April 7th Featured Artist Reception

Howdy Emerson and Barbara Wright 

Featured Artists for April 2019

Join us for afternoon tea and snacks!
Trinidad Art Gallery Reception: Sunday, April 7th, 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Visit Moonstone Crossing Winery across the street for more art and libations.
Music by harpist Howdy Emerson.

​   ​Howdy Emerson wears two hats at the Trinidad Art Gallery, musician and painter. He creates landscape paintings in oil and fine-line brush paintings in ink, working on location or in his on-site studio. He also plays and teaches a beautiful Celtic harp and has CD's available. He is a Certified Music Practitioner and has worked as a hospital-staff therapeutic musician.

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​This year Emerson has begun to focus on Chinese fine-line brush style paintings in ink on "rice paper." Dramatic line variation comes from brushes that end in a fine flexible point, so that very thin lines that can be varied to thicker lines as more pressure is applied. Shading is done with softer brushes using ink and water color. 

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   Emerson calls the sea his inspiration, "Finding her mystical essence is my goal. I explore the sacred narrow line where the land and sea interact.  I wish to honor the subtle and nuanced – the misty grey day of muted colors. In our busy lives my endeavor is to create works that allow the viewer to stop a moment and find a breath of calm." 

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   Barbara Wright wears at least two hats as well, one as a fused glass artist, and the other as a creator of superb mosaic creations. In 1999 Barbara Wright began making mosaics. In 2002 she attended the Sculoa Arte del Mosaico in Ravenna, Italy, learning the old techniques. There she was inspired by modern works in the old style and began creating two and three-dimensional pieces using art glass, Smalti, millefiori, tiles and various artifacts. Each piece expresses her vision and environment, with many ideas originating from the beautiful coastal area of Trinidad, where she now lives.

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   Wright has done several large mosaic projects in her home, as well as for commissioned work. Her art was included in the exhibition for the Society of American Mosaic Artists’ and the Museo Italo Americano in San Francisco in 2004. She also studied mosaic portraiture with Laurel Skye in Tuscany, Italy, in 2013. She has been experimenting with fused glass jewelry for several years. In 2005, she studied glass techniques in Barcelona, Spain, with Rene Culler and Phillipa Beveridge, both well-known glass artists.s.

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