Artists in Lowertown and Paducah
Paducah's Lowertown Arts Dstrict is home to a terrific community of diverse artists
Julie Shaw is one of Lowertown's finest jewelers she owns the aphrodite gallery and also goes to many trade and art shows around the country. Julie is always so elegant. I couldn't do justice to her earrings so I just made something up that approximated her look.
Keyth Kahrs does meticulous landscapes and likes to fish. Many of his works have the perspective of someone on the water, probably on Kentucky Lake. I expect that is why they call his gallery the Leaping Trout Studio. When Keyth saw this graphic he couldn't believe I had taken the time to individually shape each of the tiny teeth in the zipper. Keyth insists that the color of his eyes is "auburn." I'll take his word for it but I thought auburn was a sort of red brown. I couldn't find auburn on the color wheel.
I went in to see Nancy Calcutt one Second Saturday and she was painting a commission. This was a member of a whole family that had Nancy paint their portraits. Nancy showed me a group photo of the whole family with each one holding their finished work.
Judeen's studio has just a bit of everything. She is a prolific knitter and quilter. Se even does Stained Glass. She was watching someone show their work at the Paducah Fiber Artists' meeting and I caught her image deep in thought. When Judeen saw this graphic she said "Is that me?" Every one else recognized her but I guess this is not an angle you normally see yourself.
Char Downs and her husband Jay Siska Own the Pinecone Gallery. They are very generous with offering shows to artists around the country. Char keeps a small area for her own work of course. The day I caught up with Char she was showing her painting of her mother. It is a very strong painting and shows a woman of iron will and determination. The painting looks right at you and has an judgmental aura . Char didn't want to sell her mother's painting but she did stand near it for me.
Louis Lovera is a resident architect of Lowertown. Louis also does sculptures in clay. The day I captured his image he had been traveling all day and was very tired. Even so, he had come out to a gallery opening to lend his support. The artists in Lowertown are like this, they make a great community.
I caught Barbara Noonan as Featured artist at her opening May 10, 08 at the Philosophy Gallery . Barb works in Pastel. I should have gotten her to explain this Abstract. It looks like it be a statement about a 50 year milestone. Her website MorninNoonanNight.com has many of her works that run from still life, and landscapes to portraits.
I am always looking for people with "That Look" This one of Rachel is right on. It has just the right degree of speculation, waryiness and curiosity. I am not sure where the clothes came from. Rachel get stuff from all over the world and sells it on Etsy. Rachel is a fiber artist but spends so much time Blogging I don't know when she has the time to make anything. This graphic of Rachel is based on a black and white photo so all the colors are a fantasy.