Debra Clemente - Featured in "The New Impressionists"

Debra Clemente earned a B.F.A. in Visual Communications at University of Kansas. After graduation she worked as a graphics designer and illustrator. Later Clemente returned to oil painting, but she traded her paintbrushes for a pallet knife. She uses bold colors and boldly applies layers of paint to her canvas. With her style of painting, Clemente is able to achieve a new reality for her subject matter—whether it’s a field of flowers or a rolling landscape. Her paintings are full of high energy and vibrant colors.

Debra’s work has found homes in private and corporate collections across the country. She is especially honored to have one of her sunflower field paintings, “Sunshine Grows in Kansas”, hanging in the Kansas Capitol building above the Governor’s private desk as part of the Kansas Governor’s office permanent art collection.


“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

David Vollbracht - New Paintings in the Gallery

David Vollbracht, a Signature Member of Oil Painters of America (OPA), attended college at Fort Hays State University. His education in oil painting continued with workshops by internationally recognized artists Clyde Aspevig and Wayne Wolfe. David paints plein air and in the studio, using his studies to paint representational impressions of the landscape of the West. David’s paintings have been accepted for a number of regional and national juried exhibits including the Oil Painters of America, the Mountain Oyster Club and the American Plains Artist Exhibitions.

“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Topeka Making Gains as an American Art Town.

Today I discovered "Google Insights" and out of pure curiosity I decided to find out how many searches were done for "art topeka ks." Surprisingly I discovered that there has been a significant growth since March of 2009. Continuing my curiosity I decided to type in "art taos nm" and to my astonishment I discovered that since March of 2009, Topeka has given Taos a run for their money on the Google Search Engines!


Looking over the past year, Topeka has gained national attention through the grassroots "Think Big Topeka" Google Fiber Experiment Campaign and this is one good example of how when one of us wins, we all win. Google turns into Topeka for a day - then suddenly, Kiplinger Personal Finance notes Topeka as one of the "Best Cities 2010"!  Then again in July "Best City for Your Future: Topeka, Kan." It also is a fantastic complement to all the hard work our citizens have done inspired by John Villani's insights from the "Symposium 2005, The Arts Catalyst for Community Growth."

In September 2005, John Villani, Author of "The 100 Best Art Towns of America" was the featured speaker in the Community Foundation's symposium. Topeka was not mentioned in the aforementioned book, but Topekans embrased Villani's vision for all the possibilities the Arts offered Topeka. On creating a thriving arts community "The goal of it all is to attract new users and new residents into your downtown, to bring unused parts of your infrastructure back to life and attract people who bring their jobs with them," Villani said. Since that fateful day nearly 5 years ago, the Arts in Topeka have made great strides to become one of the next top 100 Arts Towns in America. With the guidance of the Heartland Visioning Committee, Arts Connect of Topeka, Think Big Topeka and many other businesses and agencies we are growing into significant competition for those listed "Top Arts Towns" in America. The NOTO project is poised for exciting developments in the next year and I am keeping my eyes open and my ear to the ground for even more exciting Arts Events in Topeka -- Contratulations Topeka you are truely becoming "A Great Arts Town!" Let's keep up the good work!


Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Stan Herd - Featured in "The New Impressionsts"

Stan Herd is a Kansas artist who is known worldwide for his gigantic earth works--a genre he virtually pioneered-- and also widely recognized as an accomplished painter  of immense talent. Many of his paintings are created in his distinctive impressionist and neo-impressionist (pointillism) style. His paintings are prized by private and corporate collectors in the United States and many other parts of the world.  Herd returns to SouthWind Gallery with new paintings and a prominent place among an impressive group of artists.

“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Catherine Robins - New Sculpture in the Gallery

Catherine Hale Robins grew up in Oklahoma enjoying the companionship of terriers, a willful horse and any other critter she could persuade her parents to tolerate!

She holds a BS, MS, PhD in Biology and MFA in Sculpture and has received many national and international awards for her sculptures. "Living, natural forms are always integral to my work. Gesture, immediacy and intensity are key elements of my working mode and resultant art. I prefer to work rapidly and with intense focus in squishy, responsive media such as ceramic clay, plasticine, wax or plaster. Each medium gives expression to different aspects of my sculpture. Ceramic clay brings out the whimsical, while the exigencies of working in fast-setting plaster lead to bizarre, abstracted forms.

Catherine has a lively story about the two sculptures shown here and I'd like to share that with you.

"Seemingly, most Kansans have been involved in haying. It is an amazingly labor-involved way of fixing solar energy in a sustainable crop of grass in order to produce food (cows, goats, etc) and transportation (horses and their kin). Producing small square bales of brome hay for horses is perhaps the most labor-intensive.The grass is cut in the hottest,driest days of the year, strewn in orderly rows on  the  stubble, then baled by machinery that drops it out the backside like a grasshopper on your favorite vegetable. These "droppings"/ bales then are slung  onto wagons by young (men  mostly) in orderly stacks as they walk along with the wagon. The hay is put up into barns to supply "flakes" (sections of bales) for hand feeding to cherished horses.Our supplier employs a team with specific jobs when the giant truck and its trailer with a few hundred bales arrives.

"'Kansas Apollo' is about a young man on this team who was at his physical peak and was glorying in it! This was his golden summer. Despite the fact that hay is dusty and full of prickly skin-rash-producing things, he was stripped way low to the waist, wearing his chinks with the strap  like a Highland piper's sporran in the appropriate place. Ironically, he was doing a job so easy I! can do it...tossing bales from the stack on the trailer to the guys below that were loading them carefully on the elevator.I saw a lot of humor as well as beauty in his pose.

"'104 degrees' is the adverse.  This is what the Kansas Apollo will likely become.Balding, overweight and  exhausted, accompanied by his faithful cattle dog, "104" is suffering in the heat. The team knows it and knows that he has paid his dues and will get up again and do what is necessary, fulfilling his role. They respect his wisdom and eye him carefully, wondering if that is not their future also."

“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.


Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Neil Patterson - Featured in "The New Impressionsts"

Canadian painter Neil Patterson's passion for painting is expressed in his use of use of vibrant, impressionistic oils. and his ability to paint his feelings, rather than replicating what he sees.  Patterson has the ability to move from landscape, to still life, to wildlife painting with an easy grace. He was the first Canadian to become a Signature member of the highly respected Oil Painters of America (OPA). He is one of just 34 artists to attain the elite status of OPA Master Signature Member.  Patterson has won numerous awards to his credit and has been published in many books, newspapers and periodicals. His work has been exhibited in galleries across North America.


“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.
 

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Jane Flanders - New Art in the Gallery

Jane Flanders, a Lawrence artist, creates art almost every day, working with oil paint, pastel, or clay. Jane loves to plein air paint in oil, with architecture as preferred subject matter. She also creates abstract paintings, usually in an organic way. She also portrays antique tractors in pastel, and keeps herself extra busy making functional and "beyond" functional ceramics.


“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

James Pringle Cook - Featured in "The New Impressionsts"

James Pringle Cook's paintings are in the best tradition of American landscape painting. His paintings are big and gutsy,  with lavish, vigorous and confident brush strokes. In this exhibit,  his paintings bring us closer to the splendor of the Flint Hills where he grew up and continues to maintain ties to the land and its people. Cook's paintings hang in many museums throughout the world including the Denver Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, South Dakota Museum of Fine Arts, Tucson Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Osaka, Japan. His work is included in numerous public and private art collections from New York, to London, to Kyoto, Japan. Cook is a native Kansan who now lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife, artist DeAnn Melton.

“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.