San Francisco, is open for the First Friday ArtWalk August 2, from 6PM to 9PM. The public is invited to come meet the artists and see all the many fine works of art on the gallery walls. Flag- staffArtistsGallery.com
eXploRing the Stage
Over a year ago, Flagstaff artist Sky Black began discussing with Chris Scully the idea of bringing artwork into the Orpheum. “We discussed murals, shows, and the possibil- ity of a large installment piece that almost a year later has manifested into, When the Curtains Fall.
Mr. Black tells me about When the Curtains Fall. “The painting began like any other, with ample brush strokes, fiery shapes of red and orange, and no concrete vision of how it was going to turn out,” he says. “My initial idea involved musical instruments carved into cliff walls resembling a ‘Mount Rushmore of musical instruments,’ feeling. I was a month into the progress on the idea when one day it hit me like a brick to completely change my vision for the piece and reset The Stage.
“Over the next months, it was a process of rebuilding my composition and subject matter before I began the marathon stretch
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thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • AUGUST 2013 • 17