Leslie Masters

Southern Sun

Landscapes from Italy and France

Hot Sun
acrylic -- 18" x 24"

February 26th - March 30th, 2002

Opening Reception:

Friday, March 1st, 7-9 pm

Artist Talk:

Friday, March 15th, 7 pm

Artist's Statement

Southern Sun, Landscapes from Italy and France is about my response to the light in Tuscany and Provence. A group of the landscapes I painted on location. Other, more abstract works, I did later, in my studio. The paintings are all about the shimmer of color, the response to golden light.

-- Leslie Masters

Aptly titled, Leslie Master's solo exhibit Southern Sun, Landscapes from Italy and France, at the Washington Street Gallery from February 26th through March 30th brings a much needed blast of sunshine and light into Michigan's gloomy winter weather. Long known for her mastery of color, Leslie Masters has outdone herself with this series of landscapes from Europe's golden southern regions.

Shepherding groups of students through Italy and France on painting seminars over the past several years, Ms. Masters has managed to come home with luminous acrylic paintings of her own. Done on-the-spot, they capture the reasons why the Impressionist painters of the late nineteenth century were blown away by the quality of light they found in these regions. They positively glow.

With a B.A. in Fine Arts from Indiana University and an M.A. in Art from the University of Michigan, Ms. Masters has shared her knowledge and joy of painting and color with students at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, the University of Michigan, Dearborn, the Ann Arbor Art Center, the Center for Creative Studies, and Mercy College, Detroit, as well as, Canton Art Institute in Ohio and Indiana University.

Her book, How to Paint a Rainbow is in its second edition. Ms. Masters was the Assistant Director of the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center from 1977-1988 and Art Critic for the Birmingham Observer Eccentric Newspaper from 1976- 1980.

A member of the Washington Street Gallery and President of its board since its inception in March of 1999, this will be Leslie Masters' second solo show in the gallery. An opening reception to meet the artist will be held on Friday evening, March 1st, from 7-9 pm. Ms. Masters will give a gallery talk on March 15 at 7 pm. All events are free and open to the public.

Tuscan Bales
acrylic -- 36" x 48"

Guest artists also exhibiting this month

Tuscan Hills
acrylic -- 36" x 48"