Jan is an extraordinarily talented acrylic painter who has been perfecting her art for over four decades. She paints on paper and occasionally includes collage for special textured effects. Her current work is conceptual in nature however this show includes work from Dorers’ private collection, never shown or for sale before This is also the first time that the Gallery will be featuring Jan’s giclée prints, both framed and unframed.

Jan boasts a successful 45-year career that has included first-place awards at numerous competitions and art shows. With husband Gil as her business partner, Jan began her storied career showing and selling paintings at the early Ann Arbor Art Fairs in 1963.

Jan’s paintings have been described as abstract and impressionistic, with bold colors used in naturalistic palettes. The pieces presented in “Celebrate” represent several phases of maturation and change in Jan’s work.

A number of original artworks from the Dorers’ private collection will be on display, as well, and available for sale.

Please join us to Celebrate Jan’s phenomenal body of work!

Opening Reception:  Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM

Jan boasts a successful 45-year career that has included first-place awards at numerous competitions and art shows. With husband Gil as her business partner, Jan began her storied career showing and selling paintings at the early Ann Arbor Art Fairs in 1963.

Jan’s paintings have been described as abstract and impressionistic, with bold colors used in naturalistic palettes. The pieces presented in “Celebrate” represent several phases of maturation and change in Jan’s work.

Husband Gil described how Jan often pointed out unique or striking landscape features in their travels that he would notice months later in new paintings. The influence of a trip to Alaska can be seen in one of Jan’s signature pieces, Ice Flow. Giclee prints of Ice Flow will be available at Chelsea Gallery.

“I sincerely believe that I paint what I paint because of who I am,” said Dorer. “I hope my work reflects the softness—and yet the boldness—the sensitivity of lines together with the strength of vivid color, sometimes a hint of realism buried in the sea of abstraction. Maybe this is who I am.”

The Dorers left their respective careers in teaching in the early ’70s to pursue art full time. The duo attended shows year ’round, exhibiting from Florida to Michigan, and until recently remained a fixture at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, last showing at the South University show in 2008. Growing up in Oxford, Michigan as Jan Bovay, she and Gil met in Mt. Pleasant at Central Michigan University in 1952 where they both studied education. Jan and Gil have two children, Bob and Cyndy, and two grandchildren.

A number of original artworks from the Dorers’ private collection will be on display as well and available for sale.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

• National Arts Club Open Watercolor Competition, N.Y. Second Award ‘83.

• Salmagundi Open Competition, N.Y. Bonnard et Cie Award ‘85, 1st Place ‘86.

• American Artists Professional League Grand National Exhibition, N.Y. ‘84.

• National Society of Painters in Acrylic and Casein, N.Y. ‘83, ‘84, ‘85.

• Knickerbocker Artists Open Annual Competition, N.Y. ‘82, ‘83.

• Georgia Watercolor Membership Exhibition, GA. First Place Award ‘84.

• Dallas 500 Art Festival, Dallas, TX. First Place Award ‘84.

• Festival of the Masters, FL. Purchase Awards, Disney World Private Collection ‘83, ‘84.

• Boston Mills Art Festival, Peninsula, OH. First in Category, ‘87, ‘90, ‘92, ‘93, ‘98, ‘99, 2002, 2004. Best in Show, 2001.

• Art on the Square, Belleville, IL. Signature Award, 2002.

• Art on the Green, Hudson, OH. Best in Show, ‘98, 2000, 2002, 2003.

• St. Charles Art & Wine Festival, St. Charles, MO. Best in Show 2002.

• Painting accepted into the 135th Annual International Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society in New York, 2002.

• The Flora and Fauna Art Show – Ann Arbor, MI – 2006 Best of Show

• Levis Commons Fine Art Fair, Perrysburg, OH – 2006 Best of Show

Jan’s paintings have been featured on numerous covers of textbooks by Allyn and Bacon Publishing and West Publishing.  Her paintings have been purchased by more than fifty corporations as well as numerous private collectors both here and in thirteen foreign countries.

Thursday night’s reception at the Gallery was fantastic! Attendees bought VIP tickets for the ‘Sounds and Sights’ fundraiser that started at the Chelsea  Gallery and was catered by The Common Grill restaurant.

Timothy Tyree was the artist in residence and painted with enamel spray paint in the Gallery
Using a very unique medium, coupled with a distinctive style, Timothy created some beautiful pieces.

Jane’s work is colorful, expressive and compelling. Her process of painting in reverse on glass or another hard surface, and then laying paper on top and ‘pulling prints’ is not to be missed. Watching Jane paint is to experience magic!

During her three-hour demonstration Barb nearly completed two 12″ x 12″ canvases. Barb’s work is very eclectic, as she’s always experimenting with texture, color and technique. On Thursday she painted with acrylics using a spatula, creating very textural and colorful surfaces.

Barbara involved children and other visitors in her work by asking them to suggest colors and critique her color choices. “People was surprised by the unusual color combinations and how well seemingly unrelated colors can work together”.

Barbara’s work is often described as expressing “an abundance of happiness, pleasure and joy.” The entire Gallery vibrated with that good energy on Thursday night!

Chelsea Gallery joins in the fun by having an ‘Artist in Residence’ for each ‘Sounds and Sights’ event. Stop by and watch Gallery artists demonstrate their medium and creative process. They’ll be happy to answer your questions about their work.

Artist in Residence 2009

Each of the Artists will be in the Gallery from 6 – 9 p.m. working on their art and available for lively dialogue to discuss their medium.

]]> http://chelsea-gallery.com/blog/22/2009-artist-in-residence/feed/ 0 http://chelsea-gallery.com/blog/133/summer-2009-special-events/ http://chelsea-gallery.com/blog/133/summer-2009-special-events/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:30:11 +0000 Admin http://chelsea-gallery.com/blog/?p=133 Two Special Events have been scheduled to coincide with ‘Sounds and Sights’ and the ‘Artist in Residence’ program.

The Ben Daniels Band – June 25th at 8:30 PM
Touring in Nashville, TN, Lexington, KY, New York, NY and Chelsea, Michigan. CDs available for purchase. $5 Cover at the Door

Deb Mantel & Jenny Jones – July 16th at 8:30PM
Acoustic Folk Music. No Charge

Stop by and enjoy the special ambiance of the gallery and coffee bar.

According to Barbara, “art can describe joy, sorrow, pain, the state of the world, many things. My paintings are a product of mood. Sometimes I start a painting on a somber note and it ends up full of joy, or vice versa. They all come from life experiences, memories stored in my brain, and often they are skewed in my presentation as a dream is – a bit muddled in recall. I never like to tell the whole story. It is for you, the viewer to fill in the blank.”

Our second Thursday night of our ‘Sounds & Sights summer ‘Artist in Residence’ program was a huge hit!

Vesna Savic (one of the newest artists in the Chelsea Gallery Family) spent the evening visiting with guests. One of them said: “We are neighbors of Vesna’s and are just AMAZED when ‘little’ Vesna hauls her steel around, cutting and grinding and spraying it (for the rust patina). Just look at the wonderful things she creates”.

We aked her not to bring in her plasma cutter and she gracefully complied, instead wowing the guests with interesting stories about her life expressing her creativity with heat, water, and steel.

Sandy Knapp was our ‘Artist In Residence’, demonstrating her work with the anciet art of encaustics. Then, later in the evening, ‘The Ben Daniels Band’ almost brought down the Gallery!

The weather was perfect, contributing to a memorable  evening of great art, lively music and lots of interesting people.

Sandy Knapp, Encaustics

Sandy Knapp demonstrating her use of encaustics while creating her Art.

‘Artist in Resident’ Sandy Knapp provided an excellent opportunity to experience the act of painting with beeswax, as the ancient Greeks did.

Regarding her talk and demo about encaustics, Sandy said:

“An Art Historian happened into the gallery during my demo and, to her delight, was able to witness encaustic painting for the first time. She said she knew about the process from history books but had never actually seen how it was done or had seen for herself the materials used. She asked permission to take pictures to use in her lectures.

“This medium was used to paint the faces of mummies during ancient times, and possibly the ships of Troy during the days of Homer in 800 BC, and is making a comeback in the Art world once again.”

The Ben Daniels Band

After Sandy’s demonstration the Chelsea Gallery quickly transformed into an intimate concert venue. ‘The Ben Daniels Band’ thrilled the crowd with their blues-based music.

Ben Daniels and band members.

The Chelsea Gallery transforms into an intimate and comfortable concert venue.

Ben Daniels

Here’s a sample of Ben’s music: