“Oh look, this isn’t right.” And with that statement, I watched Stan Fellows’ thumb smear the color that he had just brushed in as a reflection in a bottle. He was painting during our Music in the MUD event on Saturday night, and in smearing the color, Stan let it merge with a deeper hue in the background. He tweaked the reflection with some blue, and there it was- the illusion of glass refracting the space beyond it.

Stan’s spontaneous use of all of the elements of his process and medium are a delight for me to observe. And though I had been working, truly, every waking moment of this past weekend, the pleasure that I shared with those around me as he painted the casual scene that was playing out in front of us with the performance of the John Shultz Organization was exhilarating. Surely some life lesson can be gleaned from this –something as simple as “work with your mistakes, the result is sure to be richer”.

Stan’s watercolors are installed in both the front and middle galleries at Campbell Steele. On Thursday, we’ll have available his charming “The Cuckoo’s Haiku”- the illustrated book of Michael Rosen’s poems. Come and get it!

In the gallery, this is the season when artists make certain to deliver work in a timely fashion. It’s a busy, happy time- a harvest of work done in solitude. Amy Plymat’s painted silk scarves are piled beside Thomas Agran’s beautifully rendered scratchboards of classic, commercial livestock breeds. (Never has a sow enjoyed more graphic glory!) Greg Souther’s distinctive jewelry awaits display beside a holiday tree hung with Maras Glass Studio’s blown glass ornaments. Gordon Kellenberger’s jewel-toned landscapes are lined up against the wall ready to be inventoried, and Stan Fellows’ brilliant watercolors of horses are settled on exhibition shelves. Each piece mirrors the decisions of the artist- moments (or a lifetime!) of quiet reflection distilled in color, form, line and media. It’s a rich harvest that surrounds Craig and me right now. I hope you’ll stop by. Maybe show us off to your holiday visitors this weekend.

Now, enjoy the holiday that has such reasonable expectations: making and sharing good food with good friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving!

Chickadee / Stan Fellows / 9″ x 12″

Stan can paint anything, and his facile handling of watercolors lends to the birds that he often depicts a life-like immediacy that has won those pieces an enthusiastic following. In an artist’s talk that we’ll be hosting on Thursday, March 4, Stan will discuss his work and paint right there while we’re talking!

In the “It’s a small world” category: Marvin Bolotsky, a New Yorker and former photographer for the United Nations, provides to me an exquisite array of etchings by Eastern European artists. A connoisseur of intaglio prints, Marvin got into a conversation with an artist at a print show, who was showing some beautifully developed etchings of birds and trees. He encouraged Ladislav Hanka to “get in touch with Priscilla Steele in Marion, IA.” At that point in their exchange, Ladislav responded that he had been raised in said Marion, IA, after his parents emigrated from Czechoslovakia in the 1950’s. Adding that he “has fond childhood memories of his Iowa upbringing”, Ladislav described how his parents found work in Cedar Rapids’ Czech community.

Nesting White Throated Sparrow / Ladislav Hanka / Intaglio Etching

We exchanged e-mails in which images and exclamations about curious coincidences overshadowing our artistic experience flew back and forth. And, this past week, a generous selection of Hanka’s etchings arrived. His delicately drawn, but bold compositions combine evidence of the action of the acid on a metal plate in tandem with sensitively observed subjects from nature. I thank Marvin for dropping this former Iowan back into his hometown, and hope that you’ll stop by to see Ladislav’s marvelous intaglio work.

“If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.” ~Doug Larson

Fishing, March 20, 15″ x 20″ / Lures, 11″ x 14″ / Waiting for the Truck, March 25, 7″ x 9″ / Watercolor, Stan Fellows

The last three years of my dad’s life were pretty happy ones for him and me. It certainly hadn’t been HIS plan to join my family here in Iowa, but it all worked out pretty well. Bud Steele got to attend his grandchildrens’ college graduations. We picnicked. We drew together in life drawing sessions at Coe College. He worked on his decoys in Craig’s wood shop. And, we went fishing together. It was this last activity that was summoned so strongly to mind when I looked at Stan Fellows’ watercolors of fishermen. I loved fishing with my father! Years just dropped away from him when he cast his line out across the water. He was a smart, patient, gifted fisherman. In watercolors that celebrate the water, sky, and, yes, fishing, Stan Fellows’ sure hand illustrates the beauty at the heart of this most meditative pursuit.

Bud Steele, fishing

February 15, Watercolor, Stan Fellows

Curiosity led me to Stan’s own blog. There I saw a succession of marvelous watercolors of birds, still- life subjects, and personal studies. Each was distinguished by the artist’s mastery of a deceptively demanding medium, and a palpable tenderness for his subject.

March 3, Watercolor, Stan Fellows

I learned that Stan had illustrated for the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, that he had illustrated many books, and he had enjoyed a very busy and successful career as an illustrator for more than thirty years. It’s therefore a particular delight for me to introduce some of Stan’s watercolors to our gallery audience. And, it’s just downright fun that Stan is going to attend and paint during (right on the spot, ladies and gentlemen!) Music in the M.U.D. this Saturday, March 14. Music in the M.U.D. is a new, Saturday night event at Campbell Steele that is getting some serious traction. Pair Stan’s painting with the fact that our cute-as –a-button purveyor of wines, Jeri Travis, will be decanting some delicious selections for our wine bar, and what you have is a great plan. Fun abounds at Campbell Steele.