A few years ago the gracious Anna Mish, Director at Caton Merchant Family Gallery in Manassas, Virginia, favored me with a solo exhibit at her wonderful space in this charming and historic town. Reprising here some scenes from that show, “Outliers.”
The model with the artwork “Dis Six”
Gallery Director Anna Mish giving a personal tour for collectors
Corrected Vision #2
by
Washington, DC Artist
Leslie M. Nolan
One of three paintings in a series, Corrected Vision #2 relates to how we see the world and how the world sees us. There is more than what is known through the eye. Body language, scent, gentleness or violence all inform the real person behind the facade.
The great George Bridgman of the Art Students’ League in New York asserted, “The difference in drawing is in what you sense, not what you see. There is other than that which lies on the surface.” While Bridgman no doubt referred to musculature and skeletal structure, I expand the interpretation of his comments to mean the substance of who we are – our heart and soul.
I know some say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but I like to think that our minds — our ability to feel and connect — really count.
Leslie Nolan, Washington, DC Artist, Working In the Studio
Getting a workout painting this 72″ x 84″ canvas. Up and down on the step ladder, mixing large batches of paint, and wielding wide brushes — all part of a vigorous day. When finished, this piece will form a key visual element in my upcoming solo at Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center, Frederick, MD. The main gallery space is huge, with high ceilings to easily accommodate this big boy.
Hope you can see the completed painting and join us for the opening reception on September 5, 2015, 3-5 pm. Exhibit dates September 5-27.
I am represented by Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Washington, DC.
Washington, DC Artist Leslie Nolan’s
“Choose To Walk Here”
36″x36″x2 1/2″ acrylic on canvas
In focusing on figurative paintings, I have been hinting primarily at emotions largely hidden in real life. This theme involves depicting what is felt rather than what is seen. In this new work the subject has been caught in a private moment of personal awareness. He claims his space, but remains alert. There and not there.
Inner/Outer, the title for my upcoming exhibition at Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Washington, DC, will feature this painting. It exemplifies the tone of the show. While distinct, each canvas suggests a kind of chaos which has just occurred, which could occur, or which is occurring. The outer facade may appear calm and controlled, yet the inner reality seethes with passion – courage, tenacity, rage, confusion, vulnerability, etc. Is that what it means to be human?
In the Studio of Leslie Nolan
Think this piece, 48″x48″, is finished. I like the mono-colored look and the horizontal strokes used for the background. Something different.
They say it takes two people to make an artwork: one to paint and the other to say when to stop. The process can be an interesting conundrum. It’s easy to constantly tweak, fix and improve, but the risk entails overworking an artwork to the point of weariness that was meant to be fresh and vital. Much better overall to try something new. Just go for it. Just own it.
Leslie M. Nolan’s work in the studio
Washington, DC Artist Leslie Nolan’s “Corrected Vision”
These new paintings are meant to complement Corrected Vision, now on exhibit through August 1 at McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) in its curated and juried exhibit “Strictly Painting.” Curated by senior curator for modern and contemporary art at The Phillips Collection.
If you miss the MPA show, some or all of these will be in my solo exhibit in September at Susan Calloway Fine Arts, Georgetown.
I like the idea of playing with an idea and carrying it further. Kind of like expressing a different tone or meaning of the same subject matter. For these paintings, the subject revolves around one idea: young or old, it’s easy to develop a blind spot. Maybe that’s called survival. Maybe denial.
McLean Project for the Arts
1234 Ingleside Avenue McLean VA 22101 phone 703.790.1953 http://www.mpaart.org
Working on some new pieces for upcoming solo exhibits in September at Susan Calloway Fine Arts in Washington, DC’s Georgetown and at Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, MD. While still pondering on an appropriately ambiguous title for the Calloway exhibit, the title for Delaplaine is “Mixed Messages.” I think it apt, because we send out the message we want people to receive, yet our body language or tone can communicate a completely different message. The recipient must draw his or her own interpretation of those sometimes “mixed messages.”
In the final analysis, aren’t we all a little confused from time to time?
New Work By Washington, DC Artist Leslie Nolan
Something Different In the Studio of Leslie Nolan
Fabulous opening at Touchstone Gallery of my “Unfiltered” exhibit.
Washington, DC Artist Leslie Nolan’s “Corrected Vision”
This painting, 36″ x 36″ acrylic on canvas, will be exhibited in “Strictly Painting” at McLean Project for the Arts June 18 – August 1, 2015. Juror Vesela Sretenovic, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Philliips Collection, selected artwork of 38 artists for the exhibition. If you’re in the area, drop by and check it out.
Strictly Painting
June 18 – August 1 — Opening Reception June 30, 7-9 PM
McLean Project for the Arts
1234 Ingleside Ave, McLean, VA 22101. Phone 703.790.1953. Hours T-F 10-4; Sat 1-5
Smart Isn’t Enough
By Contemporary Figurative Painter Leslie M. Nolan
36″x36″ acrylic on canvas
Making one’s way through life is tough. Nikki Giovanni’s poem “Straight Talk” provided the feel and title for this new piece, because its words capture the image’s idea of moving forward despite uncertainty.
Full disclosure, this photographic rendering fails to capture the nuance and richness of the original artwork. I’m sure everyone on earth knows that computer monitors, as well as film, lighting, and digital manipulation all alter reality. Despite photographers’ best efforts, an image can never duplicate 100% the original. It can hint. It can titillate. It can encourage the viewer to go see the painting in a museum or gallery. For artwork, there is no substitute for the real thing – the brushwork, hints of uncovered color, a deep teal hue blending into a rich gray, punctuated by cadmium orange.
In that sense a work of art reflects life. A photo of Machu Picchu cannot begin to duplicate the feeling of being there in the mountains, the wind eratically bending grass, smells of foliage, tactile feel of rock work honed by the hands of citizens from an ancient, long gone civilization.
This one-of-a-kind painting will be at Susan Calloway Fine Arts in September 2015.
contemporaryimagesdotcom 