Five artists, each with a technique and a truth

Tag : jade crafts

Timberline Gallery is showcasing five artists: mixed-media artistMina Pratt; Colleen Coffman, who works in oil and acrylic; RichardCavoretto, who creates large acrylics; Suzanne Banks, working in avariety of media, and watercolors by Ronna Adler.
The show runs until Nov. 8. There will be a reception with theartists on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
When she was 8 years old, Suzanne Banks was introduced to the worldof art by her mother, who was a professional artist andillustrator. Banks majored in art when she attended college, andsince has studied with many well-known artists, including GaryLandgon and Jerry Grimmer.
Her oil and acrylic paintings bring the viewer on a journey throughher eyes of "the majesty of nature" in the Yosemite area, as seenthrough her point of view. Her watercolors are a combination ofdesign and spontaneous creativity, where she uses the fluidity ofcolors meandering across the paper to suggest and mold the shapeinto magical designs.
Banks' paintings are hung in private collections throughout theUnited States. She has also won numerous awards in competitions.
Coffman is a native Californian and considers it a privilege thatshe spent much of her younger years camping, hiking and fishing inthe forests of Northern California.
She says, "While painting, I get to revisit the memories of thosevisual treats and ultimately share their wonders with the viewer."
She loves to capture the glint of sunlight on the water and explorethe secrets hidden in the shadows. She is grateful for every day,and the privilege to paint.
Pratt moved to the Oakhurst from the Half Moon Bay area, where shetaught art for 23 years. She loves to explore, is a multimediaartist and is prolific in acrylic, pastel and oil painting,techniques that she taught to her students.
She has won numerous awards for her work, including best of show atthe Gold Rush show in Mariposa, first place in oil in the 2007Yosemite Western Artist show, and a first in the 2007 "CelebrateAgriculture with the Arts" show in Madera. She also has exhibitedextensively in the Society of Western Artists shows all overCalifornia, receiving her signature award, and many first prizes.
Richard Cavoretto as a child greatly admired his father's paintingsand carvings. From his early art impressions, he was influenced bytwo instructors from the California College of Arts and Craftswhose artwork impressed him. He set aside his goals for an artcareer to enter the ministry but often painted on the side.
In 1995 he picked up the brush again, which gave him a lot of innersatisfaction. His current paintings reflect his fascination withmachinery. He does close-ups of the intricate curves and jogs ofmetal, which he blows up on large canvases to create a strikingimage.
Adler also loved art as a child, and experimented in many mediaover the years. At a certain point she decided to focus on thewatercolor medium that she loves.
She won a summer scholarship with Rex Brandt School of Watercolor,has a B.A. degree in art from Idaho State University, and ateaching credential in art from UC Santa Barbara. She has alsostudied with Jane Gyer, Jane Burnham, Jade Fon, Monty Guynes andJerry Grimmer. Adler, who is devoted to her two horses, alsostudied equestrian art with Joan Mclntire.
Her many awards include a judges award from Yosemite WesternArtists, a first prize at the "Celebrate Agriculture with the Arts"show, and a purchase award at the 35th Annual Exhibition in Idaho.
Adler worked as a professional landscape contractor for 12 years inEastern Madera County, where her art background inspired herlandscapes.
Timberline Gallery is at 40982 Highway 41 in Oakhurst at GalleryRow. For more information, (559) 683-3345.