Posted by On Friday, two artists brought their unique pieces to showcase at a new art exhibition in the Marvin Cone and Eaton-Buchan Galleries, which opened Friday, February 1. These two exhibitions are “Shadow Play: Cut Paper Art & Animation,” by a nationally recognized cut paper artist Angie Pickman, and “Magic and Memory,” by an active artist Brian Frink.
Pickman’s inspiration comes from her childhood in Kansas. “I try to tie images of nature in with the magical experience of seeing something new or in a different way as a child,” said Pickman. Pickman said she has always enjoyed making art, but took a special interest in cut paper after watching the 1926 stop motion animation “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” by Lotte Reiniger, which was made with silhouette cut outs.
“I developed my paper cutting style when I made my first animation and have refined and built it over the years,” said Pickman. She has painted with acrylic paint. In the past, white or black or few colors paper cuttings were Pickman’s focus. Later, she has turned into works that were often very colorful. When asked how long she could finish one paper cutting, Pickman said that a tiny paper cuttings (1.5 x 2 inches) can take her about an hour, but it takes her several weeks or more for some larger paper cuttings. For Pickman’s future plan, she said that she will continue to make paper cuttings and see how style evolves.
“[In addition to make more animations] I am working larger than I used to and using more colors and papers, and I am already enjoying the process of exploring my imagination a little further to expand upon what I have already created,” said Pickman.
Frink’s four series: Pet Portraits, Memory of Water, Oddly Shaped Paintings, and Magical Landscapes presented differently. People who went to art exhibitions showed special interests in Frink’s Pet Portraits.
“My daughter asked me to paint a portrait of her father-in-laws dog. I did not want to do this because it did not seem like something I would do,” said Frink. “But then I really liked it, so it taught me to not disregard ideas that might seem strange.”
Frink spent one month to paint Pet Portraits. He sourced images of pets from a Facebook group “I Love YOUR Cat I Love YOUR Dog.” Frink said these paintings are portraits of love and attempt to ponder sentimentality. “I think social media is a great way to find images that are interesting. It is also a good way to market my work and sell paintings,” said Frink.
Both exhibitions will remain open to the public from 4-6 p.m. each day until Friday, March 1.
Article by Mohan Xu