My first reaction to these paintings (Don Li-Leger art.com page indicates his tapestries as most popular) was to notice how the sound of their titles accords with the long, narrow shape. I realize that this is a somewhat irrational response, yet sometimes things — sounds and shapes in this case — just click. It’s as if the “a”s are given space to sprawl, from one square to another: in the case of Aura, each square may be assigned a syllable, like a musical note. Karma and Aura signal another turn in Don Li-Leger’s experimentation with the abstract-landscape ensemble (following the Iris Nine Patch and the Poppy Nine Patch). He sets these particular works apart by assigning them an unusual shape, consequently refreshing the entire concept.
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Holly Lombardo is a self-taught American painter and photographer who works in watercolors and acrylics, creating landscapes, still life and suburban scenes. She publishes her artwork on her blog, Painted Paper by Holly, and her photos on another blog, Photo Paper by Holly. Her photographs are interesting not only for themselves: many exhibit compositional features that may be traced in the artist’s paintings as well. In today’s review I would like to discuss Holly Lombardo’s landscapes with trees (images have been watermarked according to the artist’s request. Visit Holly Lombardo’s website to see the original reproductions).
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By changing the color of just two or three patches, the artist drastically transforms the mood from calm and cool (the print you see below) into hectic, unpredictable and tense (the following print). In a way, this shift encompasses the entire spectrum of the artist’s nine patch series, from the pale and nearly monochromatic bamboo versions, to more balanced poppy variations (discussed in previous review) to the dense tropical paintings. It may symbolize a seasonal change or the onset of evening, when neutral blues and sunny golds give way to dark bloody reds and iridescent oranges. Either way, the palettes differ so much it would seem that only the flowers, as a nominal common element, bind the two versions.
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The surfaces of the still life objects enjoy a subtle and sophisticated rendering, similarly to the flowers. However, while the petals evince a more or less two dimensional representation, the fruits imitate spherical three dimensional forms; the illusion of three dimensionality relies heavily upon light and shade manipulation, only in global rather than local terms. Here the artist’s technique of handling light and shade finds its full expression, creating full-bodied forms; the viewer is encouraged not only to “touch” the skin of the lemons, pomegranates and Brussels sprouts but also to “feel” their weight.
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Don Li-Leger is a truly universal artist who has traveled around the world, studied under many important painters and illustrators and worked and experimented with a wide range of media and themes. Check out the websites of art galleries that exhibit his work: Canada House Gallery, Hambleton Galleries, Petley-Jones Gallery, White Rock Gallery. One of his latest abstract (or perhaps pseudo-abstract) paintings (the Poppy Nine Patch) occupies the third place on art.com Best Seller list: it is a warm, welcoming piece that shows a playful sense of humor and a broad high-spirited appeal; it also marks the culmination of the artist’s career and creative searches. The synthesis of the abstract element of dissection and deconstruction with the more traditional landscape theme of poppies is complete and somehow “wise.” Neither part dominates the other and the piece soothes with balance and overall harmony .
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