Jennifer Bundey, paintings & Tony Green, ceramics Opening Reception: Saturday, October 1, 2011, 5:00 p.m. Exhibit remains through November 17 Dolphin Gallery

The Dolphin Gallery will present the paintings of Jennifer Bundey and ceramics of Tony Green from the opening Saturday, October 1, 2011 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. through Thursday, November 17.

About Jennifer Bundey

My love for color and my understanding of darkness and light has developed gradually over a long period. Much of my learning has been through experience. As a fledgling teacher in Australia, trained solely to teach academics, I was required to instruct my students in a broad range of arts and crafts! So I jumped in and learned on the job, taking classes with every visiting artist. Later, on sabbatical, I headed for two years of art training in Sacramento. After another long stint in teaching and school administration, I finally moved to the California coast and took up my paint brushes in earnest.

I paint because I love color: its spirit, character and nuances. While each painting develops, I contemplate and explore color relationships through the polarities of movement and stillness, darkness and light, line and space. Watercolors and acrylics are my paints of choice, each providing a wide array of delights and challenges.

In watercolor, my starting point is "veil painting," a process in which every wash must dry before another is applied. I begin with one or two colors in transparent tones. As the layers build and overlap, new colors and values are created. I intensify some areas until they become opaque, and leave others as almost invisible veils. The resulting contrast creates luminosity in the painting. Forms emerge out of the colors and I highlight them. A period of artistic tension follows until the work feels complete.

Acrylics enable me to use bolder, more intense, colors on canvas to create a range of moods, from playful to dramatic. Color comes first, whether the result is abstract or representational. The sky provides constant inspiration. Every now and then a sunset or storm demands to be painted! Sometimes, if I am not sure whether to place two colors together, I find the answer in the sky.

About Tony Green

Tony uses the tools of ceramics to create unique works of art. His work often reflects the beauty and diversity of the north coast of California where he lives.

Self taught for the most part, he has studied ceramics at the Montpelier Cultural Arts Center, Maryland; Brandybuck Ranch, Point Arena, California; and at the Mendocino Art Center in California.

Recently, Tony has been studying Japanese Sumi-e painting techniques and his work includes ceramic vessels painted in the Sumi-e style. He designed and built a pottery kiln for firing many of his sculptures with distinctive raku glazes.

Tony's work has been primarily inspired by three ceramists, Hungarian Margit Kovacs, American Beatrice Wood, and Native American Roxanne Swentzell. Margit Kovacs was known for decorative sculptures that were totally or partially thrown on the pottery wheel. Beatrice Wood was known for her beautiful luster glazes and many humorous works. Roxanne Swentzell is known for her highly expressive human Native American figures.

Most of Tony's sculptures are partially or entirely thrown on the pottery wheel in the manner of Margit Kovacs. The photo above right shows an example of Tony's work thrown on the pottery wheel with some minor hand built additions. The local sea life pictured above left represents the whimsical nature expressed in many of Tony's sculptures.

The Dolphin Gallery is located at 39225 Highway One in downtown Gualala, CA
(behind the post office on the south side). Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-3896 for more information.