Mountain Trails Gallery is celebrating the heart of the winter season with a group show highlighting a variety of treasures in paintings, sculpture and mixed media art. Magic of Winter: A Treasure Hunt of Beautiful Things showcases nearly 30 works by artists like Marcia Molnar, Joshua Been, Raymond Gibby, Betty Carr and Michelle Condrat, to name a few.
Michelle Condrat, Lavender Shadows, oil, 9 x 12”“We are fortunate to have artists who have arrived at a height of mastery and a command of their technique,” says gallery director Julie R. Williams. “December begins a new season of being indoors with an inner focus for our collectors, and we are proud to present these extraordinary centerpieces as well as smaller treasures from which to choose.”
Joshua Been, Journey Onward, oil, 24 x 24”
Carr’s oil Fall River Run Off was inspired by the artist’s love of nature and fly fishing. “From my early days of learning the art and sport of fly fishing, I’ve always enjoyed the majestic beauty of freestone rivers and streams,” she says. “These types of waters are generally surrounded and immersed with many sizes of boulders and underwater rocks, the most common type of river and stream for great fly fishing. When I am fly fishing I discover, around every river bend, a gorgeous, inspirational scene to paint in both watercolor and oil…Painting the exuberant energy of moving waters and the fly fisherman’s graceful cast to capture the perfect drift will always be one of my favorites in painting.”
Betty Carr, Fall River Runoff, oil, 8 x 10”
Two grizzlies wrestle and play in Gibby’s bronze Better Together. “[This sculpture] depicts two grizzly bears that seem to be very connected, almost like two magnets coming together. The pose of the piece is also reminiscent of the yin and yang symbol found in Chinese philosophical concepts,” says Gibby. “Like magnets and yin and yang, the bears find life more complete and fulfilling when they connect to one another. The serene contentment of knowing that each is there for the other and together they are better, gives a feeling of peace and satisfaction. One is not greater or lesser than the other, but complete parts of a greater whole.”
Raymond Gibby, Better Together, bronze, ed. of 20, 9 x 16 x 10”
Condrat reflects on her oil Lavender Shadows, which captures a scene of the Grand Canyon in the artist’s distinct style. “Lavender is one of my favorite plants because of its relaxing and calming qualities, which is how I feel when I see the Grand Canyon during the evening hours. It’s my favorite time of day because it’s when the sun is low in the sky, creating long stretching shadows while illuminating the colors of the whole landscape,” she says. “I always feel a sense of calmness whenever I look across the canyon during this time as if all of my worries have melted away, and I’m at peace with the world. That is the feeling that I wanted to capture when I painted Lavender Shadows. Not only were the shadows painted with blended lavender hues, but they also embody that moment when everything is winding down peacefully, and the day is finally coming to an end.”
Marcia Molnar, Serendipity, oil, 36 x 24”
Magic of Winter: A Treasure Hunt of Beautiful Things will hang for the month of December, with an opening reception on Friday, December 1, from 4 to 7 p.m. —
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