Color Works, an August exhibit by Points of View artists Alan Mast and Ann Slocum, celebrates the use of color in artistic expression.  Ann uses color to blend and unify, providing a backdrop for the shapes and delicate tracings that show through the multiple layers of paint and paper that she uses to construct her final composition.  For Alan, color is the star, exploding across the canvas in a riot of geometric shapes that dance and cavort to create a playful sense of movement.

Alan Mast describes his process in this way:  “All of my paintings are produced by first creating an underpainting of colors and shapes, and then ‘cutting out’ final  shapes as I paint over the underpainting with white (either acrylic gesso or white acrylic paint) and scratch decorative marks through the still-wet gesso or white paint before it dries. I then add color patches to the final work.”

Ann Slocum is an abstract artist who brings her interest in pattern and design to her mixed media artwork.  She uses collage elements made of different substances to solve design puzzles.  Her “Untitled” titles invite the viewer to explore the design and find their own meaning in the work.

Ann explains how she builds layers to create the final painting this way:  “I collage printed papers on board, and seal them with gel medium. Next I apply many layers of acrylic paint and painter’s tape to block out the color areas I want, and then keep sealing with gel medium.  The last layer is created using reverse printing. Gel is applied on the inked side only and pressed down on the painting. On the next day, I use water to SLOWLY rub off the white side leaving only the ink. Once dry, I seal with gel medium for the last time.”