Thursday, March 4, 2004
| Latin ‘pop’:
Painter’s colors sing By Lucinda Breeding / Arts & Entertainment Editor Images of San Miguel Solo exhibit by Ingrid Scobie. Opening reception 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. Exhibit runs through April 30 at Cappuccino Cafe, 707 Sunset St. Free. It’s been four years since Ingrid Scobie left the history department of Texas Woman’s University to take some painting classes at University of North Texas. She’s almost earned another bachelor’s degree, this time in art, and she’s just started answering those so-what-do-you-do-for-a-living questions with "I’m an artist." "Images of San Miguel" opens Friday at Cappuccino Cafe. Scobie said the 15 paintings, mostly done in watercolor and gouache, were inspired by her trip abroad with UNT faculty member Rob Erdle. "I didn’t want to paint my trip," she said. "And I don’t think I did that." What she did, she said, was use the techniques and color theory of Henri Matisse to create the body of work that is "Images." Most of the series pairs a view of San Miguel’s flair and personality — colorful doors, verdant fountains and private but lived-in nooks and crannies — and a "response piece" that uses "non-local color." That’s art lingo for using colors that aren’t natural for the painted subject, like red grass instead of green, or pink ocean shorelines rather than blue. Scobie said she plans to include a few handmade pillows, knitted in audacious colors and touch-me textures, in the exhibit, along with cards printed from her paintings. "[Denton and UNT painting teacher] Millie [Giles] has said that my craft is a lot like my paintings," Scobie said. Giles is right. Scobie paints and knits with a deliberate but unflinching use of color. What appears to be spontaneous is, in a sense, but it’s also measured and composed. She uses charged color, a technique in which watercolor is applied to paper until it is matte, then covered with another color or richer, more intense color. Scobie also uses calligraphy techniques on her paintings. Some work looks more like acrylic, while other paintings have the more traditional, transparent appearance of watercolor. With more than a decade spent teaching history, women’s history and American history, Scobie said she thought she’d end up painting about and around issues. That hasn’t been the case, she said. "This is part of the journey for me," Scobie said. "I took a year off from TWU to figure out what I wanted to do. In that process, I figured out that I didn’t want to teach anymore. I wanted to study art. That was a big leap of faith for me. Being at UNT was a different experience. It was strange to be the student again." Her solo show is an exploration of a vibrant, ethnic place where color and still life content are kinetic and lively. She’s had work in group shows at the cafe before, as well as having work selected for juried exhibits. "Images" is her first solo show. Scobie is currently the executive director of the Visual Arts Society of Texas, which is based in Denton. — Lucinda Breeding |