The July Exhibit will continue the Summer series at Justus Fine Art Gallery with a selection of work by Mark Blaney, Robyn Horn, Dolores Justus, Dennis McCann, Sammy Peters, Sandra Sell, Peter Sixbey, Gene Sparling, Elizabeth Weber, Steven Wise, Emily Wood and others. The opening reception will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, July 5 as part of the monthly Gallery Walk in downtown Hot Springs. 

 

A selection of paintings by Steven Wise will be included in the July show. Using vibrant colors and simplified forms to represent his landscape and floral works on display, Wise provides a fresh and playful approach to his subject matter. 

 

His painting, “Clabber Creek” depicts the landscape with loose blocks of strong color, along with elements rendered with stylized detail and flattened space. His paintings emphasize geometric forms by focusing on abstraction and playful lines that are both familiar and non-objective. 

“Clabber Creek” by Steven Wise

Nature-based sculptures by Elizabeth Weber will also be featured in the exhibit. In her “Colony” series, Weber uses natural elements to create delicate forms built with leaf skeletons that house nests of dandelion wishes and milkweed fluff, all balanced on top of Honey Locust thorns. 

 

Weber currently lives in Little Rock where she maintains her studio practice, along with working as an Artist-in-Residence for Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Methodist Family Health Day Treatment School.      

 

Loosely rendered landscape paintings that capture the essence of place by Dolores Justus will be on display in the Summer series. Inspired by the natural world, Justus’ paintings reflect a sensitive and intuitive view that distills patterns of light and form into compositions that invite contemplation and engagement. 

 

Blurring the line between abstraction and representation, her painterly style also leaves space for something new to emerge that places her work within the context of new American landscape painters. 

 

Justus also works as an art director and gallerist, operating Justus Design & Marketing and Justus Fine Art Gallery. 

 

Recent work by Mark Blaney, including his painting “To the Woods,” will be included in the exhibit. Blaney has been exhibiting his paintings, drawings, and sculpture for over 25 years, with solo and group shows throughout the nation and abroad. He was also commissioned to create several murals in the Argenta District of North Little Rock. 

“If all works well, I paint with the same approach as drawing: seeking an intuitive freedom while having a visual conversation with nature,” Blaney said. “Mixing colors to follow an idea is real fun and every new painting is a fresh chance at work and play in form and color.”