Clare Hirn received a significant scholarship to attend the New York Academy of Art – Graduate School of Figurative Art, located in Manhattan. The curriculum continues to focus on strong foundational skills for working “realistically” from life and the figure.

After graduating with her masters in painting and drawing in 1990, Hirn worked for a mural design firm in NYC, learning the techniques of working large scale. Upon returning to her hometown of Louisville, KY she pursued both mural work and her personal painting, participating and receiving awards in many regional shows. Hirn’s fine art murals and paintings grace many homes, businesses, and public spaces and have appeared in numerous publications.

Shohei Katayama is a Japanese American artist who explores the space between light and dark, life and death, beauty and danger, nature and man. His work includes line drawings, sculpture, and installation art.

Katayama received his MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019. He is the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award by the International Sculpture Center, the Frank-Ratchye Fund for the Art at the Frontier Award, and a finalist in the 21C Artadia award, among others. His work has been exhibited nationally, and internationally in Venice, Italy; New York; Portland, OR, and more. Katayama has participated in residencies in Norway; Brazil; NJ; Tough Art Residency Program in Pittsburgh, PA, and at the Asia Institute Crane House in Louisville, KY.

Painting

Vignette: Sharon Weis

Guest User · May 21, 2019

“Color Slice” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

would that we could wake up to what we were
when we were ocean and before that

to when sky was earth, and animal was energy, and rock was
liquid and stars were space and space was not

at all----- nothing

- From “Singularity” by Marie Howe

Are landscape painters drawn to nature as a subject because of a spiritual affinity, or do they discover that affinity through the act of painting nature? Such chicken and the egg queries may indeed miss the point, but we come across that relationship between nature and spirituality all the time. By quoting this Marie Howe poem, written in tribute to Stephen Hawking, Sharon Weis lets us know in no uncertain terms that her practice may be nothing less than a search for understanding about the very beginning of life. Hawking was a scientist, but Howe is a poet and Weis a painter, and both of these artists find beauty in the level of discovery in the work of the world-famous physicist.

Weis describes her act of creation, the action of painting in language that reinforce that connection between rationality and the spiritual:

“Moved by lavish paint and painters, I love the lush, liquid stokes attainable with oil paint. I use birch plywood as it is the ideal surface to accept the viscosity of paint I work to acquire. For color and compositional rhythms, I look to the natural world for inspiration.”

“In my latest series, the sea is lush, I play with composition and perspective shifts using panoramic views, emotive color correlations, and natural rhythms set up by sea and sky to create aesthetic divisions of space. However, it is the physical texture of the paint itself, the charge of paint I push into the clouds or the clean, thick, fluid stroke added to the sea that excite me most when creating these works.”

“Sugar Fix” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

“These paintings heighten our connection to the sea, intensifying our vast range of emotion in the form of water, land and sky.”

Weis teaches Art at Walden School. In the past two years she has exhibited at Ann Tower Gallery and New Editions Gallery in Lexington KY as well as Art Prize in Grand Rapids, MI.

Some of the work we see here is currently on public view as part of the Spring Invitational at Kleinhelter Gallery, 701 E 8th Street, New Albany. The exhibit runs May 10 through July 6.

Weis has exhibited in the Louisville area for years, and her work was shown in two International Shows; Septemberfest International at Period Gallery in Omaha and Across the Atlantic in Dublin Ireland.

She is included in these corporate collections:

Barnstable Brown Center for Diabetes ~ Lexington KY
Bluegrass Eye Center~ Crestwood KY
Brown Forman Corporation~ Louisville KY
Caritas Medical Center~Louisville KY
Cobalt Bravura Lofts~ Louisville KY
Commonwealth Bank and Trust~ Louisville KY
Masonic Homes~ Louisville KY
Pediatrics South~ Lexington KY
Saint Joseph Hospital~ Lexington KY
Summit One Partners~Louisville KY
Square One Offices~ Louisville KY
The Center for Women and Families ~Louisville KY
Time Warner~ Louisville KY
Turfland Medical Clinic~ Lexington KY
U of K Woodland Glen Dormitory~ Lexington KY
Ventas, Inc~ Louisville KY
Waterfront Park Place Club Room and Lobby~ Louisville KY
Woodward Hobson and Fulton~ Louisville KY

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BA, University of Louisville
Website: sharonweis.com
Gallery Representation: Kleinhelter Gallery (New Albany), New Editions Gallery (Lexington)

“Tide Pull” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

“State of Contentment” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

“Begin After” by Sharon Weis, Oil paint on birch plywood, 13x42in, 2019, $1200

Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

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Painting

Vignette: Amy Welborn

Guest User · May 16, 2019

“Summer Sunflowers” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 24x30in, 2019, $1200

Nature is often connected to divinity. Even among agnostics there is often found a deep spiritual relationship to the natural world.

The other common spiritual association is in the act of creation – the act of making art. Painter Amy Welborn sees herself as part of the centuries-old tradition of painting landscapes as an expression of religious belief.

“My work is typically created from oils in vibrant colors and lush brushstrokes. God's creation and man's connection to the land never cease to provide inspiration for me. Everywhere I look, I find God's joy in design. When I slow down to pay attention to what I see, I find the essence of holiness; God's thumbprint in all creation is evident. Translating my awe for God's amazing planet into paint is my lifelong passion.”

An engineer by profession, Welborn began painting with oils as a hobby, but eventually was encouraged by friends to begin exhibiting in community art festivals. As do so many plein air painters, she finds order and pattern in her observations. The hand of humankind imposes some of that discipline: the occasional fence line or a field furrowed for planting. But the greater harmony emerges from the relationships between the elements: the rolling hills seen beyond the fields, and the trees that break the horizon to reach into the sky.

Although Welborn’s style is typically naturalistic, she incorporated aspects of primitivism in her mural for the Dixie Highway Kroger in Louisville, "Bird’s Eye View of Louisville".

Welborn teaches children and adult art classes through the Arts Association of Oldham County.

Recent Exhibitions:

2017 - “Joie de Vivre”, group show with Louisville, KY artists and Dijon, France artists, Louisville Metro City Hall, KY
2017 - “Joie de Vivre”, group show, Dijon, France
2017 - Governor’s Derby Exhibit, juried exhibition, Rotunda of the Capitol, Frankfort, KY

Amy Welborn with the Dixie Hwy Kroger Mural

“Snow & Sycamore” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 8x10in, 2018, $400

Public Collections:
Owensboro Medical Health, Henderson Clinic, Henderson, KY
Owensboro Medical Health, Madisonville Urgent Care, Madisonville, KY
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Cincinnati, OH
NICoE Camp LeJeune, Jacksonville, NC
Riverside Hospital Surgical Expansion, Newport News, VA,
Owensboro Medical Health, Henderson Clinic, Henderson, KY
Lanthier Winery. Madison, IN

Home: LaGrange, Kentucky
Education: Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering, Purdue University
Website: PaintingsbyAmyWelborn.com
Gallery Representation: Gallery 104 (LaGrange)

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“Brush of Spring” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 24x24in, 2018, $650

“Graf Farm Revisited” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 11x14in, 2018, $450

“After the Storm” by Amy Welborn, Oil, 16x20in, 2017, $800

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Painting

Vignette: Corie Neumayer

Guest User · September 27, 2018

“August at the River” by Corie Neumayer, Acrylic, Latex on canvas, 16x20in, $275

Corie Neumayer is an accomplished woman, but she has a soft-spoken and unassuming demeanor that doesn’t automatically claim much for herself. It is not an unusual quality to find in a visual artist, and even more common for women creatives. That painters tend to be introverts is a cliché, certainly, but the truth that is the foundation for that stereotype is that artists look inward and outward on different terms than others.

“Ripples Canvas” by Corie Neumayer, Torn fabric glued to canvas, then painted, 18x 24in, 2018, $400

Neumayer describes herself as a painter, “…who creates abstracted paintings of the landscape that focus on open spaces: desserts, mountains, lakes, small towns as well as my local countryside. My current work reflects the now fleeting beauty of our environment and the uneasiness caused by the changes in our climate.”

So while she looks outward for her subject, the inward perspective is expressed in the that balance of abstract and representational, a tension born of the artist’s forensic examination of the environment. Breaking everything down into geographic elements and using color and texture less to define space and form than to suggest those relationships. It underscores that there is often a thin line between descriptions and categories in art. Neumayer’s paintings are representational, and thus traditional, but abstract and conceptual, intellectual and emotional.

“I work mainly in acrylic and latex because it is so versatile. It dries quickly so the surprises of layering paint, or paper, cloth or almost anything else can be experienced almost immediately, and it lends itself to endless experimentation.”

In that statement the artist confirms the itch for discovery, but there is also a great pleasure in the tactile surface quality that documents the painter’s hand. The impasto crafted from brush, knife, and perhaps other tools, give a visceral kick to the viewer – paint is always seductive, has recently given way to a collage-like layering of canvas material..

On September 29, Neumayer will be part of the Louisville Visual Art’s Juried Exhibit in the 2018 Portland Art & Heritage Fair. The exhibit will be available for viewing at the Marine Hospital from 11am-5pm. Jury prizes will be awarded at 2:00pm.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: MA in Teaching, University of Louisville; BA, Georgetown College (Georgetown Kentucky); also attended Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, Georgia), California State University-Long Beach, and St. Cloud College (St. Cloud, Minnesota)
Gallery Representative: Pyro Gallery
Website: www.corieneumayerpaintings.com

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“Hot September” by Corie Neumayer, Acrylic, latex on canvas, 20x24in, 2018, $450.

“Tree Line” by Corie Neumayer, Paper, acrylic, latex paint on canvas, 18x24in, 2018, $400

“River Snow Latex”, Acrylic on canvas, Paint applied with rollers and brushes 24x30in, 2018, $600

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Painting

Vignette: Lynn Dunbar Bayus

Guest User · September 11, 2018

“Painting is my divine connection with nature” – Lynn Dunbar Bayus

"Twisting the Night Away" by Lynn Dunbar Bayus, Oil canvas paint, 20x60in, $3500

Lynn Dunbar Bayus is not alone in realizing a spiritual relationship with nature through painting. Idyllic days of painting free from the elements is a rare occasion, with wind rain, dust - temperatures too far down or to far up on the barometer. The plein air artist works quickly against the vagaries of the constantly changing light, hoping to capture the ephemeral experience of one moment in one place. A sense of place is the inarguable gold standard of any landscape artist, and finding a fresh point-of-view is the challenge.

One way in which Bayus has done that is to work from aerial photographs of the landscape along the Ohio River. Although there is charm and abundant color of her closer views of gardens, racehorses, and other subjects, there is another kind of visual power in the aerial compositions, more expansive and philosophical in their attitude. They allow a perspective nearly devoid of the footprint of humanity, one in which time and the elements played a crucial role in shaping the relationship between land, water, and sky. It is also an opportunity for us to consider for a moment the primeval aspect of the landscape and the humility we should feel in the grand scheme of things.

"Crested Butte Barn and Cows" by Lynn Dunbar Bayus,  Oil on canvas, 8x10in, POR — "Crested Butte Barn and Cows" by Lynn Dunbar Bayus, Oil on canvas, 8x10in, POR

The more common view of buildings and livestock that we see in “Crested Butte Barn and Cows” is prosaic, falling somewhere between the majesty of the river seen from above and the grounded, eye-level scenes of horse and jockey, or visitors to the racetrack. The former captures a scene that might be from any point in the last 200 years, while latter is of a fleeting moment in the now, tied to fashion and special occasion.

In September Bayus will be part of two exhibits with Louisville Visual Art. September 23 through November 4 Louisville Artists: Carry On will be on view at the LVA building, with a reception Sunday, September 23 from 3-5pm. Then the LVA Juried Exhibit in the 2018 Portland Art & Heritage Fair will take place on Saturday, September 29. The exhibit will be available for viewing at the Marine Hospital from 11am-5pm. Jury prizes will be awarded at 2:00pm.

Bayus will be once again be participating in Open Studio Weekend (OSW), presented by LVA and the University of Louisville's Hite Institute. For 2018, OSW is scheduled for November 3 & 4 from 12-6pm. You can purchase tickets here.

Bayus’ artwork is featured on the 2018 Kentucky Derby and Oaks Posters available at Churchill Downs, and will be featured on the 2018 Holiday Edition of Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Other awards include Award of Merit 2016, Owensboro Museum of Art, Science and History, Grand Prize Portland Heritage Arts Show 2014, honorable mention at the Salon International 2013, the 2012 Purchase Prize from the Owensboro Museum of Art, and the 2011 Grand Prize from the Louisville Women's Club, and work is featured in the September 2017 Plein Air Magazine, and in American Art Review.

Memberships include Signature Status of American Impressionist Society, Indiana Plein Air Painters and Painters of the Bluegrass.

Hometown: Gary, Indiana
Education: MSSW, University of Louisville; BA in Visual Design, Purdue University
Website: http://dunbar-art.com/
Gallery Representative: Point Gallery, Prospect, Kentucky; Kentucky Gallery, Louisville, Kentucky

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"Belle and Lincoln Bridge" by Lynn Dunbar Bayus, Oil canvas paint, 18x18in, $1200

"Vine Street after Rain" by Lynn Dunbar Bayus, Oil on canvas, 5x7in, 2018, POR

"Black Eyed Susans" by Lynn Dunbar Bayus, Oil on canvas, 12x24in, 2018, POR