June 4, 2014
Whidbey landscapes come to life at Rob Schouten Gallery with a show titled “Island Light,” featuring new works by painters Annette Adrian Hanna and Richard Engstrom. The show opens Friday, June 6, has an artists reception on Sunday, June 8 and runs through Monday, June 30.
Hanna is an award-winning painter in a variety of media, but her favorites, she said, are oil and pastel. Here we are treated to her expert use of pastels to create radiant pieces that feature the colorful vitality of island settings.
“My main interests are people and the landscape,” said the artist, who lives mainly in New Jersey, but has long spent summers on Whidbey. “I love the outdoors and enjoy plein-air painting,” Hanna said.
“The beauty of the landscape, to me, has a very spiritual quality. I can go to the same location in different seasons or find a different viewpoint, and it becomes an entirely different painting.”
Hanna is a member of several pastel societies both nationally and regionally and has been featured in American Artist Magazine, the Best of Pastel II, International Pastel Artist magazine and the Best of America, Pastel Artists, among her other notable achievements.
Engstrom, too, finds evocative spots of light on the island, delving his brush into the exploration of Whidbey’s historical buildings and natural settings. “Afternoon light plays an important role, giving feeling to that which is older but still sound, and offering up memories and experiences of another time,” Engstrom said.
Engstrom’s background as a professional illustrator has served him well. This mainly self-taught painter excels at capturing that luminous quality of light that endears the island to us. He sees the softness of a day’s fading—that romantic time before dusk that feels nostalgic—and then enhances it even more with his gentle use of color.
In this exhibit, Engstrom explores the contrast between the stillness of buildings against the movement of the natural world that surrounds them. He’s focused on areas of Central Whidbey—an old stomping ground—including the pond and Pies Café at Greenbank Farm, the long view of Coupeville from the west side of Penn Cove and the areas around Crockett Lake near the Coupeville Ferry.
Please join us for light refreshments and a chance to meet the artists from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 8 during Greenbank Farm’s “Second Sunday at the Farm” event, when the Farm’s galleries, shops and cafe welcome visitors to enjoy a relaxed afternoon of fine art, good food, natural beauty and lively conversation.
Rob Schouten Gallery, a premier showcase for Whidbey Island and Northwest artists, is located at 765 Wonn Road, #C-103 at the historic Greenbank Farm. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For further information, call 360-222-3070 or email info@robschoutengallery.com.
Pictured at top, Richard Engstrom’s “At the Base,” an acrylic on canvas. (photo courtesy of the artist)