The Sunriver Resort Lodge Betty Gray Gallery invites the public to a reception on Saturday, October 1, 4:30–6pm, in honor of the featured artists of Fall in the High Desert: JM Brodrick, Joanne Donaca, Mary Rollins and Gary Vincent. The artists, all participants in the continuing Fall Quarter Exhibit, will attend the reception featuring complementary wine and appetizers.
A painter since childhood, wife and mother of three, a member of COCC Community Education Advisory and Kids Center boards, Donaca returned to her brush in earnest in 2000 after seeing a Monet exhibit at the Portland Art Museum. Inspired, she began serious focus on impressionistic oils on canvas. A coveted associate membership in Oil Painters of America reflects her achievement.
The artist now chooses an enhanced yet realistic palette drawn from nature. She combines strong, defining foundational strokes with softer, gestural surface strokes, creating both texture and movement. She excels in painting water with a clear vision of light on its surface, depicting the qualities of both refraction and reflection. Her subject of water also evidences her awareness of hues and values, creating a realistic vision of fluidity on the surface.
Donaca notes her satisfaction in her art over the years. Significantly she adds, “Yet I measure my true ability by the pleasure the public takes in viewing my work and that my clients take in a choosing a piece.”
On the upper level of the gallery (second floor), Rollins presents her exquisitely detailed watercolors of rivers and creeks. She exhibits brilliantly colored reflections of fall leaves, chartreuse green moss on rocks, yellow ochre caches of seasonal remnants, all against a bold background of varied blues in water and sky. The hues are intense and riotous, mirroring the striking colors of Oregon autumn.
Described as “Contemporary Naturalism,” the artist applies heavy underglazing, multi-layered washes, and other complicated techniques to produce complex paintings often requiring weeks to complete. She developed her exemplary technique with a BFA from Southern Oregon State University and continued studies with prominent watercolor artists.
Rollins is a member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon and a recipient of its Bronze Award in 2000. Her work has been the subject of many publications including a feature article, “Intimate by Nature,” in the prestigious Watercolor magazine.
JM Brodrick and Gary Vincent, both featured in September press, work in acrylic and join in the Fall Quarter Exhibit at the resort. Sunriver Resort invites the public to the exhibition open all hours which continues through November 14.
Billye Turner organizes the Sunriver Resort Lodge art exhibits with info at 503-780-2828 or billyeturner@bendnet.com.