August 2, 2015
By Paula McCambridge
Whether you like your animals in the wild, in your home or put to work, they’re being featured in art this week.
Painter Ethel “Tink” Landers has her work hanging at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of the Central Coast through her show, Fleece, Fur and Feathers.
Landers’ folksy animal portraits are inspired by her Midwest childhood, where she shared deep friendships with farm animals and beloved dogs, according to her GALA news release.
“Ethel’s show reflects the pure joy of living and the energy that flows between all living creatures using paint ink and graphite,” the release says. “Believing in unity and the goodness of life, her work often challenges inequities. She gains insight, compassion and renewal via her relationship to people, places, animals and spirit. Tink’s work reflects her amazement with life and her comfort with many mediums including oil, acrylic, and pastel.”
Landers sometimes uses her art to fight injustice and the plight of the disenfranchised. Her rooster, Rudy, is seen on pieces to raise money for the fight against breast cancer.
More animals are featured in Frank Eber’s collection, which is being shown at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles through Feb. 1.
Among his pieces is an ethereal watercolor of saddled horses preparing to leave the Yosemite landscape.
“Landscapes, marine scene, or cityscapes come to live through the use of light and atmospheric effects,” said Sasha Irving of Studios on the Park. “While the works are based on the traditional use of the watercolor medium, many painted en plein air, they create the impression of a poetic interlude rather than a literal representation of the reality before us. The paintings reward a closer look. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with graphic, high-key images, Frank’s watercolors seem calming and carry an almost tranquil, serene and dreamlike quality.”
