September 2009
Black and White with a Splash of Red
Shan Lollis
Hooves in Motion
Danna Tartaglia
Illahe Studios & Gallery features two diversely talented local artists for the month of September. Shan Lollis will returns with her latest work, "Black and White with a Splash of Red", drawings of people and architecture using India ink and a dash of acrylic paint. Danna Tartaglia displays “Hooves in Motion,” a collection of dynamic oil paintings of horses in action.
A special visitor for the First Friday Gallery Walk, Cordon Negro, a Lusitano Stallion from Aranaway Farms, a favorite model of artist Danna Tartaglia
Shan Lollis "Neighborhood Watch"
Shan Lollis believes in using as much pure color as possible, creating a graphic like quality to her work. Influenced by her years of travel in Western Europe and Mexico, she has produced pieces in acrylic, watercolor, and pen and ink. According to Webster’s Dictionary, “drawing is the art or technique of making lines.” With a Chinese calligraphy brush and India ink, Shan has focused on drawing black on white pieces relying on varying lines and layout to create interesting design. An occasional bold splash of bright color adds interest and catches the eye of the viewer. “The ideas for these drawings stemmed from “Girl in a Red Chair.” I liked the simple, but decorative look. It became an interesting challenge to use only lines and design to create a story.
Shan Lollis has been a resident of the Rogue Valley for 25 years, and a serious artist for most of her adult life. Her work has been shown in galleries throughout the Rogue Valley. She studied art at Olympic College, The University of Washington, and Varenna, Italy.
Danna Tartagllia Ain't Misbehavin'
Danna Tartaglia discovered years ago that she really enjoyed the challenge of capturing the motion and playful spirit of fish and animals. “For a while it was the Japanese Koi from my pond that appeared endlessly on my canvases. It seemed to be a natural chain of events that led to my desire to paint horses. But not just horses, I wanted horses in action, horses at play, kicking up their heels, portraying their mischievous nature. The dilemma was to find a way to view horses at play. I would stop along roads of southern Oregon, taking photos of horses, but they were invariably head down in the pasture, just grazing along, all beautiful horses, just not very exciting. What to do? To my surprise and delight, Carl and Mary Anne wandered into the gallery in Jacksonville where I spend my days, noticed my artwork on display, and asked if I would mind coming out to Aranaway Farm to meet their prize Lusitano stallion and possibly create a portrait of the very spirited "Cordon Negro.” It did not take me long to find a day to go meet the big horse and then to start work on his first portrait. I have since created a number of paintings of this exuberant animal with many more to come. I visited him recently, got some new photos, and I was excited to see they have a new addition to the stables, a gorgeous golden palomino stallion that is definitely destined to appear on my canvases in the near future.”