Inspiration Studios
Press Release

Milwaukee Sketch Club Collaborative Exhibit to Open at Inspiration Studios

The Milwaukee Sketch Club Exhibit will feature thirteen artists and their varied body of work.

By - Apr 22nd, 2019 01:15 pm
Has Anybody Seen My Cat by Tom Piedt. Photo courtesy of Inspiration Studios.

Has Anybody Seen My Cat by Tom Piedt. Photo courtesy of Inspiration Studios.

“Art in any form emotes and invites feelings. The same can be said for life’s experiences,” says Arlene Davey, whose acrylic paintings are part of a collaborative exhibit scheduled for May at Inspiration Studios. The Milwaukee Sketch Club Exhibit will feature thirteen artists and their varied body of work, exploring emotions and nature, using several mediums. An Opening Reception with the artists, free and open to the public, is scheduled for Sunday, May 5, 2:00-5:00pm at Inspiration Studios, 1500 S. 73rd Street in West Allis. Refreshments will be served.

Art is an expression of my appreciation for life and the wonder of it all,” says Tom Piedt, who coordinated this exhibit. “I have been compelled to take a unique personal journey for forty plus years when I paint. I’m trying to discover a surreal, ethereal image that reflects relationships of the world around us in an abstract way.”

In her attempts to capture the beauty of light and color as they permeate the world, Julia Pagenkopf explains, “I want the viewer to be able to enter the painting, to smell the air and feel the breeze, or remember a certain place they once knew where their imagination took flight.”  Her pastel and watercolor pieces are an emotional response to the changing moods of the seasons.

“My themes are usually landscape oils,” says Art Bartkowiak. “Many are ethereal or mysterious–to invoke contemplation and mystery. Ambiguity is strived for, especially in my abstracted and mixed media canvases, using foils, marble powder, some pastel and oil paint.”  

Karen Wick‘s paintings (acrylic, pastel, charcoal) will occasionally include words or symbols buried in the under-painting, or they will subtly show through as words or symbols that have significance for the piece. Other times, more noticeable “random” squiggles or lines appear that become an expression of an undefined feeling or energy that she experiences while trying to represent a 3-dimensional object onto a 2-dimensional canvas.

Betty A. Storey of Muskego states “I signed up for the Drawing and Painting class at Wilson Senior Center a few years ago. The facilitator, Al Minzlaf, urged me to keep trying, to pay attention to detail, watch ‘the lightest lights and darkest darks’, to try something new and to stay active and involved. These paintings are the result of his encouragement.”

This collaborative exhibit also includes works by Al Minzlaf (acrylic, watercolor); Bonita Bruch (pastel); Carol Liesenfelder (mixed media); John Peine (oil); Joyce Radtke (watercolor); Lisa Luz (acrylic, watercolor); and Steve Klein (wood). Most artwork will be available for purchase.

For those who can not attend the Opening Reception on May 5, the Milwaukee Sketch Club Exhibit will be available for viewing on Sunday, May 12 (2-5pm); Friday, May 17 (4-7pm), Saturday May 18 (2-5pm), Friday, May 24 (4-7pm), and Saturday, May 25 (2-5pm).  A Closing Reception will also be held on Sunday, May 26, (2-5pm).  Inspiration Studios is located at 1500 S. 73rd Street in West Allis.  More information is available at www.inspirationstudiosgallery.com.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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