It's not often that I paint Southwestern images, but with Easter right around the corner, it just seemed the right thing to do. This church is one of the highlights of the small town of Taos, New Mexico. It is a favorite site for painters of all ages--its mystique, the way it has moved into modern times while still maintaining its charm and identity.
St. Francis de Assisi Church, Taos, Oil on Gessobord, 5 X 7 inches
SOLD
One of my more recent paintings exploring duality of self. Part of my fascination with this concept stems from "my other life" in the world of disability. I worked for several years as a college professor in Special Education at the University of Maryland, a director of a nonprofit school to work program for disabled youth in San Francisco, and a diagnostic specialist in a Federally funded program at the California School for the Deaf, Fremont. There was always so much more to comprehend in these individuals than what was apparent to the eye or ear. But isn't that the way it is with all of us? Much remains hidden underneath the surface--it may or may not become visible in a lifetime.
Which One?, Oil on Paper, 6 X 4 inches, matted and framed in contemporary frame, $140 USD
Check out my other work on my website
Charlotte Shroyer Copyright Charlotte Shroyer 2020
SOLD
Another facial fantasy for an exhibit in Bologna. It is so much fun creating these faces outside the realm of reality. We all live in another space from time to time. Who knows what runs through the mind? It is fun to imagine how we might look in another space and time.
Between the Two of Us, Oil on Canvas, 8 X 8 inches, $120 USD or 105 euros
Copyright 2019 Charlotte Shroyer
For more facial fantasies, check out my website.com
Back to a Southwest image, one of the few Southwest images in my portfolio of work. I love the place where I live, Taos, New Mexico, and every so often I like to deviate from my contemporary figurative work to pay homage in a painting to this very special place. This pueblo is the longest continually inhabited pueblo of the Southwest. Never did I expect to live here for close to 20 years, but that is what happened--must be the power of the mountain which can embrace you or chase you away, according to local legend. I tried to chase myself away, but that just wouldn't happen regardless of how hard I tried. And now I know I can't leave. The land is in my blood.
Taos Pueblo Forever, Monotype with Oil, 4 X 6 inches, matted in black, framed in contemporary silver frame.
Available at Jackies Trading Post, 129 North Plaza, Taos, NM, 575-758-4828
I live in a place where the beauty of surrounding mountains inundates the lives of those who live within viewing distance. That place is Taos, New Mexico in the Land of Enchantment. This very contemporary rendering of the mountains is another way to feel their splendor and emotion. Not a realistic painting, but something that comes from the heart.
Mystical Mountains, Monotype on Paper, 4 X 6 inches, $95 (unframed)
$140 (matted and framed)
Copyright Charlotte Shroyer 2018
I don't often create Southwestern images, but this one rattled around in my head for a few weeks until I put it on paper. The colors are very New Mexican as are the mountains in all their glory. Probably the first of a few more of its kind to make an appearance in the next few weeks. Keep watching.
Mountain Glory, Monotype with Watercolor, 4 X 6 inches
www.charlotteshroyer.com
SOLD
Life is a journey, taking us to places we know not. Whether of the past or present, the journey is to be valued for with each step we come closer to knowing who we are and where we are headed. And along the way we meet others on their own personal journey with whom we have so much to share. What started for me as life in rural Ohio where I traversed corn fields, picked off tomato worms and enjoyed the slow days of summer has turned into a glorious life adventure with travel taking me to many parts of the world and people sharing their special places in life. This piece is a tribute to the journeys of all. May they be safe and filled with life enriching experience.
Journey into the Unknown, Monotype with Charcoal and Oils, 6 X 4 inches, framed, $145 USD
I am starting to expand the visual boundaries of the faces which I paint. This painting includes arms and torso, not just a face. At one time, I painted nudes, standing figures which incorporated the entire body into the painting before I began to focus only on the face. The body can communicate as much as the face. In my diagnostic work with deaf children with multiple disabilities, I was observing a girl about 7 years of age. She had been identified and diagnosed as mentally retarded, but was referred to the California School for the Deaf for further observation. I observed her nonverbal behavior, how she played, how she imitated, how she moved in her environment. Thank goodness, someone else agreed with me and saw the same behaviors which I saw--not those of a mentally retarded child. The diagnosis was changed and she was placed into a classroom where she received the appropriate education. That's just a part of my "other, past" life which influences what and how I paint.
Check my website Charlotte Shroyer for more wacky faces.
Last week I posted an image titled Can We Be Friends? In that post I indicated that the image was not completed. I have now finished it and finished a second one that may coordinate with it as a diptych or may be viewed separately. The diptych is titled Can We Be Friends? Separately this painting is titled as above: Hey, Look at Me. The character in this painting is so extroverted that attention to him cannot be denied. If you look very carefully, you might see another character a little less introverted and that is not the woman shyly demurring.
Check my website Charlotte Shroyer for more wacky faces.