Summer afternoon in February

Bluebirds and cherry blossoms

Goldfinches

Cute and smart kids...

Uncle Nick’s World -- Happy Holidays

My wife's uncle, Nicholas Herrnkind, was a remarkable man. He never graduated from high school, yet he grew to head the pay roll department of a major American corporation in New York City. On the way, he struggled through the great depression, unemployment and the loss of a young child. Throughout his entire life Uncle Nick drew and painted in whatever spare time he had. As a financial watch dog, Nick was a man of precision. He was equally exact with his art. His style was photo-realistic. In the era of Abstract Expressionism centered in the New York City area, Nick's work was out of sync. His sketches and paintings, mostly rustic landscapes, remained housed and much loved by Nick's friends and family. He died in December, 1970.

In 2010, my wife's sister Diane was downsizing for a move. In the process, she uncovered a bunch of Uncle Nick's old unused canvases. In the pile, there was an unfinished painting of an old farm house and barn, a winter scene. Nobody knows when he started the work, or why he never completed it. Diane gave me the canvases, including the unfinished piece, for me to use. At first, I just planned to paint over his incipient oil painting -- but I couldn't. Something in the detail and feeling in those two buildings demanded preservation.

I decided to attempt to frame Uncle Nick's precise images within one of my stylized and rustic relief paintings, using modeling paste and tarnished metals. I started by repairing a gash in the background sky. Nick had started to sketch in a tree to the left of the barn, so I developed my component of the painting there. On the right side of the farm house, the canvas had been damaged. I covered that space with an additional tree. In the fore ground, Nick had penciled in some details. I didn't attempt to develop them. Rather, I just piled up snow and ice to further strand the little farm in winter's grasp -- focusing the eye on my glimpse into Uncle Nick's world.

Old Bynum Bridge painting

I just finished a new painting to show at the Chatham Studio Tour Opening at CCCC on Friday December 3rd. It is a relief painting using modelling paste and tarnished metals on canvas. It is one of nearly 50 works by members of the Chatham Artists Guild who open our studios the first two weekends on December.
Click here for a tour map.

Art museum pioneer to judge works at Chatham’s 18th Studio Tour

Art-lovers have a lot to choose from these days, with the newly designed North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh and the new Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Dr Michael Mezzatesta, former Director of the Duke University Museum of Art, played a critical role in the creation of our region’s vibrant art scene.

During his tenure as Director, Dr.Mezzatesta restructured the museum, organized dozens of touring exhibitions with scholarly catalogues covering ancient to contemporary art, and significantly expanded the collections. He spearheaded the $30 million, multi-year campaign to bring a new museum building to Duke University, and served as a member of the architect selection committee that brought Rafael Vinoly to design the Museum building. He is now Director Emeritus, and in recent years, Dr, Mezzatesta has served as curator and private consultant to collectors, artists and museums in the US, Italy and Russia.

On December 3rd, Dr Mezzatesta will bring his extensive artistic knowledge and experience to judge works by the Chatham Artists Guild at the Opening Reception for the 18th Chatham Studio Tour at the Central Carolina Community College Pittsboro Campus. Samples of art by 49 artists working and living in Chatham will be on view starting at 7 PM. The reception is free and open to the public. A delightful array of hoers devours by well known artist and caterer Gretchen Niver will be served.

“I am excited that Dr Mezzatesta will judge our opening exhibit,” notes Edwin White, internationally recognized sculptor and President of the Chatham Artists Guild. “He will have a challenging job. We have many creative and expert artists in this year’s Tour.”

At the 2010 Chatham Studio Tour, 49 visual artists will open their doors to the public for art-lovers to experience the creative process. Painters, sculptors, photographers, potters, wood workers, jewelers, and fabric artists will share their ideal and offer their local artworks for purchase. Five artists are joining the Tour for the first time. Hand tool wood worker Elia Bazzarria, abstract painter Cassani, gemstone jeweler Billy Mason, home-grown gourd artist Carol Kroll Tinsky, and portrait and fine art painter Kim Werfel.

"The Studio Tour sets the standard for the emerging artists of Chatham County, notes Maggie Zwilling, the Guild’s Executive Director. “It puts the County on the map for being the place to come when one wants to purchase high quality art”. It is easy to plan your own personal Tour. A print brochure and Tour Map is available at local restaurants and shops and a digital map is posted on the Guild’s website: www.chathamartistsguild.org. The Tour Facebook link is: www.facebook.com/pages/Chatham-Studio-Tour-Artists-of-Chatham-County-North-Carolina/157885530911322


The Chatham Studio Tour, founded in 1992 to promote artists living in Pittsboro, Siler City and throughout scenic rural Chatham County, is one of the oldest in North Carolina and a prototype for other area studio tours. The Chatham Artists Guild, a nonprofit member organization, provides educational opportunities for its members and the general public through exhibit opportunities, demonstrations, and teaching workshops.

Caption: Willow, a painting by Chatham Artist Kim Werfel