Art on Capitol Hill

We take color for granted, especially in art, but it was not always that way. Artists in primitive times had to be satisfied with charcoal or ochre. Gradually, people learned how to make dyes from vegetation and minerals. Until recently, artists ground or bought natural pigments and mixed their own colors. The ancient Egyptians were the first to mix the powders with egg yoke to make tempera. In the 1400’s, the incredible Dutch painter, Jan Van Eyke mixed pigment with poppy oil and the era of modern oil painting was launched. So secret and elaborate was the technique of Van Eyke that he has never been forged successfully.

For many artists, the choice of color and application of paint are highly individual and often serve as the signature of that artist. Many of the masters, from Rembrandt to Van Gogh, Monet and Albert Ryder can be identified by just a small portion of the canvas. Some painters have been very limited in the use of color (Rembrandt used only three or four colors with black and white) while others like Matisse and Kandinsky luxuriated in hundreds of variations of shade and tone and created almost unlimited hues.

Color schemes have also evolved. Traditionally, colors generally reflected the accepted norms for “natural” coloration, but some artists, especially in the last hundred and fifty years, broke free from longstanding expectations. While in Tahiti, Paul Gauguin used color harmonies completely at odds with what we usually see in nature. His intense and unexpected colors create an emotional reaction from viewers that could never be achieved with the predictable.

The more we explore the physics of light and color the greater our sense of awe and wonder that we humans are the only beings on earth, perhaps the universe, to see color as something as abstract as “beauty.” It is that dazzling dance of light that allows us to soar beyond the biological into that realm of magic we call art.

The perception of color in a painting depends on the length of light rays reflecting off the surface. But to a painter, color quality is the result of a hundred variables and, ultimately, the application of the pigment.

The work of Shelly Wischhusen is a dedicated exploration of the richness and substance of paint. The pigment has its own life on the canvas and the surface becomes a terrain, not just a platform that reflects light. Subject matter is reduced to its essentials. A transient rose lives on in a new form with just as much measurable matter. It may be of a different substance but it has the same fundamental nature. The essence of its life is preserved.

Like most students, Shelly began her art life as a painter of people and things. As a BFA student at the University of Georgia, subject matter was the message. By the time of her MFA program at George Washington University, she had discovered the American Modernists, especially Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keefe, John Marin and Marsden Hartley. Her view of painting changed forever.

While in grad school, Shelly began working at the Phillips gallery and is now the Chief Preparator of Exhibits. The Phillips collection gives her the opportunity to be one on one with the masters; a chance to really know some of the greatest works of art ever produced.

Shelly has lived and painted on the Hill for twenty-seven years. She works in the studio behind her house on G Street SE, and is continuing her personal exploration to find the ultimate essence of what she sees. “It would be nice to reach a point in my work where I can let loose and just see where it goes.”

Shelly Wischhusen’s work can be found at the Phoenix Gallery at 325 7th Street, SE, and online at Studio414.com.

Gallery325 attained the status of fixture on Capitol Hill in a relatively short period of time. The not-for-profit art gallery was an excellent place to find professional-level art from around the area and a popular spot on Second Saturday evenings to greet hundreds of your neighbors at the opening of a new show.

It is still there at 325 7th Street SE, but it is now sharing the space with the Phoenix Gallery, an interior and architecture design firm that displays the Gallery325 art interspersed with their classic handcrafted European antiques and accessories.

It is now easier to visualize how a painting might be integrated into your home or office environment. The paintings and photography, together with furnishings selected for their unique personality, will help you create a place to linger…to breath. A refuge from this die-cut world. The range of possibilities will surprise you.

Jim Magner is a Capitol Hill artist and writer. For comments, Jim can be contacted at magner414@aol.com and his paintings can be seen on www.magner414.com and in Gallery 325.