Third Street Gallery archive: 2014 Exhibitions: Humboldt Bay Landscape Painters: Paintings by Andrew Daniel, Mimi LaPlant, Kathy O’Leary and Stock Schlueter

Humboldt State University First Street Gallery presents, Humboldt Bay Landscape Painters: Paintings by Andrew Daniel, Mimi LaPlant, Kathy O’Leary and Stock Schlueter. This exhibition of Humboldt County, California artists will open on September 30 and runs until November 2.

As part of First Street Gallery’s series addressing the subject of the Humboldt Bay, these four artists have focused their attention to the regional estuary and its environs at the center of the place they call home. They depict its beauty and unique features in a variety of oil and acrylic paintings. The Humboldt Bay, the second largest enclosed bay in California, is an intersectional landscape where industry, recreation and wildlife meet on the shore and in the water. In light of this dynamic setting, the artists of Humboldt Bay Landscape Painters offer viewers a refreshing and intimate perspective.

The paintings of the Humboldt Bay Landscape Painters invite contemplation and consideration of the environment. Relying on direct observation, these four artists use the immediacy of their surroundings to inspire their paintings, which are often painted on location. Each painting exemplifies a process of settling the mind and connecting with the natural world—becoming sensitive to the moment, the light and the subtle movements of a landscape. Their intention is to depict something transitory, sublime or momentous and beautiful for the viewer.

As Humboldt County residents, these artists have found inspiration through personal connections with the bay and its surrounding environment and express it through their individual painting styles. Andrew Daniel relocated to Arcata from Maine in the 1990’s to finish his degree at Humboldt State University and has since established himself as a fine arts painter in the area. Daniel enjoys observing Humboldt’s scenery, plants, animals and people and uses them as a source of inspiration and as a way to remain connected to the simplicity of nature. “I have to remind myself to slow down and take in our lovely natural environment, to quiet my mind enough to be receptive to the constant flow of silent stimuli, the beauty of our surroundings. Painting provides me with a vital tool for slowing down.”

Mimi LaPlant, a Marin County, California native, received her MFA in Painting at the University of California, Santa Barbara and was a long time instructor in Art at Humboldt State University.  Known primarily as an abstract painter who works in an improvisational, bright and colorful palette, LaPlant’s landscapes disclose many of her observational sources of color. In this show, LaPlant presents a body of acrylic landscape paintings that showcase her stylistic impulse and her strong connection with the natural world.

Kathy O’Leary moved to the area from the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969 and was immediately struck with the natural beauty of Humboldt County. The constantly changing atmosphere, light, and colors of Humboldt Bay create a “visual feast” for O’Leary who states that, “Humboldt Bay enriches our lives every day. Where else in this country does so much beauty, richness of culture and nature exist in one place?”

Born and raised in the area, Stock Schlueter has long been familiar with the attraction of Humboldt County. “I always loved the adventure of discovery and finding new places. Plein air (outdoor) painting involves all of these things I loved so much as a youth.” Beginning his career as a watercolor painter, Schlueter began showing in local galleries in the early 1970s. He started working with oil paints in 1985 and since then his work has been featured nationally in galleries in Washington D.C., Indiana, Ohio, Washington, Oregon and California.

Humboldt Bay Landscape Painters is produced by students enrolled in the Humboldt State University Art Museum and Gallery Practices Program. A public reception for the artists will be held on Saturday, October 4 during Eureka Main Street’s monthly Arts Alive event. The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday, noon-5 p.m. and is located at 422 First Street, Eureka, California. Admission is always free. Those planning group tours are encouraged to call ahead at (707)-443-6363.