Art From the Heart: Staff Picks

October 14th, 2021

Art is subjective, and that’s what makes it so beautifully unique. Someone’s impression of a particular piece is like a snowflake: no two interpretations will ever be exactly the same. This is because we bring with us our own individualized memories, loves, challenges, triumphs, grievances, and values to each painting. An artwork that looks simply lovely and nothing more to someone else may just speak to your very soul. Likewise, a work that you may glance right over may be rife with complex meaning to someone else.

So what makes the artwork you love valuable to you? What gives art value to others? In our newest blog series, Art From the Heart, we turn to art experts and art lovers to see which works hold the greatest value to them and give you insight into why. In this series, we’ll share with you the greater inner meaning of our Gallery MAR art as told by art lovers like yourself. In our first installation of the series, what better place to start than with our own Gallery MAR staff?

Here our Gallery MAR team recommends the artwork that is most beautifully meaningful to them in the gallery today.

Maren Mullin | Gallery MAR Owner

With the start of school, and two “big girls” both in elementary school, I am pining for the baby days. Those tiny voices and soft little hands. I would never wish for my daughters to be babies again, but seeing beautiful works of art with angelic little ones reminds me of the precious time I have had with my girls, and how fleeting the rest of their childhood will be.

Pamela Murphy has a delightful way of capturing the innocence of childhood and “Meadow,” a recent arrival to the gallery, is my new favorite. With a gold leaf background peeking through tall trees, we see a child picking daisies. For me, it’s a reminder to slow down and cherish the moments with both of my girls.

Eileen Treasure | Gallery MAR Manager

One recent addition to our collection is Warren Neary’s “In Flow.” Besides being an impressive 48″ x 50″, this painting checks all the boxes: a gorgeous color palette that warms and relaxes the viewer and a perfectly designed landscape with a river that draws your eye into a beautifully serene world. This piece reminds me of the work of Frederic Church. Warren’s special gift as an artist is capturing the last light of day or in this case, the first light.

What makes your heart truly melt is Warren’s own backstory to the piece:

“A peaceful scene at sunrise in Kamas, Utah, near Park City. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to visit this area on occasion and paint on location. The land owners prefer to let the wildlife live undisturbed. So initially, they thought I was another fisherman or hunter; however, when they understood I was an artist, they were gracious and allowed me to access the area freely. The waters teem with fish where I can hear them lapping at the surface of the water. Ducks in the distance sound like they are relaxing, cracking jokes and laughing in good company. The cool water gently flows, meandering through the area as the sun begins to softly touch the hills. Distant lights of an adjoining town fade with the light of morning. A precious time of day and a wonderful place of serenity.”

It’s no surprise that this painting sold after only 10 days in the gallery, and happily, it resides in a home only a short distance from this bucolic scene.

Victoria Slagel | Gallery MAR Fine Art Consultant

All of our art is lovely for different reasons, however, there have been a few pieces that I just adore. There was one from Bridgette Meinhold titled, “Blind Trust.” I regret not buying that one. The sky on it had a pink to blue gradation with powder blue in the snow. The composition was 2 lonely trees in a snowy meadow. That one stuck with me.

Claire Wiley | Gallery MAR Videographer

It’s so difficult to identify one work from Gallery MAR that most speaks to me the most, as I am enamored with so many. Bridgette Meinhold, R. Nelson Parrish, Maura Allen, Sarah Winkler, and Ron Russon all have works that stir me.

The one that sits with me the most right now though is Shawna Moore’s “High Wire (1).” The work makes me think of the reflection of autumn trees in the water. It feels like a captured moment in time of a colorful and fleeting season, reflected in an ever-moving body of water. It’s the impermanence of it that stays with me. It has me thinking about how both the wonderful and not-so-wonderful moments do not last. For me this encaustic painting is both beautiful and peaceful, and it makes my heart ache just a little.

Thomas Cushman | Gallery MAR Carmel Co-Owner

The piece of art I’m looking at the most right now is Hunt Slonem’s “Castle Ascension Silver.” It’s a large painting with silver and blue and lots of butterflies fluttering up. I just feel like it’s so hopeful and happy and beautiful altogether. That’s what I keep looking at and engaging with. I put it right by my desk in the gallery because it lifts me up every day.

Veronica Vale | Gallery MAR Writer

Have you ever taken a photograph of a special place or memory, looked at it and thought, “wow, it was so much more beautiful in person…?” Sometimes a photograph doesn’t truly capture the vividness, the nuanced delights of a moment. Instead, through the lens of a camera, the scene feels flattened and dulled, the colors a little less vibrant, the feeling a little less exuberant.

Paintings don’t have this hangup. It’s not a stretch to say Julian Gustlin’s portrait work is not painted realistically, and yet, sometimes her scenes feel more real and genuine than if they were. The energy of the colors pulsate and the textural strokes and splashes of her brush give the work a sense of movement and dynamism that the most hyper realistic painting or photograph could never achieve. Her work “Sirens 21” is such a painting.

In college, I roomed with my two best friends. Every Friday night, we would crank up the music in our apartment and dance for the sake of it. We would dance off the week before and prepare for the excitement of the weekend. We were at that age on the cusp of something greater, where the world swims in possibilities and complete independence and autonomy are delightfully newfound concepts. Whenever I see this painting, of these three women, these Sirens in dance, I’m brought back to that space and time, where the horizon seems to span infinity and the world is alive with color. Jylian Gustlin has preserved all of that carefree feeling and that youthful energy, bringing it to life through vivid colors and vibrant expression in a way that no photograph ever could. Looking at this painting, I feel as if I could very well live in that feeling forever.

We hope our Gallery MAR staff picks have given you even more reason to fall in love with these works.

Which Gallery MAR work speaks to your heart? Send us a message and let us know how we can help connect you with the works most meaningful to you.

Written by Veronica Vale & Gallery MAR Staff