Beginning August 27, Firehouse Art Center's Harrington Gallery in Pleasanton, California, will host Transitions: The Beauty of Life’s Journey in which 20 California artists explore the meaning of transition and the varied forms it takes in life. 
Randy Sexton, The Pin Cushion Ride, oil on canvas, 18 x 24"
The artists have each responded to this broad theme through the lens of their own perception resulting in landscapes, figurative and still life paintings, and in equally diverse mediums including oil, pastel and watercolor. Some of the artists interpret the notion of transition as the changes in the natural world across seasons or the way light changes over the course of a day. Figurative works might focus on the effects time has on our bodies and relationships, while still lifes may gesture to the cyclical nature of their organic subjects.
Michael Obermeyer, A New Day, oil, 12 x 24"
Artist Tia Kratter’s piece, Aging Gracefully, depicts a bouquet flowers as they fade, wilt and begin to lose their petals. Similarly, Randy Sexton turned to the revival and rebirth of The Ruth Bancoft Garden in Walnut Creek, California, over a 10-year period. Carole Rafferty’s painting, We’ve Been Married a Long Time is a snapshot of an ordinary moment in a relationship that has ripened into old age. 
Carole Rafferty, We’ve Been Married a Long Time, oil, 20 x 16"
“For me ‘transitions’ are what happens as we age,” says Rafferty. “I’m fascinated by the physical changes and how those affect everything we do—how we think, what interests us and what we are capable of. I’m especially fascinated by relationships between people who have spent many years together and my work in this exhibition shows how these relationships between spouses, families and friends evolve over time.”
Tia Kratter, Aging Gracefully, watercolor, 24 x 16"
Michael Obermeyer’s work showcases the changes that take place during a day on the California coast—both the light and the activities—and mixed media artist Brian Blood applies a similar approach to geological landmarks.
An opening reception will take place August 27 followed by artist demonstrations every weekend through October 15. —
Firehouse Art Center-Harrington Gallery 444 Railroad Avenue • Pleasanton, CA 94566
(925) 931-4850 • www.firehousearts.org/gallery
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