Norma Murphy & Kathy Myers Reece Exhibition
The vibrant colors of Spring and Summer in the High Country send visitors, and artists alike, flocking to the small surrounding communities. Rosy pinks, sunshine yellows and greens in every shade can be seen around each corner. The hues carry a sense of contentment as the life that produces them bursts at the seams.
Color is an integral part of the human experience and the psychology of it has long been applied to art, design and marketing. For example, warm colors like yellows and reds have been known to evoke feelings of warmth and comfort while cool colors such as blues and greens foster calmness and clarity. In representational art, the creator can choose to use colors in a way that mimic real life or can bend the spectrum to elicit a certain mood or feeling.
The Art Cellar Gallery is celebrating its 30th season as an arts destination in beautiful Banner Elk. With no shortage of creativity in the area, the gallery focuses on regional artists that have roots in the surrounding Appalachian communities. An exciting exhibition lineup has been prepared for this Summer - Norma Murphy and Kathy Myers Reece will have a show on display in the gallery from late May through mid-June.
Norma Murphy was born and raised in rural Watauga County where she often dreamed of ladies in flowering dresses. Her mother, as well as her school teachers encouraged her to draw and paint and she found a strong passion for self expression through these means. Norma explores color and the association of hues, “when building a composition on paper or canvas, experiment with contrast,” she says. Her impressionistic style has been influenced by her lifelong studies, both formal and informal, of some of her favorite artists including Matisse, Renoir and Monet. However, her work is unique and positively her own; it reflects her personality and lifestyle through palette and subject matter. “I have learned how to use line, form, space, color and texture as my language of expression,” she explains.
Like Norma Murphy, Kathy Myers Reece’s work is impressionistically inspired with an emphasis on light, color, and texture. She is able to capture these subtleties through a thick application of paint with a palette knife. Kathy knew from an early age that she was meant to be a painter. Growing up in Jonesville, North Carolina, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, she always felt a strong connection to the Appalachian communities. “It is important to me to preserve and document these local scenes that are reflective of our contemporary world and tied to our history at the same time,” Kathy says. She works en plein air to fully immerse herself in the experience of her surroundings. While on location, she is able to better understand the cultural fabric of her subjects by absorbing the sights and sounds as well as interact with the people and animals. “To me, painting is as much about feeling as it is about applying paint to the canvas. It is the emotional aspect that draws me to the concrete act of painting.”
Stop by the gallery any time from Wednesday, May 25 through Saturday, June 11 to see the colorful display of Norma Murphy and Kathy Myers Reece paintings. An open house will be held on Saturday, June 4 from 3-5pm.
Written by Lauren Olds