VISUAL CONVERSATIONS
Art is storytelling. It is about giving people a new world to step into, if only for a moment. Looking at art opens the door for conversation which creates connection, inspiration, affirmation, new perspectives, and discoveries. Our art is abundant with the potential for wonderful conversation. Sandi Neiman Lovitz has brought together 6 other artists, Ellen Abraham, Edna Santiago, James Strickler, Linda Dubin Garfield, Margie Lewis Quint, and Priscilla Bohlen to have a conversation with you. Our wish is to provide you with a little vacation from everyday nuances and celebrate the possibilities of getting to know us through our distinctively different approaches to art and storytelling.
EDNA SANTIAGO
ELLEN ABRAHAM
JIM STRICKLER
LINDA DUBIN GARFIELD
MARJIE LEWIS QUINT
PRISCILLA BOHLEN
SANDI NEIMAN LOVITZ
Click on images below to open in a lightbox viewEDNA SANTIAGO
I am a retired Physical Therapist. I curated an Art Exhibition “Nor Wind Nor Waters” at Davinci Art Alliance 8/21/2019, and coordinated a series of touring exhibitions in Philadelphia of Puerto Rican artists to support those who were subject to Hurricane Maria.
Art is the Expression of mankind, in dance, song, or Plastic Arts. It is my language, my way to express or communicate what does not come out in my words. It frees my heart, mind and soul and should be taught or shared with everyone. Choose your language.
This life is short, so live it.
True love is rare, so grab it.
Anger is hurtful, so let it go.
Fear stops you doing, so face it.
Friends support you, so cherish them.
~ by Dave Hedges
Website: https://ednasantiago.com
ELLEN ABRAHAM
BIO/STATEMENT
I am a former Social Studies teacher who now works in front of a drawing table or canvas instead of a classroom. I am, however, still very much concerned with “social studies” as a subject for my art. The satire and cartoon imagery of my youthful artwork began to evolve as I grew more familiar with German Expressionism and American Social Realism. The sketches of people drawn from life that I do almost daily provide constant fodder for my art. My work is a synthesis of humor and fine art. I am quite serious about being silly. My goal is to create art that is sown from the depths of comic outrageousness, satirical observation and mild misanthropy. If Matisse had the “sun in his belly," I have a banana peel permanently attached to my shoe.
My process of doing art involves many steps. In between my “solitary studio” days, I go on “mingle and hunt” days in hopes of finding interesting subject matter in restaurants, bars, trains, buses, the beach or anywhere I may be. I have thousands of sketches which I’ve done over the years. These sketches are then scanned into my computer which I later employ in my paintings, drawings, transfer prints, cyanotypes and mono-prints. Sometimes the germ of an idea for an entire painting is the result of a 20 minute sketch. After more preliminary thumbnail sketches and tweaking in Photoshop, a tentative composition and palette is developed. I, then, continue to work further utilizing “old fashion” methods by drawing on large sheets of paper, cutting up the various drawings and taping them together to create many possible variations on a theme. Then I scan all of the large drawings into my computer again. Eventually, I decide on a drawing that works for me! This preliminary process can take weeks to complete and some time to simmer. One sketch done outside of my studio can develop into myriad possibilities inside my studio!
Website: https://www.ellenabraham.com
JIM STRICKLER
After 43 years in Biomedical Research, an art in itself, I retired in 2016 and, at my wife's urging, returned to an old love of painting and drawing. In my pieces, I try to blend my interest in woodworking with my interest in art; hence, most of my pieces include wooden elements. I am also interested in exploring non-planar surfaces for my paintings, e.g. pyramidal, curved, and 3-dimensional "canvases." The works in this show represent various aspects of this approach.
LINDA DUBIN GARFIELD
A Philadelphia artist who creates colorful works on paper that combine traditional printmaking, mixed media & digital technology based on her love of travel, the mystery of memory & the magic of place.
Linda Dubin Garfield, an award-winning printmaker and mixed media artist, creates visual memoirs exploring the mystery of memory and the magic of place, using hand-pulled printmaking techniques, photography, collage and digital imaging. Her abstract and dynamic works use multiple layers of ink that waver between background and foreground creating a fusion of surface design and abstract expressionism She also creates installations that include public participatory art, especially when she is exploring themes relating to women in today’s culture. In 2005 she founded ARTsisters, a group of professional artists who empower each other and their community through art. In 2007 she started smART business consulting, helping emerging artists reach their goals and their audience, providing consulting and coaching on the business side of art through individual, small groups, and workshop experiences as well as providing opportunities to exhibit work. Today she serves on several non-profit boards, and appreciates her good fortune to be able to make art every chance she gets.
Artist Statement
Nature nurtures and inspires me. I combine elements of nature, texture and design along with the magic of the press. I am intrigued by memory and what remains in our mind’s eye. My work reflects scenes from travel near and far. More than a report on how it was exactly, I am interested in my expressive and passionate response to the color and pattern of the landscape, experience or image. The fluid space of memory, influenced by time, place and experience, forms the foundation of content for my work. I merge aspects of experience and observations with imagined and remembered sensations to create non-objective work that reflects life and memory. My work has overlapping layers of color and space, shifting relationships with mark making that includes monotype, silkscreen, stencil, image transfer, collage as well as drawing. Inspired by travel, I am creating visual memoirs which offer multiple meanings to the viewer. Since there is no new travel because of Covid, these landscapes are created from memories and what remains in my mind’s eye. Two quotes I love are:
“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai.
"I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me," Joan Mitchell
Through my art, I strive to create an appreciation for natural beauty and a concern for its preservation.
website: www.lindadubingarfield.com
MARJIE LEWIS QUINT
Marjie Lewis Quint received a B.A. in Graphic Design from The George Washington University and the Corcoran School of Art. She worked in commercial art for 12 years before deciding to devote herself completely to oil painting. Quint is interested in evoking a mood that is both ambiguous and psychological. Her training and background as a graphic designer informs her art, most noticeably in the framing devices, joined canvases and juxtaposed imagery used for contrast and rhythm. Quint’s richly colored oil paintings portray a surrealistic world, which draws the viewer into an altered sense of space, time and atmosphere.
Everything I do begins with my eye. Rather than carrying around a sketchbook like many artists, I always have my camera with me, ever ready to capture that image that inexplicably draws me to it. These photos are then used in inspirational ways in my paintings. The result is something I refer to as psychological landscapes.
I originally studied graphic design and worked in advertising for a number of years before devoting myself to exploring my fine art. My training and background as a graphic designer informs my art, most noticeably in the framing devices, canvas montages, and the juxtaposed imagery that I use for contrast and rhythm. I am drawn to the landscape, both natural and man-made, as a surrealistic design template, with doorways leading to alternate realities and repetitions of shape revealing shifting tone and time passages.
I work primarily in oil paints, a medium I prefer because of the richness of its colors and the flexibility it offers for experimentation. I find myself drawn to strong color hues and contrasts to evoke mood. I also love drawing and enjoy incorporating illustration in my paintings.
I want to explore the wonder and beauty of nature, using literal landscapes as evocative abstractions. I am interested in the hidden landscape, the floating house, the portal to another world. Quite simply, I want to draw the viewer into an altered sense of space, time and atmosphere.
Website: www.marjielewisquint.com
PRISCILLA BOHLEN
I work in acrylic with matte medium on canvas. I like to work in a series. The images are recognizable as vegetation or landscape, but are abstracted reflecting my own reality. I am inspired by nature, and by my plein air paintings to create art, in my studio, that is different from anything I have seen before. Painting is a way to share my love of the interplay of color, shapes, and paint.
Website: www.priscillabohlen.com
SANDI NEIMAN LOVITZ
Sandi studied art in high school, graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Art Education and taught art in the Pittsburgh Public Schools before moving to Philadelphia. After her academic training in art school during which she aspired to become a realistic painter, her focus dramatically changed. She fell in love with abstract art after seeing one of Franz Kline’s paintings. The power and expression of Kline’s work allowed Sandi to see beyond realism. Sandi began experimenting with abstraction in her art.Sandi has been juried into the Centennial exhibition at the Delaware Art Museum by John B. Ravenal, (curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) and awarded an honorable mention by Lisa Tremper Hanover, (former CEO of the Michener Museum.) She participated in the Square Foot Art Basel Miami, the ART Expo in New York, was juried into the The Barrett Art Center in Poughkeepsie, NY, and was awarded the Nolan Painting Award at The Main Line Art Center in Haverford, PA. by celebrated artist, Moe Brooker. She was juried into “Art of the State 2021” at the Pennsylvania State Museum in Harrisburg and was invited by curator Lauren Nye to be part of a duo exhibition at The Susquehanna Art Museum. Sandi paints full time in her studio creating powerful abstractions on canvas and shares her story through her paintings with collectors throughout the country.
ARTIST STATEMENT My love for art started when I was very little girl and my father lifted me up to see the robin’s nest in our tree. The sight of that blue just went through me like a lightning bolt and opened up my passion for color. .
I feel like Alice in Wonderland when I paint. The white canvas is the rabbit hole I jump through. From that first swipe of color I start experiencing a world of magic and strange logic. I experience phantasmal shapes, exuberant colors, glorious marks and a mixed bag of personalities along my journey. The freedom I feel along the way spontaneously jumps on my canvas. Feel free to enter my world with a smile on your face and a curiosity to ask questions.
Website: www.sandineimanlovitz.com