A Harmony of Color @ No. Tahoe Arts thru June

Posted on June 20, 2008
Filed Under North Shore Art Scene |

Local artists illustrate how the use of color and texture can open up a whole new awareness of the world around us.

“A Harmony of Color: Pastels by Heidi Reeves and Fabric Art by Karen Colbert” runs through July at North Tahoe Arts.

Heidi Reeves, a veteran watercolorist who has made a recent foray into the world of pastels, and Karen Colbert, a fabric artist who blends fabric and colors together to create images, have collaborated in this new show.

Karen’s landscape work is highly complimentary to Heidi’s pastel work and shows how different mediums can be used to portray the same image. Both artists use the interplay of different colors and textures to expertly render images that are both visually pleasing and artfully capture the essence of what is being depicted.

About the Artists:

Heidi Reeves has always been an artist. As a child, she spent weekends learning to oil paint with her grandmother. But marriage and family life came to the forefront for Heidi and it wasn’t until 1992 that she finally had a chance to revisit her childhood passion for painting. She took her first watercolor class and became, as she puts it, “totally hooked!” She began painting everything from landscapes to portraits and even began teaching classes in 2001. Heidi has been fortunate enough to attend workshops taught by some of the best watercolorists in America: Tom Lynch, Tony Couch, Dale Laitenin, Howard Rees, Jan Kunz and Judi Betts.

Heidi also wants her art to be seen as a tribute to God’s creation. She feels that twenty-nine years of life in the Lake Tahoe area have greatly increased her appreciation of the beauty and grandeur of the natural world and she tries to capture these emotions in her paintings.

Heidi’s resume includes a solo show at North Tahoe Arts in 2003, and two shows at Pogan Gallery-the 2005 European Show and, more recently, a Small Painting Show. Her work is currently on display at NTA’s ARTisan Shop in Tahoe City, Lakeside Gallery in Kings Beach, the Cottonwood Restaurant in Truckee, and Pogan Gallery in Truckee. One of her recent pastels, “Waiting for Spring,” was accepted into the Pastel Society of the West Coast Open Invitational Show at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, CA. It is on display there from May 18th to June 22nd.

Karen Colbert:

When you view Karen Colbert’s work, you will be amazed at what you see. Her pieces look like paintings until you step closer and realize that it is actually small squares of fabric sewn together to create a magnificent landscape or abstract color transitional pieces.

When completing a landscape, she uses non-mainstream fabrics to create mountains, streams, and flower gardens. This technique forces the viewer to want to get a closer look, then step back to see the beauty of the whole piece. The vibrancy of her colors makes viewers stop to look, whether they like fabric or not. To Karen, this is the essence of her art.

Karen made her first piece seventeen years ago. She was more intrigued with how the colors blended together, and realized that the smaller the square, the better the transition through the color wheel could be accomplished. Having quit her software sales job, Karen had no idea what her next career would be until she had her first art show in May 1999. The show was so successful that Karen continued creating her fabric art, launching Tahoe Quilts and turning her fascination with color into a successful business.