Jane Parker’s third solo show at Obelisk Home, titled “Time Capsule”, after one of the paintings in the show, encompasses new work from 2017-18. These evocative new paintings and drawings offer an atmospheric presence within a pictorial space structured by line and color. “I paint what I would like to see, with no specific idea of what that might be. “I fully expect to be seduced by the unexpected.” – Jane Parker

Taking her present conceptions of what it’s like living in the Bible Belt today and comparing them with her childhood perspective of what it was like living in it then - Rosie Winstead searches for a common thread between the opposing points of view. With hopes of finding better understanding, she discovers that the only way she can try and make sense of it all is through the best of what each side has to offer – humor, and a childlike sense of unconditional love.

For this special show, friends and artists Jane Parker and Betty Parnell decided to exhibit their work together as a natural result of sharing their process with each other. Jane and Betty are local artists who work from their home studios, and because of this, an important part of their art making has been maintaining a dialogue regarding their work in progress for several years now. Both artists are inspired by their surroundings and are committed to surprise discoveries as they work in order to determine how and when each painting or drawing finds its voice. This partnership with process keeps them intrigued as their artworks evolve. Shown are works by both Jane Parker and Betty Parnell from 2020.

It is up to the painter to give alchemy meaning. It has its truths, its records of serious, and sustained attempts to carry out meaning. There is something between the image, the medium, and expression. That relationship is more than a record of history, more than a play between alchemy and paint. The relationship is the discovery and joy of creating the new and learning how to express it to find something new that will supply extra meaning in life. The why’s, the why not’s, the color, the shade, the value, the size, the meaning, the stroke, the matter, the image, the means, the skill and their relationships to each other make up what I look to express in every painting emotions in every brush stroke.

As an artist I have two intensely personal relationships with the paint that falls onto my canvas, wood, panel, or paper. The first is with COLOR. Color drives my passion to paint in the loose, rapid, style of abstract expressionism, creating paint saturations that are uneven and drippy. The other is in watching how paint falls in spontaneous movement, mesmerizing my mind and soul and inviting me into a quiet, unprescribed moment in time where I am free to be me. Daily inspiration comes from female abstract artists, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, and others who dared to paint in their own pioneering style.

wax layer  build grow beacon harvest balancing reflection and introspection reveal glow begin scrape deconstruct wane In this new series, "wax & wane", I challenged myself by limiting color and creating shapes, lines, and textures only using black, white, gold, and silver.  The subject matter is found within the 8 phases of the moon as well as the symbolic and emotional relationship between humans and the Moon's lunar effects.  Cycles of waxing and waning flow through our lives creating moments of action and energy yet they are balanced by times of rest and reflection.  My process of encaustic painting also becomes an organic cycle of layering beeswax and then scraping away at the surface to reveal translucent surfaces.  Creating harmony between all of the elements is where balance and beauty exist.

Exploring the dynamics of land, sky, and water elements in a landscape in transition is the focus of my current work. As these elemental agents of change reshape the earth in real time, so do my paintings and pastel drawings imagine a new reality. I use soft blues and greens to create a sense of distance and to elevate the expressive potential of spaces . The expressive versus the referential content is always a prime concern as the works take shape. As water flows, s does Jane's artistic style.

Remember when we were younger and the simplest question could make our faces light up? I do.

Envisioning figures and landscapes, at that last stillness of light between day and night. Leave enough room for interpretation. Color being central to the temperature and emotion of the painting. I see the painter as analogous to an actor/director bringing the viewer along to new places, memories, dreams, and family histories. I like to give the viewer space to interpret what they see on the canvas. Center stage in my art is the figure – an object in motion, as if the figure is caught, just for an instant; a glimpse, a snapshot before the gesture is complete. I’m not in search of exact representation. I’m intent rather on provoking a sense of tension or intensity. Color, bring the emotion to the painting. Whether spatial or expressionistic, the implied relationship between figures is intended to arouse curiosity. Painting is like a freeze frame. It helps both the viewer and the painter to pause – if just for a second as we enter into that two dimensional space. Most of the time the stage is imaginary or based on dreams and memories. Like Alice, the viewer is invited to step into the drama or the wonderland inside the looking glass.

These paintings are a result of envisioning figures and landscapes at the last stillness of light between day and night. Color is central to the temperature and emotion of the painting. I see the painter as analogous to an actor/director bringing the viewer along to new places, memories, dreams, and family histories. I like to give the viewer space to interpret what they see on the canvas. Center stage in my art is the figure – an object in motion, as if the figure is caught, just for an instant; a glimpse, a snapshot before the gesture is complete. I’m not in search of exact representation. I’m intent rather on provoking a sense of tension or intensity. Color, bring the emotion to the painting. Whether spatial or expressionistic, the implied relationship between figures is intended to arouse curiosity. Painting is like a freeze frame. It helps both the viewer and the painter to pause – if just for a second as we enter into that two dimensional space. Most of the time the stage is imaginary or based on dreams and memories. Like Alice, the viewer is invited to step into the drama or the wonderland inside the looking glass.

I live in the country, surrounded by nature, something more rare now. There are moments during walks through the fields and woods where I feel connected to all things. I strive to put that idea into my work. I might describe this show as My Friends the Trees but this is not unique, I always paint trees. How I might describe my work: a bit of Dr. Seuss done by an Amish gal—structured, precise, thoughtfully articulated but radical, like nature.