Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Upcoming Exhibition: HalloWhimsical Women at the Witter Gallery

For the month of October 2022, four fantastic female artists will fill the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake, IA, with a selection of their artwork. The reception will be held at the gallery at 5:00pm on Saturday, October 8th, and I'm extra excited because I'm able to give a little sneak peek here today!

A group of four images of artworks, by four different artists. From the left: Haley McAndrews, Melanie Cable, Cindy Barahona-Roth, and Rachael Sitzman.

First up, I'd like to introduce you to Melanie Cable, also known as Ms. Chevious! She lives in Canby, MN, and I have known and followed her artwork on social media for over ten years now. She creates her artwork with more mediums than I can list - whatever she needs for a piece, she's going to figure it out and make it happen!

A mixed media painting by Melanie Cable. It's a self portrait, of a woman in a straight jacket, with buttons for eyes and wild rainbow hair sticking out in all directions.
That's one leak that doesn't need fixing!

This is the main centerpiece for a new series of paintings she calls "Creativity Leak." There will be seven paintings in total, with each one reflecting a different aspect of herself. Painted in acrylic on stretched canvas, she added a variety of accents and coated each one with resin. You can find more of her art and upcoming events on her Facebook page.

Next up is Rachael Sitzman, of PrettyDoll.Art! She lives in Linn Grove, IA, and is another fantastic mixed media artist. She paints, sculpts, draws, collages, and more! I have a number of her pieces in my home, including a pair of earrings and a portrait she painted from one of my wedding pictures.

A painting by Rachael Sitzman. It looks like an advertisement for a burger joint from the 50s, but with a space alien theme.
Is anybody else hungry?

Sitzman’s recent mixed media artworks have been utilizing tessellations (a pattern created out of shapes that fit together without gaps) for her backgrounds – for this one, it started with an adorable little cow getting abducted by a spaceship. Then as she continued working on it, it turned into a 50’s style diner with a space alien twist! Her official page can be found at Facebook.com/PrettyDoll.Art.

I'm honored to introduce the third artist, Cindy Barahona-Roth! I first met her through the Witter Gallery, as she has been the Director there for years. She also lives and teaches in Storm Lake, IA. I have only recently been introduced to her artwork, but I am crazy about it!

A painting by Cindy Barahona-Roth. The painting is of a female elf, with purple hair and intricate jewelry hanging from her pointed ear. She has intricate makeup on, with lines and dots in patterns.
Who would’ve guessed that green and purple would go so well together!

She studied make up in Hollywood, and brings that experience and knowledge into her artwork. It’s obvious with the level of detail she has added here! For many of her pieces, she uses “found” art and paints on top of it to create new art! I particularly love the color scheme in this one, as well as the juxtaposition of the precise painting of the woman with the drippy, watery background.

The fourth artist is myself, and I’m honored to be sharing the gallery with these amazing ladies! If you didn’t know already, my name is Haley McAndrews and I live in Denison, IA. I am an illustrator and I create my art with acrylics, watercolor, pen and ink, and a variety of other mixed media.

A painting by Haley McAndrews. It's of an androgynous person of color, with short dreadlocks in their hair. They are wearing a thick winter coat, with a fur-lined hood resting on their shoulders.
Brrr, so chilly!

I’ll have 12 pieces on display at the gallery total, all created within the last two years. They range from cities to toasters, trees, and other characters. This one is called “Winter in April” and I painted it first in watercolor on paper, then I used acrylics on top. It was inspired by the cozy feeling I get when I wear my winter coat, which has a massive furry hood on it. You can follow me on Facebook at Red Stone Art Studio.

Our exhibition will be during the month of October, and we will have our reception at 5:00pm on Saturday, October 8th at the Witter Gallery. The Gallery is located inside the Storm Lake Library building, at 609 Cayuga St, in Storm Lake IA.

I look forward to seeing you there! 😊

No comments:

Post a Comment