Main Street Artists Gallery presents John Sheehan and Bill Abel as the featured artists for April. An opening reception for this show is set for April 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. with wine and appetizers at Main Street Artists Gallery, 436 Main St. in Quincy.
In their distinctly different styles, Sheehan and Abel provide unique perspectives that are thought provoking while offering delightful and unexpected views, say organizers.
Both Sheehan and Abel will be in attendance at the reception to raise a glass and welcome the community. Fresh art from the gallery members will also be on display. The gallery members invite everyone to come and celebrate this show.
John Sheehan
John Sheehan’s explorations in art began in upstate New York with his childhood fascination with ships. His father, a naval captain, collected naval history books on ships, which inspired Sheehan to draw. He said he had fun drawing the minutiae of armament and other interesting aspects of historical ships, and it is evident that his fun with art continues to this day.
“The remarkable thing about John is the word ‘fun,'” say organizers. “John’s motivation and exploration into art is driven by fun.” Sheehan also says inspiration comes from being a part of a community of people in the midst of great beauty where he has made his home. His images are a reflection of the joy and love he holds within.
“Fall in Spring,” Sheehan’s current show, is the outpouring of appreciation for the colors and textures of aspen groves, Indian rhubarb and the diversity of local environmental zones. Remembering his youth in upstate New York, he said, “It was all about the maples and the spectacular look during fall.” However, Sheehan said that of all the places he has been, he is rooted in this place where the changing seasons are his favorite subjects.
During the blaze of fall colors, his creativity is on fire with the diversity of plants, trees and shrubs that take on new hues as they shed the clothing of summer and prepare for winter. Sheehan then has fun working on these images though winter and emerges in spring as his work comes to full term. Thus he presents “Fall in Spring.”
Sheehan’s favorite painting in this collection is “Remnants,” depicting apples past their prime. “We celebrate the things that are alive but it really is something to appreciate things that are no longer growing,” he said.
Bill Abel
Bill Abel, born and raised in Wisconsin, eventually made his way to California, and presently to Chester. To Abel, Wisconsin was a place of hard work and clearly defined boundaries. It was a black-and-white world for a person who had a desire for a full palette of color. He traveled across the states in pursuit of space to be in art and at peace.
In coming to California, Abel found a tribe, an acceptance, and he began the serious exploration of how to express what was forming within. His life experiences from that point on were recorded on canvas and imprinted upon his mind. They are the stage where his paintings still play out, the problems resolving through examination and imagination.
In painting, Abel said he sees “colors beyond color” and endeavors to bring that to the canvas. Rich in detail, his images and icons tell a story rising up from a place of dreams. Cats and dogs, tanks and classic cars, lipstick and high heels pack the frame like a snapshot of his surreal world. As the observer visually walks through the tapestry of vibrant color and geometry something intangible comes away in the viewing.
When asked about his lifelong obsession with art, he says wryly that his art has been a blessing and a curse: a blessing because he believes that it has saved his life in ways that only he can know, and a curse because it demands everything to be sacrificed in its pursuit.
Organizers say Abel’s art is never boring and always puzzling. Whether or not viewers understand his meaning, they will enjoy the electric buzz of being somewhere vibrant and interesting.
Information provided by Main Street Artists Gallery
