Susan Powell Fine Art | 4/12-5/6 | Madison, CT

Personal Passions

A group show at Susan Powell Fine Art explores the inspiration behind their favorite paintings

What inspires artists and why? Are they struck by the beauty of a young girl or breaking waves at sunrise, the character of an old building or the solitude of a steadfast barn? What makes them stop at the sight of something interesting to paint?

These are the questions that underpin an innovative group show at Susan Powell Fine Art that opens on April 12 and runs through May 6. Titled 35 Artists and their Favorite Paintings,the exhibition explores the inspiration behind the work of 30-plus fine artists and why a particular subject ignites their creative spirit, and retains its enduring appeal.

Kyle Stuckey, Resilience, oil, 15 by 24"

On view will be a stimulating variety of landscapes, seascapes, still life, figurative works and urban scenes by the gallery’s top-tier artists.

For Kyle Stuckey, whose dream-like piece Resilience is featured here, an interest in figurative work and portraiture initially fueled his desire to become a professional artist. “At this point, I paint all kinds of subject matter but portraiture holds a special place for me, and I am always excited when I get to create art around the human experience,” Stuckey says. “I want my portraits to feel like a story, regardless of how complex or simple the composition may be. I don’t want them to just be a painting of a person, I want it to feel like a human experience, to feel alive, to feel like a piece of artwork that has emotion and a story to be heard.”

Julie Beck, Idols, but not Masters, oil on canvas panel, 12 x 12"

Artist Kelly Birkenruth has always enjoyed incorporating juxtapositions in her paintings, as in the tightly-rendered Playful Plaster Cast, which combines imagery of classical sculpture with the funny pages. Birkenruth says, “This painting allowed me to revisit the joyful world of my comic series and by adding a replica of an ancient Roman statue, I was able to satisfy that intrigue by pairing the old with the new, the smooth with the crumpled and the monochromatic with the colorful.”

Jeanne Rosier Smith, Salty and Sunlit, pastel, 20 x 60"

“This panoramic, early-dawn painting combines my favorite subject with my favorite shape,” says Jeanne Rosier Smith of her award-winning pastel seascape Salty and Sunlit. “My idea was to bring the viewer into the scene at the ocean’s edge, to feel the wet sand as the waves roll and crash on the shore.” Her panoramic pieces allow the viewer to feel the vastness of the ocean vistas, while her use of color, light and sensation of motion enhance the sublime nature of the sea.

Kelly Birkenruth, Playful Plaster Cast, oil, 12 x 9"

Master of the still life, Larry Preston, chose to paint Ball Jar with Tangerines to capture the luminous light passing through the glass. “I also think that the way the warm natural sunlight plays on the table creating shadows and the way the light shines through the sections of the clementines, making them appear translucent, is beautiful,” says Preston. “I have returned often to the same subjects as my skill as a painter progresses and my technique changes. I see things differently as I progress and am better able to come closer to the vision that I have.”

Larry Preston, Jar with Tangerines, oil, 12 x 16"

Julie Beck’s trompe l’oeil Idols, but not Masters, which initially seems like an arrangement of random objects, is an extension of a previous experimental painting called Quantum Entanglement. “Within this painting, I am trying to break the rules and yet retain the three dimensions,” says Beck. “Lost edges and intentional alignments force the viewer to use the modeling of form and abstract shapes to understand the implied space or simply enjoy the play of colors, shapes and textures. This is a favorite of my recent paintings because it’s a way of breaking rules but still playing the game.”