A mood of introspection, calm contentment and joy mingle in the atmosphere during a duo exhibition for Jhenna Quinn Lewis and Ann Kraft Walker. Highlighting Walker’s still lifes of old objects and surfaces, imbued with memories and Lewis’ delicate and detailed avian art, the title of the show, on view at InSight Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas, gently encourages viewers to Be Still.
Jhenna Quinn Lewis, Yours?, oil, 8 x 6"
“Jhenna’s work and mine complement each other in the quiet simplicity and peaceful pause they present to the viewer,” says Walker. She explains that most of her ideas for her still life paintings come from objects she lives with—an old bucket she used to feed her horses with as a child, ironstone pitchers that once belonged to her mother. “One morning in November I went on a hunt for something to put in the redware jar and found chinkapin oak leaves that were perfect for November,” the artist says of her square composition of a vase of autumn leaves surrounded by scattered acorns.
Ann Kraft Walker, Hodges Farm Market, oil, 20 x 14"
“I feel we are a great pairing. I have long admired her work,” Lewis echoes. “We have in common the love for the still life genre that brings nature into the forefront. Nature is included in almost all we paint. There is also the feel of an Old Master style for us, along with a limited palette.” Most of her paintings in the exhibition will be on the smaller side, apart from a 24-by-24-inch piece depicting an owl and three Asian boxes titled Secret in the Shadows. 
Jhenna Quinn Lewis, Secret in the Shadows, oil, 24 x 24"
Ann Kraft Walker, Remembering Virginia, oil on panel, 30 x 40"
Ann Kraft Walker, November, oil, 20 x 20"
“The show is split between my traditional work of a bird on a ledge or with books with a dusky atmospheric background or a wallpaper patterned one. I also am including, along with the traditional compositions, a few modern feeling pieces. These pieces are set in beautiful float frames where the subject matter appears to sit directly on the inside of the frame,” Lewis explains. Compositions that embody the idea that “less is more.”
Be Still will be held from May 7 to 28.
InSight Gallery
214 W. Main Street • Fredericksburg, TX 78624
(830) 997-9920 • www.insightgallery.com
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