Scott Gellatly and C.A. Pierce like to leave their landscape paintings up to interpretation.
They say there’s a fine line between recreating natural scenery and creating thought-provoking art. It’s a nod to their expressionist backgrounds.
“You give just enough subject matter for people to hang their hat on, but you obviously don’t want to tell them everything,” Gellatly said. “You want to give them enough to kind of get lost in it and interpret it for themselves.”
Gellatly’s colorful wetlands and Pierce’s sweeping vistas are featured in “Interpretive Landscapes,” on display through June 10 at Cole Gallery in Edmonds.
Pierce, 72, is a retired flight attendant who spent 30 years with Delta Airlines. She honed her craft at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle and has shown her works at Overlake Hospital, Seattle Design Center and Alki Arts Gallery.
Many of her acrylic paintings were inspired by views from her Kirkland home overlooking Lake Washington. She doesn’t capture those moments with a camera. She absorbs what she sees, contemplates how it makes her feel and then channels those emotions into her work.
Her art is atmospheric and evokes a range of feelings, from sublime and peaceful to moody and dark.
“My goal in doing abstract expressionism paintings is to let the viewer finish the painting,” Pierce said. “You give them little hints.”
She found inspiration for her favorite painting, “Red Sky in the Morning,” in how the winter sky reflected off snow. Another, “The Slough,” was painted after a trip to the Skagit Valley in the fall. It depicts a slough cutting through a farm field.
Gellatly, 44, created his oil paintings during visits to wetlands near his home in Portland, Oregon. While some landscape artists replicate what they see, that isn’t Gellatly’s goal.
“I’m more interested in color relationships than the subject matter,” Gellatly said. “I want the painting to go somewhere else.”
His artwork explores the divide between land and water. In “Pink Tree Wetland,” he juxtaposes vivid and muted colors.
Gellatly, a product manager for oil painting supplier Gamblin Artist Colors, has painted landscapes for the past 20 years. His work has been displayed in exhibits nationwide, including at Cole Gallery in 2017.
Evan Thompson: 425-339-3427, ethompson@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @ByEvanThompson.
If you go
See Scott Gellatly and C.A. Pierce’s landscape paintings through June 10 in the “Interpretive Landscapes” exhibition at Cole Gallery, 107 Fifth Ave., S., Edmonds. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Call 425-697-2787 or go to www.colegallery.net for more information.
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