Wendy Shalen
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I have drawn the figure from life and the plein air landscape for many years, working in multiple media (graphite, charcoal, reed pen, silverpoint, watercolor, pastel, oil palette knife on shingles), usually creating work in a series. I am fascinated by trying to capture the portrait ~ the spirit and body language ~ of the model and the changing atmosphere in a landscape.
Often I find objects in nature that communicate. ‘Hydrangea Roots', part of a recent series entitled ‘Portraits of Nature', seem to have human faces and gestures and to interact with each other.
My choice of subject matter is influenced by my surroundings. While teaching in New York City at the Art Students League I have been affected by the plight of the homeless and hope to draw attention to their predicament through my drawings and paintings.
Living outside of the city, surrounded by nature, has given me great appreciation for the need to protect our environment. In a group of graphite drawings created from trash found while walking in the woods, along roadways and at the seashore, I have tried to shed light on what we are thoughtlessly doing to our environment. ‘Nightmare' is a reaction to the terrible disaster brought on by the explosion of the off shore oil rig in the Gulf and to our treatment of the living ocean.
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