April at the Gallery
by Pat Kerns
Alliance Art Gallery at 121 N. Main in downtown Hannibal welcomes the artwork of Missouri artist Chris Sheppard during the month of April. His paintings are representational works that focus on the landscapes of the Midwest and Western United States.
Chris describes his painting style as somewhere between Impressionism and loose realism. He paints primarily in his studio doing landscapes often as commissions.
Recently he had a ten day residency in Alaska for Voices of the Wilderness. Along with two United States forest rangers, he traveled by kayak into northern Alaskan region of Dawes Glacier. He was excited to return to Alaska where he had spent three years while in the army. During the trip he did sketches using gouaches that became the references for a larger oil painting for the Voices of the Wilderness collection.
Sheppard works primarily in oils in his studio but does two or three plein air events a year. It was at such an event in Hannibal where he met Alliance Gallery members who encouraged him to apply to be a guest artist.
Chris and his wife currently reside in Fulton after living in Holts Summit for years. He considers himself fortunate to be able to spend as much time as he is able thanks to working two or three days a week at Red Cross which allows him time to paint, primarily in oils, acrylics and gouache.
Also featured in April is gallery artist Ron Cook who is excited to present his newest raku pots. Raku is a process that is different than his high fired glazed pieces. After the first firing called a bisque firing, pieces are glazed, refired then taken directly out of the hot kiln with tongs or welding gloves and placed into a metal bucket filled with newspapers or oily rags or perhaps limbs or leaves. This creates a variety of colors depending on the glazes applied between firings.
Ron is anxious to getting back to creating even more pieces. After a busy time of remodeling their home, reconditioning his kiln, and traveling after finally retiring a year ago he is already thinking about bigger and more complex pieces. In the meantime, he is enjoying the process of raku.
Most don’t realize how art is related to science and mathematics and never more so than with pottery. Creating formulas for glazes, weighing out clay, and calculating firing temperatures are just some of the ways they are used.
On April 11 these two accomplished artists will be talking about their work at 6:00 pm during the Second Saturday Art Walk. The public is invited to enjoy refreshments and visit with gallery artists from 4:00 to 7:00 and sign up for the art giveaway anytime that day.
