Third Street Gallery archive: 2011 Exhibitions: Chroma: Paintings and Works on Paper by Tina Rousselot

Humboldt State University’s First Street Gallery in Old Town, Eureka is presents Chroma: Paintings and Works on Paper by Tina Rousselot. The exhibit will run from October 1 through November 6.

Tina Rousselot received her BFA from Cornell University and MFA from Columbia University. She studied in the College of Architecture as well as Fine Arts. After 30 years as an influential landscape architect in Northern New Mexico, Rousselot has rediscovered herself as a painter. She moved to Arcata, California 13 years ago where she became involved in the Honors Painting Program at Humboldt State University.  Formerly trained as a traditional representational artist, Rousselot has found a new artistic voice in abstract painting.

Inspired by a minimalist approach to painting and by her surroundings, Rousselot paints the chromatic essence of landscapes.  The elimination of referential forms erases chaos in her works, creating an essential impression of the landscape.  The colors in her work reflect her emotions as she explains, “I will respond to the color of the water as well as my feelings of that water.”  Her paintings also allude to the history of the landscape.

The collection of works titled Chroma relate directly to high saturation and vividness of color—which is primarily the overlying impression of the paintings. Rousselot creates glowing works by tapering the edges of uniquely shaped and sized canvases, allowing the hue to reflect off the paintings onto surrounding surfaces and between paintings placed close together.  She creates a luminous high chroma effect by applying thin layers of glazed oil paint on the canvas.  The layers mix the different hues, creating new combined hues, as they shine through each other.

Inspired by her audience, Rousselot enjoys having the response of other people and believes that, “It’s wonderful to have that community to share your experience and artwork with.” She continues to push the envelope of her abilities as a painter and states that her work is a sum total of her experiences in life.

A reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, October 1st from 6-9 p.m. during Eureka’s monthly Arts Alive event.  Celebrating its fourteenth year of service to HSU students and to the North Coast community, Humboldt State University First Street Gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. and is located at 422 First Street, Eureka, California. Admission is free. Those planning group tours are encouraged to call ahead.  For more information call 707-443-6363.