August 12, 2014
Step into the realm of the seasoned painter.
Rob Schouten Gallery presents “Still Life, Still Water” featuring the paintings of Anne Belov and Jacob Kohn continues through August 27.
As island artist Belov moves along the continuum of her long painting life, her work, she says, “is the same, only more so.” In other words, in more than 35 years of painting, Belov gets deeper into the style and skill that is undeniably her own.
Belov continues to explore the ancient medium of egg tempera, using egg yolk to bind powdered pigment in order to create her colors. The paint is applied in many thin, translucent layers, using small brush strokes. The finished painting achieves a lustrous quality, which she finishes with oil glazing to bring an additional richness to the finished painting.
Tipping her hat to the great Dutch masters, this artist admits a fascination with depicting everyday life. “The still moment becomes the still life and everywhere I go, everything I see, becomes a subject for painting,” she said.
Whether it’s a street scene from home or Europe, or a naturalistic still-life of a kitchen sink filled with dirty dishes, Belov captures the authentic moments of the human condition.
This painter can also be playful. In her painting titled “Considering Vermeer,” Belov sticks her modern toe in traditional waters.
“This painting portrays two women, studying a Vermeer painting of a woman pouring from a pitcher of milk, in the Rijksmuseum,” Belov said. “They appear to be taking notes or sketching, as you can see the corner of a notebook in one woman’s hand.”
Rich color, a stunning use of light and a natural affinity for the subjects of everyday life combine to make Belov’s paintings an enjoyable and wholly relatable viewing experience.
Speaking of experience, Seattle artist Jacob Kohn has long experience as a professional painter, in addition to his continued work as a professor in the Department of Design at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. In this show of new works, Kohn dives ever more deeply into his myth-like theme of water and its dreamy, floating, flowering plant-life.
“I have returned time and again to the realism of nature as a subject because it provides me with a visual language that best expresses the abstract energy and emotional color that I find essential in my art,” Kohn said.
The shifting forms created by moving water, the vibrant plant-life colors, the rich contrasts of pattern and hue in nature and the effects of light on water give this artist plenty of elements for inspiration.
“I’m a colorist,” Kohn said. “I love color and create my own colors, of which I use about eight to make-up my palette for all the paintings.”
Those colors are further emphasized by Kohn’s playful titles for these news paintings, some of which reflect his tea lover’s sensibility, including “Lemon Zinger,” “Darjeeling,” “Earl Grey” and “Vanilla Spice.”
“Still Life, Still Water” opened Friday, Aug. 1 and runs through Wednesday, Aug. 27.
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 is Anne Belov’s “Radiance,” oil on linen. (photo courtesy of the artist)