Most artists paint what they see around them. Some travel in search of beauty and inspiration. Others find it where they live. Michelle Schaefer has been fortunate enough to do both. The images from her travels, and her perception of what’s around her, will be on display at the Grossman Gallery at the Lompoc Public Library through the end of this month.
The show, “Bohemian Spirit,” is described by Schaefer as having a tour guide explain what each painting is about and the places they depict. The 36 paintings are from areas in England, Ireland, and throughout the Southwest United States.
Schaefer created the paintings during the year she was traveling with her husband. He was part of a traveling physical therapist program that required them to stay in a place for anywhere from four to 12 months and then move on to another location. They did that for five years before settling back on the Central Coast.
The time away gave Schaefer excellent chances to explore both locations, and her painting talent as well.
Schaefer paints in acrylics. She chooses to not so much recreate what she sees but to explore the intangibles the image creates. It’s a technique that was inspired by her study of Georgia O’Keefe when she was in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It’s a method that stresses not worrying about the subject but the various elements that make up the subject as a whole.
“When I’m looking at something I’m contemplating what that color evokes and the mood and the feeling it creates,” she said.
Whether it’s serenity, fear, joy, or contemplation, Schaefer’s paintings conjure up emotions drawn from locations from her travels.
In Quiet Repast in the Cotswalds, Schaefer recounts a little spot she found while touring the grounds of an old English manor that was turned into apartments. The spot is in an area called The Cotswalds, known for its superior wool and gentle hillsides.
In Go Within or Go Without, Schaefer was intrigued by a dark and mysterious kiva entrance in Colorado. Though the entrance was dark when she explored it and got to the bottom of the ladder, she realized the place wasn’t at all dark, in fact it was lit up and full of sunlight. Schaefer described it as being wrapped in the arms of a mother.
Of course, coming back to Lompoc after such an absence gave Schaefer, who is a second generation Lompocan, a new perspective on the area.
“After being away from the ocean so long and coming back and seeing the colors, you don’t realize how there is year-round color. Everything is so colorful; the flowers, the golden hillsides. It’s beautiful,” she said. m
Arts Editor Shelly Cone can be reached at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 20-27, 2011.