Featuring Russell Gordon: Month of February

The Wells Gallery welcomes Russell Gordon

Featured artist for February

Artist’s Reception Friday February 24^th 5-8pm

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (January 26) The Wells Gallery will host an Artist’s Reception for Russell Gordon on February 24^thfrom 5:00 until 8:00.  The gallery is always open to the public and we invite you to take the time to see the masterful detail of this American painter.  

Born in 1968, Russell Gordon received his undergraduate and graduate art education at the Schuler School of Fine Arts in Baltimore.Gordon's works evoke an old world feel but often with a decidedly contemporary twist. These richly detailed and carefully composed paintings reflect the Dutch Golden Era and Italian Renaissance sensibilities, yet remind us that simple and natural beauty are timeless and unchanged. Often combining layered symbolism and a subtle wit, Russell builds each work with carefully applied layers of oil paint and a strong sense of light and dark. Worked directly from life, the paintings invite the eye into windows of alternate but convincing reality without hesitation or reluctance.

New Russell Gordon

 "Curiosity" 14x18 framed

Quiet Space: Photography by John Michiels

For the month of January, we will be featuring over fifteen limited edition photographs from John Michiels in a show entitled Quiet Space. An artist's reception will be held Thursday, January 26th from 5:30-7:30, and is open to the public.

Mark Bailey in "The Artist's Magazine"

We are proud to announce that Mark Bailey placed 3rd in the Portrait/Figure category in this year's "The Artist's Magazine" competition (The December issue is currently on newsstands).  There were 6745 total enteries with 1975 of those in the Portrait/Figure category.  The judge, Robert Liberace, is a very well known and respected figure artist, and he had this to say about Bailey's work:

 "With his flashes of color, flawless drawing and dynamic design Mark has created a picture with a spirited immediacy that puts us right in the chaos of the moment.  The fantastic slashing strokes excite the imagination and show how great painting can open our eyes to the beauty of the world in the most unlikely places."

Congratulations Mark!

To view Mark Bailey's current works at our gallery, please visit our website.

 

 

December 2011

portrait/figure

Third Place

Mark Andrew Bailey

Vancouver, Washington

The title, In the Weeds, is a term restaurant workers use when the kitchen goes crazy trying to keep up with orders. Such scenes, rife with tension and energy, are what Mark Bailey most likes to paint. He prefers painting from life, but with this scene, there was no way. The setting is the kitchen of Basil Thai Restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina. “My objective was to capture the light, color and energy of a fleeting moment,” says Bailey. “For paintings like this, I take as many photos as I can in order to really get an idea of the place and have several images to pull from. Sometimes I jot down color and lighting notes of things that might get lost in photographs.” Bailey, in his 20s, places himself at the beginning of his career, still developing his process. He works in transparent layers, first blocking in major shapes and then breaking them down. “I remind myself that nothing’s sacred—that I shouldn’t be afraid to mess something up,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll take a broad brush and paint over a ‘finished’ area or scrape if off entirely. As scary as that is at the moment, that area usually ends up being far more interesting.”

                                           In The Weeds (or 'Basil'), Mark Bailey

Birds in Motion {recent commission by Russell Gordon}

Russell Gordon recently finished two custom paintings for a client that will be displayed together, so they had to be painted in unison. Here are the finished paintings and a very cool time lapse video Russell Gordon created to see the process behind the work! Enjoy.
      

"Flash of Blue"

"Perching Rainbow"

Earl B. Lewis {Lotto Icons} in American Art Collector

Khom Loi by Mark Bailey and Floating Lantern Festival of Thailand

It is very interesting how a painting can come to be created, and also how it can lead us to stumble upon other inspiration. Recently Mark Bailey finished up the painting Khom Loi, depicting a Charleston Locale with these unique lanterns above the tables. Khom Loi is a term for fire lanterns... which led us to this wonderful video of the "Floating Lantern Festival" in Thailand. What a wonderful tradition!