"See What Happens!"
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon on March 16, 2013, I attended
the “See What Happens!” art show at the Yellow Barn Gallery in Glen Echo
Park. The exposition was a joint
show between a painter, Pat Kitchen, and a graphic designer, Anne Boe
Gelius. The Gallery displayed the
beautiful oil paintings done by Pat and the visionary graphic designs created
by Anne.
I
have been to many art shows and seen many paintings, but Pat’s artwork is
something I will always remember.
I could tell that each painting had a story behind it; his painting of a
lake and his image of a house represented something deeper than what was on the
surface, and Pat did a magnificent job of showing it. One piece of his that really stood out to me was his
painting titled “Morning Glow.” I
told Pat that I thought the piece was particularly alluring, and he told me the
story of how that was actually his “mistake painting.” He had begun painting the sky and used
the bottom of the canvas to dab his paints. After finishing the sky, he was intrigued by the colors in
his palette at the bottom of the canvas.
He stroked and smudged the colors together to create the earth beneath
the sky, and ended up with a mysteriously captivating work of art.
Anne’s
artwork differs greatly from Pat’s, yet is equally as charming. She manipulates prints and combines
colors that create beautiful designs on her canvases. My favorite piece of hers was the last one I looked at. The colors of the print are multiple
shades of blue, and the design depicts three different polka-dot dresses that
appear to be hanging on a clothesline.
This particular picture made me smile because the dresses look like they
are flowing and dancing in the blue wind.
Anne
and Pat put on a great art show together.
Their styles of art are very different, but couldn’t be more perfect
shown together. The atmosphere at
the gallery was happy and light; everyone was smiling, chatting, and truly
enjoying the amazing artwork displayed around them. This was one art show that I didn’t want to end, and one
that I won’t forget.
