My paintings still hang at the Greensboro Library, and they may be up for several more months. Greensboro is a pretty quiet place during the winter months!
A Review of an Exhibition of Watercolor Paintings by Elise Andréa at the Greensboro Free Library in Greensboro, Vermont from September, 2011.
"Elise Andréa is having a show of her remarkable watercolor paintings at the Greensboro Free Library, works in various sizes of scenes both in Vermont and New Zealand, plus a number of still life subjects. She began drawing and painting when a young child and started doing watercolor at age 11. Her mastery of this medium is fully evident in these pieces on exhibition, where she achieves a delicacy and precision in her brushstrokes without ever getting lost in the details, a consistency of texture, tone and light that merges into strong overall compositions. As she says in her artist’s statement, she is “inspired by the infinite wonders of the natural world which remind her of the Creator, who gave us life and sight to see and feel beauty.”
Goose Patrol is a medium sized work with six geese strutting officiously to the right, perfectly capturing their characteristic look of always wanting to know what’s going on. Humor combines here with a very accurate depiction of their shapes as well as the feeling of their feathers. Similarly comic is Meeting Adjourned (sheep miniature), in which the texture of the curly wool is beautifully painted and the sheep take typical poses. Listening for the Shepherd also succeeds in building exquisite detail into a well balanced whole. Vermont Milk has a bold frontal view of a Holstein cow in a field with a startling directness, the layout on the paper well proportioned, while conveying the animal’s inquisitive stare. In Andréa’s work it is almost as if the patience of a medieval manuscript painter was combined with Albrecht Durer’s intensely observant eye (as in his own astonishing watercolors.)
Quiet Harbor and Summer Evening both have lovely color harmonies in showing a small harbor with moored boats looking out to a larger lake, with the reflections of the water skillfully done. Two other works with a water element in them are Trout Paradise and Abundantly Satisfied. The first has a small stream in the woods with a slight waterfall and pool below, the roiled and transparent stretches of water quite realistically portrayed along with the understory forest light. The second has a cow drinking in a large stream bordered by fields, the water reflecting the wonderful summer’s day around it in complex ways, all in a dynamic composition.
Warren Springtime, Sugarshack evokes maple sugaring time in Vermont in early March, when snow is still on the ground but there is a new brightness in the sun’s light. Chelsea Tea House is a particularly fine summer scene of an old shingled shack with blooming day lilies on the roadside, the vines on the building painted almost leaf by leaf to extraordinary effect. A Full Garner has a dramatic red barn with a large white silo and two cows in the foreground, all carefully thought out. In Glen Massey Muster similarly the red of a man’s shirt is the center point of the composition, around which are integrated a horse, dogs and sheep in a New Zealand landscape, lovingly painted.
Several of the still life works are almost like classical exercises, with carefully arranged objects comparable to those of the Dutch masters. The Omelet, Blessings Abound and A Lemon Study celebrate the pleasures of food that keep us in everyday contact with nature.
Further information about Elise Andréa’s watercolors can be found at elisefineart@gmail.com, on a Facebook fan page, Elise Fine Art, or at her blog, www.elisefineart.blogspot.com." ~ by David K. Rodgers, Hardwick Gazette Reporter
I am very grateful for all those who have encouraged me with their support and love over the years. Many thanks to David and all of my beautiful friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving, friends!
With love,
Elise
Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. ~ Psalm 106:1-3
