About Kirk-Bear Canyon - Art Gallery Exhibits
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About the Gallery and Juried Art Exhibits
Open since 2005, the Kirk-Bear Canyon Library Gallery has been a place for community artists to exhibit their work. Two-and three-dimensional works, created in a variety of media, are on display. Many of the works are available for purchase. The gallery is open during library hours.
Please see the Art Submission Guidelines (if applicable, see also Guidelines for Sculpture and Three Dimensional Art) and Exhibitor Waiver Form
Biographical information about the artists and price lists for each ongoing exhibit are available at the Service Desk.
Current Exhibits
- Equine Inspiration: The Art of Carole Andreen-Harris
- May 1, 2013 - May 31, 2013
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Opening reception on Saturday, May 11 from 2 to 4 pm.
This exhibit features the powerful combination of athleticism and elegance that the equine so perfectly exemplifies. Horses gallop with great power, pose with true majesty and even take time getting comfortable just being horses on Carole’s canvases.
With painting them being an outlet for the inspiration these mighty creatures have always given her, Carole enjoys painting horses of all types, having a particular soft spot for the magnificence of racehorses. This collection of equine works by Carole Andreen-Harris perfectly expresses the overall passion shared by those who love and work with horses.
About the Artist
Carole Andreen-Harris was driven initially to put pencil to paper by a love of horses and animals, with a deeply ingrained appreciation of the horse in all its breeds and disciplines. Raised in Minnesota and later Arizona, she experienced travels all across the USA, soaking in the dramatic and varied scenery, including many summers spent in western states. Hours spent sketching and painting in these years would help prepare for a future as a professional artist.
An Associate Member of the American Academy of Equine Art, Carole is also a member of International Equine Artists as well as a founding member of HeARTists for Horses, a group of four southern Arizona artists with a passion for helping horses in need. In 2012 she was added to a list of elite equine artists when she was chosen as the artist to paint the winner of the prestigious $1 Million Pacific Classic, the signature race run during the summer meet at beautiful Del Mar Racetrack in San Diego, California.
Carole currently lives in Tucson, Arizona with her automotive artist husband and two children. Carole’s work has been accepted into prestigious art shows and institutions such as the Cattleman’s Western Artn Show, The Phippen Western Art Show & Sale, Mountain Oyster Club Western Art Show & Sale, Empire 100, and the American Academy of Equine Art Open and Invitational shows.
You can learn more about the artist and her work online at www.andreenharris.com.
Upcoming Exhibits
- Desert Dwellers: The Art of Pam Cheeseman
- June 1, 2013 - June 30, 2013
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Artist's Statement:
Living in the desert and experiencing the beauty of the plant and animal life we see every day makes me want to paint. I had never visited the Sanoran Desert until I moved here twelve years ago and I admit I had an image in my mind that was nothing like the real thing. Watching the plants, which often resemble sticks, come to life after a rain or seeing a hawk sore above my home can have me running for my camera. Seeing the Palo Verde bloom in spring or watching a bobcat in our backyard tree brings to mind the extensive plant and animal life that dwell’s in the desert. This show is a collection of paintings I have done of life in the desert.
I started painting with watercolor about ten years ago and have loved every minute along the way but as usually happens I began to want to try new ways to paint with watercolor. Watercolor is generally described as painting with water-soluble pigments on paper. It is an unpredictable medium which can be both challenging and inspiring. Recently I became interested in using other surfaces for my paintings. I began using a product called aquabord. Aquabord is a clay coated hardboard panel that simulates the absorbency and texture of cold pressed watercolor paper but with a reworkable surface. It has added a new quality to my work and I have included several paintings in the show done on aquabord. The main attraction of using aquabord is the surface can be sealed with varnish so the painting does not need to be framed with glass.
The other art technique which I have just discovered is scratchboard. This is a process using a clay coated hardboard panel that is coated with India ink. A drawing is transferred to the board and then the ink is scratched off to create a black and white drawing. For added dimension, colored inks can be added to the white areas and the scratched again for additional highlights and volume. As with the aquabord the artwork is sprayed with varnish and framed without glass. I am becoming very fascinated with this process and have included several paintings using scratchboard.
I still do most of my work in watercolor on paper and enjoy every new project. I love the multitude of wildlife that seems to thrive in the desert and it seems as if every day I see a new subject I want to capture in a painting. I really enjoy my work and hope the viewers do as well.
About the Artist
Pam Cheeseman is a representational artist working primarily in watercolor on paper. Recently, she has started to branch out to aquaboard and scratchboard. She usually begins her paintings with a very definite idea, but watercolor is an evolving medium that can change right in front of your eyes and many times surprise you with a new way to depict the subject.
Pam studied art at the University of Colorado for two years but took off to work and then get married and raise a family. Years later she and her husband found themselves in Tucson Arizona and she decided it was time to revisit her love of art. In 2001 she began taking drawing classes at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum which rekindled her desire to learn about watercolors. This interest lead to classes and workshops in watercolor with local instructors as well as a nationally recognized artist.
Her subjects are usually wildlife, mostly animals and flowers but she has also done portraits and landscapes when the mood hits. Since moving to Arizona she has developed a fascination with the beauty of the desert and loves the multitude of wildlife and plant life that thrive all around us. The vibrant colors and light of the Southwest are a constant inspiration and challenge.
Pam is a signature member of the Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild and a juried member of the Southern Arizona Arts Guild. She has juried into and exhibited in shows for several years now and has won numerous awards.
Past Exhibits
- Western Vistas by Marcia Broderick
- February 1, 2013 - February 28, 2013
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In Western Vistas, Marcia Broderick combines the exceptional beauty and intrigue of the southwest together in authentic, expressive contemporary western art. Voted ‘Artist of the Year’ by the Southern Arizona Arts Guild, Tucson based Broderick often spends days with her subjects painting or sculpting plein air; resulting in the art displayed in this show. Broderick is versed in many media including oils, pastels, watercolor and sculpture.
Artist Reception
Meet Marcia Broderick on February 3, 2 to 4 pm
- March Madness by Mary Hansen
- March 1, 2013 - March 31, 2013
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Mary Hansen's exhibit, March Madness combines her whimsical "contour drawings" with acrylic paintings. The contour drawings are based on subjects from both Michigan and Arizona. The drawings are called "semi-blind" drawings because they are drawn with the artist focusing on the subject she is drawing, rather than upon the drawing itself. The pen is not lifted from the paper and moves from start to finish in one continuous line. What makes these contour drawings unusual is that they are completed in bright, bold colors.
The acrylic paintings which comprise the rest of the show are both representational and abstract. The most recent paintings are a combination of abstract forms completed with lines. Mary's work is multi-faceted and unique. She approaches her art in an experimental mode, never quite knowing what to expect. The result is an exciting and contemporary body of work.
Artist Reception and Blind Drawing Demonstration
- An artist reception will be held on Tuesday evening, March 5 from 5 to 7 pm at the library.
- Mary will also be doing a demonstration of her "blind drawing" technique at the library on Tuesday, March 12 from 2 to 3 pm.
About the Artist
Mary Hansen first visited Tucson (from Michigan) in the 70’s. It was "love at first sight." She fell in love with the desert, the cactus and of course the sun. It was at this time that she first began painting desert flowers, timid watercolors in soft hues. The flowers grew from timid to bold; the colors from quiet to bright.
Mary loves to experiment with her art and moved through many mediums including clay, acrylics, oils, and unique contour drawings. She has created abstracts as well as more representational work. She began the "semi-blind contour drawings" in 2010. Her most recent work combines abstract with lines.One of Mary’s artistic passions is to complete her paintings with sharp lines, drawn with a razor blade, a credit card, or another larger flat edged object. "This is the most fun part of the painting experience for me."
- Fun with Images
- April 1, 2013 - April 30, 2013
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"Collage" is from the French word coller meaning "to glue." This art form is a process of pasting papers or found objects onto a surface to create new images. These unrelated elements are arranged to produce a composition that expresses symbolic meanings or emotional effects.
The Fun with Images exhibit features works in collage from nine member artists of CASA (Contemporary Artists of Southern Arizona) Artists represented are:
- Jill Ballesteros
- Mary Bourret
- Carol Chambers
- Eileen Dudley
- Patti Lewis
- Ann Loud
- Stephanie McInroy
- Marti White
- Carmen Williams
Artist Reception
On April 2nd, enjoy a Q and A with the artists from 4-6 pm in the gallery.
