Paul Klein, Willaim Murray , Colin Page, and Gene Reineking
Artist Reception: Saturday, May 29th, 5-8 pm

Artist Demo: - Colin Page and Paul Klein, Sunday, May 30th, 11-2pm

Exhibit runs May 1th - June 8th

Before beginning his painting career, St. Paul-based artist William Murray served as in the Coast Guard on the Great Lakes and trapped lobster in Nova Scotia. These jobs seemed to have influenced his watercolor work, which consists of many landscape and water scenes. Murray is interested in the process and craftsmanship of his work – and feels that it is this effort that enables an artist to be fully appreciated.

Using beautifully figured wood burls from America’s West, Gene Reineking cuts, grinds, and polishes his stylized birds and mammals. His artistic goal is to share his thoughts and feelings about the beauty of our natural world – and does so through the hawks, herons, eagles, sandhill cranes, and horses that figure prominently in his freestanding and wall mounted sculptures.

Central Wisconsin artist Paul Klein finds inspiration in nature – be it century-old buildings, the shores of our Inland Seas, or his own back yard.  To create his sculptural tables, floor lamps, mirrors, and candle holders, Klein combines many elements such as stone, copper, and his own handmade papers. The spontaneity of finding objects in nature and incorporating them into his artwork is a freedom that Klein enjoys.

Painter Colin Page creates the majority of his work outdoors, working from life to capture the light and atmosphere of his subject matter.  For him, painting turns an everyday scene into the poetic, and should look as though it “breathes and has a life and presence of its own.” Guided by the paintings of Rembrandt, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, and Willem deKooning (among others), the story Page tells is of the beauty he sees in a particular image.

EXHIBIT II

Lori Beringer, Julie Crabtree, Jude Ryan Reiling & Allan Servoss 

Artist Reception: Saturday June 12, 5-8 pm

Artist Demo: - Allan Servoss, Sunday, June 13th, 11-2pm

Exhibit runs June 11th - July 6th

Lori Beringer’s oil paintings of landscapes, still lifes, and portraits capture a “joyous celebration and a deep reverence for the blessings of each day.”  A self-taught artist, Beringer seeks to express a sense of excitement and energy that can only come with an intimate exchange with one’s surroundings. Travels to Mexico and France, as well as her experiences en plein air at home in Wisconsin, contribute to her bold, vibrant style.

An artist working in Northwestern Wisconsin, Jude Ryan Reiling creates sculptures that suggest human feelings of hope, love, generosity, grace, and persistence. Feminine in nature, these works draw from rituals, experiences, and emotions that are both personal and universal. The gestural qualities of the pieces explore her own interest of “the brink of where my own emotion meets matter and is communicated.”

Working in the mediums of watercolor and colored pencil, Allan Servoss draws and paints “anything that is necessary to keep my interest.” He is intrigued by the art process – specifically by how one can watch the work unfolding by degrees, striving to include only that which is essential.  Also an accomplished teacher, Servoss has conducted workshops all over the United States on both of his mediums for over 20 years.

Fiber artist Julie Crabtree uses a free-motion technique to begin her textural stitched and painted landscapes, which she refers to as “drawing with a needle and thread.” She then adds hand stitching, embroidery art techniques, and the use of distressed and dyed fabrics to her work. Her love of the outdoors and the texture it provides are a constant inspiration, from gnarled tree roots to the frozen ice sculptures distorted by the winds of Lake Superior’s northern shoreline.

EXHIBIT III

Pamela Murphy and Stephanie Evans

Artist Reception: Thursday, July 8th, 5-8pm

Exhibit runs July 8 - August 2nd

Using vintage photographs from her expansive collection, Pam Murphy chooses

Using old photographs from her expansive collection, Pam Murphy presents her subjects on a surface that is rich and textured. Using several layers of paint, she isolates the forms of these figures to disconnect them from their original context and recreate them as icons for a personal connection with the viewer. In choosing to paint primarily in oil and encaustics, Murphy’s figures might be strangers; yet they remind us of our families and ourselves.

Ceramic artist Stephanie Evans creates characters full of history and stories by showing viewers of her work garments and objects worn by these characters. In telling a story through the functional yet expressive vehicle of clothing – mainly the dress form – she gives depth and meaning to the life of her pieces. There is an energy a person leaves with every garment and object work, touched, and used – and it is this energy that Evans hopes is found in her dresses.

Exhibit IV

Ed Lazzeroni, Steve Langenecker and Donna Lindboe Trupin

Artist Reception: Thursday, August 5th, 5-8pm

Exhibit runs August 5th - September 9th

Having been formally trained both as an artist as well as an industrial designer, mixed media artist Ed Lazzeroni has always been fascinated by the aesthetics of industrial components. From the way that a metal surface reflects light to the variety of effects that can be created through various forms of heating and etching, his pieces take on an interactive quality. He aspires to work toward a simplicity that leaves room for audience participation.Color and expression dominate the art of Donna Lindboe Trupin – and its intent is to embellish the ordinary or make merry out of the mundane. Trupin has a deep respect for reality and has always perceived the world as shapes, lines, textures, and design complimented by juicy color. For her, art inspiration is everywhere, and it is her hope that her paintings enable the viewer to smile, escape, and reminisce. Growing up in rural Wisconsin, Steve Langenecker began painting as a young boy, focusing on the fields, woods, and marshes near his home – with special focus on the birds and mammals that inhabited these spaces. He is attracted to nature’s “special effects” such as sparkling lakes, storm clouds, and fiery sunsets – and is especially excited by places that are “unimproved” or being reclaimed by nature. He paints everyday and his subjects are still the favorites of his youth.

TOWNLINE ART FAIR

Saturday, October 9 ^th & Sunday, October 10^th  - Saturday 10-5, Sunday 10-4
A juried art fair exhibiting the work of more than 85 professional artists from across the Midwest exhibit during the two-day show held rain or shine. Glass, pottery, metal sculpture, paintings, photography, fiber art, and woodworking will be under tents for the 5,000 people that annually attend the show.