Vignette: Victor Sweatt

"Beckley Creek Park" by Victor Sweatt, 15x30in, oil on canvas (2016), $1500 | BUY NOW

Victor Sweatt working on his pastel drawing, "Early Fall"

As a painter, Victor Sweatt is unquestionably a realist. His images are recognizable and assured in the expressiveness of the human form, yet there is also a potent emotional quality that reaches for expressionism. It is there in the evocative gestures and postures of his figures, but it is also evidenced in the landscapes that have most recently occupied him.

The detail and sense of place is confident, but the development of surface and the delicate placement of color connect to Sweatt’s more subjective compositions of musicians, farmers, parishioners, and others, which often have a slightly surreal quality, a heightened observation of the flavor of a scene. In these pastorals, such as “Morning Dew,” there is a palpable sense of discovery in how the light delineates the dimensionality of the space surrounding the petals, a glimpse into another universe at our feet that we take for granted.

A long-time teacher and mentor for kids in west Louisville, Sweatt is currently seeking funding for "Speak Up", a children’s book that empowers them against child molestation, educating youth about the negative effects of under age drinking and setting positive goals.

Sweatt was born in Louisville. The oldest of three sons, Sweatt was raised in a single-family household. He credits his mother for his strength and determination, which helped him to survive and excel in the challenged west side neighborhoods in Louisville. He has shown his work in group and solo exhibitions, and appears in public and private collections throughout the United States. In 2015, his work was included in the Louisville Visual Art exhibit, Presence and Place at Metro Hall in Louisville, KY. Sweat is a signature member of the Louisville Visual Art, the Kentucky Artist Pastel Society, and the Kentucky Watercolor Society.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victor.sweatt

"Autumn Cool" by Victor Sweatt, 9x12in, pastel on canson paper (2016), $550 | BUY NOW

"Chickasaw Park Bridge" by Victor Sweatt, 16x20in, oil on canvas (2016), $750 | BUY NOW

"Morning Dew" by Victor Sweatt, 9x12in, pastel on canson paper (2016), $550 | BUY NOW

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Vignette: Patricia Brock

“Bathed in Sunlight” by Patricia Brock, 20x20in, photography on brushed aluminum, $320 | BUY NOW

In the work of Patricia Brock we see how versatile the camera can be as a creative tool. Brock shoots a broad range of images, including work of a distinctly commercial sensibility. The intimate close-ups of flora capture the grace and delicacy of nature in representational terms, yet “Bathed in Sunlight” also allows the recognizable forms of flower petals to begin a shift into abstraction. The overwhelming light of the sun subtly blinding the detail at the very moment it clarifies it.

And then the high contrast of her recent exploration of the newly opened Lincoln suspension bridge stands apart from the flowers; expansive in their composition, Brock pushes the color into extremes through digital manipulation, now emphasizing the geometric abstraction of the vertical cables through deliberate choice. The older bridge we see through those dissecting vertical elements establishing context and even further contrast.

Patricia Brock taking a photo with her camera.

Brock had used her mother’s box camera as a child, and returned to photography after retiring from teaching elementary school 18 years ago, embarking on a new career and opening her own photography business. She has printed on various materials such as photo paper, metallic papers, canvas and brushed aluminum recently introduced a new creative line for the home or garden with her photographs printed on brushed aluminum or acrylic, which can be used in outdoor spaces. 

Brock is a juried participant of the Kentucky Arts Council’s Kentucky Crafted Program, The Architectural Artists Directory, and a juried exhibiting member of The Louisville Artisans Guild. Her work is represented by KORE Gallery in Louisville, KY. Currently her work is on exhibit as a part of At the Rivers Bend: Our Place on the Ohio, at the Evansville Museum in Evansville, IN. It runs through November 27.

“Riveted (Big 4 Pedway Bridge)” by Patricia Brock, 16x20in, photography on brushed aluminum, $275 | BUY NOW

PUBLISHED WORKS
2015 BLINK, Art Design Consultants, Cincinnati, OH
2008 Kentucky Quilt Trails
2007 Saint Paul’s Art on The Parish Green, New Albany, IN, advertising material
2006 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, Vol. 72-4
2006 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, Vol. 72-3
2006 Promotional Materials, KY Crafted: The Market, KY
2004 Botanica Fleur de Lis Poster, Louisville, KY

COLLECTIONS
Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, KY
Saint Joseph Hospital, KY
Private collections, Louisville, KY
Private collections, The Villages, FL

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 68
Education: BS in Education, MA in Education from Eastern Kentucky University 
Gallery Representation: KORE Gallery (Louisville)
Website: http://www.PatriciaBrockPhotography.com

“Suspension I (Lincoln Bridge)” by Patricia Brock, 36x22in, photography, triptych on acrylic, $575 | BUY NOW

“Bermuda Hibiscus” by Patricia Brock, 36x24in, photography on brushed aluminum, $454 | BUY NOW

“Suspension V (Lincoln Bridge)” by Patricia Brock, 16x20in, photography on archival photo paper (matted and framed), $225 | BUY NOW

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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