Part 1 http://www.AshevillesHot.com/in-the-studio-landscape-painter-part-1

Part 2 http://www.ashevilleshot.com/in-the-studio-landscape-painter-part-2/

I’m looking at landscape paintings inspired by trees, marshy bogs and one inspired by a moon low over a misty vista.

And what does sheet music and handmade papers have to do with landscape painting?

My good friend, Wendy Whitson, showed me around her studio and we talked about her work – richly textural and very personal works of art that emerge from a combination of process and inspiration. Wendy often finds happy surprises in a finished piece when she has surrendered to the “flow” and allows the work to have it’s way, a place where process, talent and synchronicity meet.

Often her paintings begin with a grid to maintain structure and the use of paper collage. Several of her most successful works use sheet music to represent the gnarls and bark on trees – it is subtle and only recognized when you look closely.

Wendy’s studio is in the  Asheville River District an area filled with formerly rundown warehouses. The District has the French Broad River winding through one side and the railroad tracks on the other side. Artists and craftsmen came into the River Warehouse area because they could afford the rent .Their energy has now created an area that is thriving and revitalized.  Over 100 artists in the River District bring in visitors and commerce.

Two annual events in the summer and fall are eagerly attended as studios are opened to the public for the Asheville River District Artist Stroll, the second weekend in June and November.