Month: January 2022

An award winning artist, Jean derives inspiration from her observation of daily life. Her watercolor still life and landscapes reflect transitions of light and shadow, and express a sense of memory of time and place. Jean’s works can be found in private and public collections and galleries throughout Michigan. She belongs to multiple painters’ guilds and we are thrilled to have a couple of her paintings in the studio.

Rentschler Farm in Saline, often inspires local artists to capture images from this historic site. The sunflowers that burst on to the scene during Michigan summers, invited Jean to paint, en plein air, one of Michigan’s favorite flowers. Look closely at Jean’s piece titled Sunflower, and take in the complex details of the petals or “rays” that inspired its name.

Inspired by a walk through San Francisco’s China Town, Jean just had to paint the colorful and festive lanterns that hung everywhere. February 1, begins the Chinese New Year; this is a great opportunity to stop by the gallery and see Jean’s painting titled, Sky Lanterns 2. Jean captures the intricate but delicate beauty of traditional Chinese paper lanterns. Jean was awarded best of show and sold her piece titled Sky Lanterns 1, at the Northville Arthouse Watermedia Show.

Join us at Whitepine Studios on Saturday morning, January 29th from 10-11:30 am and meet local printmaking artist Dennis Gordon.

Dennis is an award winning artist that creates beautiful limited edition prints from original wood carvings. The photographic process has been part of printmaking for over 50 years, prevalent in photo etching, photo lithography and photo silk screening. Woodcuts are the main exception to this process, although methods of carving have expanded, using tools such as the dremel. Laser etching of wood and other materials has been commonplace in the craft and marketing industry for many years, but generally, the material that is being etched is the end product.

Dennis has been exploring ways to make a wood etching function as a woodcut for printmaking. It has taken him hundreds of hours to learn software applications and experimenting to achieve exciting results. Along with the woodcut image, he works on background imanges that may be abstract or semi-representational, and applies rolled on ink reliefs. The woodcut images begin with a photograph he has taken or from one of his drawings or paintings. While some prints remain black and white, Dennis adds color to others. The process starts with printing the woodcut in black ink. Then a sheet of printmaking paper is laid over this print to help determine where he will apply color. The color is applied to a blank piece of printmaking paper, and then the woodcut is inked up and printed on top of that.

Whitepine Studios and Dennis will be giving away, to our first 50 visitors to the studio, a limited edition “mini woodcut” (retail value $45, one per household).

Dennis will also have materials and supplies to show how he makes his woodcut prints. He will also offer a 5×7 mini woodcut of the same image, to give to anyone who purchases any of his artwork in the studio.

We are thrilled to have award-winning pastel artist, Linda Klenczar’s work in the gallery as part of the Scenes of Michigan Winter Exhibition.

Linda graduated from MSU and has studied with nationally known professional pastel artists for over two decades to perfect her craft and develop her style. She is a member of multiple guilds and her work can be seen in galleries and shows throughout Michigan.

Linda’s work is a collection of both city and country landscapes. Her piece titled Main Street, is bursting with vibrant colors and embodies the dynamic Ann Arbor downtown space. The Dagwood Diner opened on St. Patrick’s Day in 1949, and was later named The Fleetwood Diner in 1971 by its new owner. It was the first sidewalk cafe in the city of Ann Arbor. Linda’s piece titled, Fast Food Icon, is celebration of this iconic downtown Ann Arbor gathering place.Family farms dot the landscape of small towns and countrysides across Michigan. Linda’s piece titled Nostalgia, captures the essence of these scenic rural family farms; this farm can be found in Manchester, MI.

Stop by the gallery and enjoy the vibrant palette of Linda’s gorgeous pieces. Gallery is open Tues-Friday 10 – 5 pm and by appointment.

We are thrilled to announce the opening of the “Scenes of Michigan”, Winter Art Exhibition. All new watercolor, oil, pastels, and woodcuts, by a variety of local artists are now being exhibited and are for sale in the gallery.

Meet this week’s featured artist, Rose Bradley. Rose is a life-long Michigander who has been painting her light-filled watercolors for over 20 years. Her work can be seen in shows throughout the State. She is a member of multiple local painter’s guilds.

We are thrilled to have two of Rose’s watercolors titled, “Snowbirds” and “Gulls Aflutter”.

Snowbirds – The Dark Eyed Junco enjoys Michigan winters. Michiganders will often see these birds at their feeders in a beautiful backdrop of snow.

Gulls Aflutter – Herring Gulls can be found all throughout the Great Lakes. Rose captures the graceful dance of these birds on a sandy Lake Michigan beach.