I live in a magical place dominated by mountains and a monumental gorge through which the Rio Grande River flows south toward the Gulf. Even as a contemporary abstract painter, It is impossible to live here and not be influenced by the beauty and majesty of the surroundings. At unexpected moments a painting of Taos Pueblo, its powerful mountains, blue skies, and the cavernous gorge appear. This was one of those moments and this is the result.
Chasm, Oil on Canvas, 40 X 20" gallery wrap, $1600 USD
Back to childhood. So many memories of dreaming about another lollipop and then getting one. This painting has more than just a lollipop--the boundaries and extensions of childhood memory and how we think of those days so long ago. I grew up in a rural area outside Columbus, Ohio, where the summer days were long, the corn was high, and the lightning bugs always a wonder to me. Nothing in the way of planned activities, just time to loll away the day, reading, playing school with my doll Suzanne, and running my toes through the dirt. Once I was given a second hand bicycle, I had wheels to the world--trips to see my friends, trips to the library, and more.
"Lollipop, Lollipop," Oil on Canvas, 40 X 20" Gallery wrap, $1600
Agnes Martin, an early leader in the Minimalist movement, was a very special person in the Taos community--unassuming, loving to work, committed to the community, and giving back to the community. I had the opportunity to meet her one day in her favorite restaurant lunch spot. I was with a small group of painters in Ray Vinella's art group. Agnes was sitting by herself finishing lunch as she did most days, same restaurant and probably the same seat by the window. We invited her to join us for coffee and dessert. In just a short period of time, we learned a little about her life. She came to Taos because rent for a studio was cheap--about $39 when she first came here. She painted every day--a good lesson for all of us. We learned about her life and lessons for our lives.
The Harwood Museum, part of the University of New Mexico Museums, has a room with her paintings--pastel stripes, very meditative. This painting, while not in stripes, is very subdued for me. It is in her honor.
Remembering Agnes, Oil on Canvas, 48 X 36" (gallery wrap), $3630 USD
Years ago as a seven year old child rubbing my feet in the black loam of our Ohio vegetable garden, I made a marvelous discovery--a stone tomahawk hidden in the dirt. It seemed so obvious and yet so mysterious that I picked it up in wonder. What an exciting find! As I look back on that discovery, I am still in awe and perhaps have even less understanding than during that time of innocence. Could it have been an omen of things to come? Could it in its own small way have pushed me to a path of discovery which would help fashion my adult life? I have woven Navajo style; I live in a place inhabited by descendants of the Anasazis, and I wonder at the beauty, mystical energy, and intelligence of the Native American culture in which I live. This painting is a tribute to our ancestors of the Americas, the people who lived and still live in this land. Thank you.
Ancestors, Oil on Canvas, 60 X 36," Gallery Wrap, $4500 USD
My fascination with Cistercian abbeys has carried over into my more contemporary work. This painting started with my a window at Christina's house in Rockland, Maine--the Christina of Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World. I was attracted to the window because of the patina of weathered wood and even more so because of Christina's story of will and persistence in spite of physical difficulties--a story of courage and faith. The window changed as I worked more with the painting taking on the look of a window in the abbey. And this woman appeared as if guided by the light of the abbey and by the street light.
Night by Light, Oil on Canvas, 48 X 36" (gallery wrap), $3600 USD
As I worked on this painting, I thought of Native American shields and the ones we all create to shield our beings. The light hits the surface, but doesn't penetrate to the inner core to reveal the inward self. Just a ray here and there to give a glimpse.
Shields, Oil on Canvas, 48 X 48" gallery wrap, $4800 USD
www.charlotteshroyer.com Copyright 2012 Charlotte Shroyer
The library has always been one of my favorite places. As a child, it was an adventure to different parts of the world, people I had never known, and mysteries beyond my fathom. Once I was given a bicycle and learned to ride it, I had wheels to this magical world. Seven miles in and seven miles back with all kinds of mystical thoughts whirling in my brain as a result of what I had read and what I would read in the "new" books in my bicycle basket. It was books from the library that propelled me to new dreams and ultimately to finding a way to leave the confines of my childhood world.
This painting represents a lot of different "catalogs in the brain." As in many of my paintings, I just start putting color on canvas and wait for the magic to begin. The magic as a long time in coming for this one. As I reflect on what I painted, I can see Mayan figures, abstracted figure, whimsical balloons, Cy Twombly-like squiggles and a lot of unfinished "thoughts." Such was my being at the time that I painted this.
Item " 546
"Random Thoughts," Oil on Canvas, 48 X 48," Gallery Wrap, $4800 USD
I love the element of chance in my paintings. Mysterious images appear, as I have said before, almost as if demanding to be seen. These images appeared by chance from blobs of paint. How does chance affect the appearance of images on the canvas? Images from the past? From the present? From contemporary culture? All of the above and more. Every individual is the sum of where he has been, what he has done, what has happened yesterday, today, and thoughts of what might happen tomorrow. Gerhard Richter, whom I respect for a lot of different reasons, speaks of the role of chance in his paintings. In response to a question how chance is different in his work from that of Pollock or Surrealist automatism: "Yes, it certainly is different. Above all, it's never blind chance: it's a chance that is always planned, but also surprising. And I need it in order to carry on, in order to eradicate my mistakes, to destroy what I've worked out wrong, to introduce something different and disruptive. I'm often astonished to find how much better chance is than I am." (Richter, The Daily Practice of Painting, 159). I also let chance work in my paintings--chance is much better than I am.
I printed this monotype a few years back. As artists do, I kept it in a file ready for the right time. Who knows when the right time is? Perhaps when one looks through the file again. Perhaps when real life triggers memories of the image. Or perhaps...... I only know, the time is right. Don't ask me why. Perhaps it's because I visited New Orleans the week after Mardi Gras. Masks are in the windows of specialty shops. The mystery and magic of Mardi Gras still permeated the streets--the crowds were gone, but the aura remained. This monotype has a magic visible to the viewer. It can be what you want it to be. Enjoy!
Mystery Mask, Monotype on Paper, 5 3/4" X 5" (image size), matted, unframed, $75.00 USD
