The vast and ever-changing nature of the sky is now being elegantly exposed through painting at Pleiades Gallery’s “Paint the Sky.”
The exhibit highlights the work of Calvin Brett and Kimberly Wheaton, both of whom have used their artistic abilities to capture the sky on canvas.
“The intention is to really do it big and leave a mark,” artist Calvin Brett said. “With ‘Paint the Sky,’ the idea kind of just went off. It began with the literal sky but for me went way more abstract, until it became ‘What does it even mean to paint or create something?’”
Brett utilizes acrylic and mixed media painting styles in his work. He explores different dimensions, depths and vibrant colors in order to make his creations evocative and memorable.
“I consider myself to be more of an artist than a painter,” Brett said. “Painting’s just kind of a way of making a mark. I love seeing colors, mixing colors, taking a surface and turning it into a space. In terms of loving painting, I’d say more I just really love to create. It’s something I have to do or else I’ll be in a bad place. Through that creation I can hopefully make something that can do some good in the world.”
While Brett’s paintings focus more on the symbolic themes and motifs of the sky, the show’s other artist, Kim Wheaton, focuses her work on the more realistic aspects.
”I’ve just always been fascinated by the sky,” Wheaton said. “I often paint landscapes, and I’ve always thought of the sky that way. However, unlike traditional landscapes, it’s always changing. The color’s changing, the clouds are changing, the light’s changing, and the challenge you have as a painter is to capture that brief little moment in time.”
Wheaton’s paintings use oil, acrylic and mixed media styles to convey images of contrast between the Earth and sky.
“I’m thinking about the juxtaposition between what the sky represents and what the Earth represents,” Wheaton said. “The mix of the exciting and the mundane. I really like that contrast — things that are static, every day and boring on the ground, with this limitlessness and beauty up top. It’s a challenge for someone to work that illusion of a painting.”
