Finding Joy and Purpose in Creating
By Pat Kerns
Having spent a lifetime of making art, Terry Newell from Carthage Illinois is bringing his work to Alliance Art Gallery for the month of September.
Recently Terry has concentrated on western themed acrylic paintings inspired by a childhood that included playing cowboys and Indians with his brother. He has spent time with Native Americans and studied their cultures and paints to show the dignity of these peoples. You can also see that influence in the jewelry he has designed.
As a young artist he often tried to please his artistic father with his drawings, especially of his favorite subjects: cars, airplanes and horses, the latter because he loved them and the family actually broke horses, something he helped with. This fascination and knowledge is something that continues to inspire him today. “I have the artist disease. I am required to create. I lose all sense of time when I am painting, 3 a.m., 4 a.m., makes no difference. There is wonder and power in the creation of something that wasn’t there before and will exist for a time unknown. Humans have been producing art since petrographs and cave paintings. We artists of today have to carry on because we must.” During the month of September, Terry will be exhibiting paintings, clothing that has been printed with designs from his paintings and jewelry.
September will continue the collaborative works of Connie Stephens and Dennis Babbitt. Both have enjoyed the influence each artist’s work has had on the other.
Connie Stephens is one of two photographers at the gallery. She is a documentary artist who loves to travel and find places and subjects that she sees and reacts to. Like many photographers she never feels the photograph lives up to the actual scene and then spends time using a variety of techniques to enhance the photo and recreate the reaction she felt in that space. She shoots her photos in Raw a type of digital file format that is uncompressed and unprocessed. These large, high quality images allow her to alter the image in a variety of ways. Like our guest artist she often gets lost in creating and can spend a whole day at her computer working on just one piece.
Connie researches and takes classes to continue learning as much as she can about her craft, never completely satisfied. She is truly an artist.
These artists’ works will be on display during the month of September. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, September 14, 2024 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. As with each month’s Second Saturday Gallery Night, there will be artists’ talks at 6:00 and a free drawing for a piece of art at 6:30. You do not need to be present to win. Come enjoy the comradery and some of the region’s finest art and craft.
