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ESCAPES
Sue & Sandy Show Up	A. Friend
March 2010 ESCAPES Paintings (and some photography) by Sue Henderson and Sandy Staley Two local women will be the featured artists in April at the Jarret-Thor Gallery, 100 Taylor Street, Colonial Beach, beginning with CB’s Second Friday Art Walk April 9 and running through May 12. Sue Henderson and Sandy Staley approach their art from very divergent backgrounds, yet they are inspired to create by similar stimuli, and their finished works are remarkably complementary. Ms. Staley has a degree in art education, and taught art for ten years early in her career in the states and on St. Croix. While teaching, she dabbled in a variety of media, including acrylic paints and ceramics. After retiring from retail, Ms. Staley re-embraced her interest in art, taking up watercolor. In the last few years she has traveled to Umbria, Italy, Provence, France and Andalusia, Spain to paint with watercolor. Her paintings capture the things that most fascinate her while abroad: landscapes and flower gardens, architecture - especially stone buildings and courtyards – and food as displayed in open air markets. Staley embraces travel where her keen observations fuel her creative faculties. Closer to home, Staley is inspired by her extensive perennial garden and her pets. She enjoys capturing flowers at close range, including tropical flowers that remind her of the islands. Ms. Henderson approaches art from a very different background, with less formal education. Always creative, for decades she has channeled her considerable energy into performing arts. Recently, however, she has embraced painting as a new means of expressing herself. Henderson is a self-taught watercolorist, through friendships with other artists, including Staley. Without formal education in fine arts, her paintings are loose and fluid in style. “I never did color inside the lines,” laughs Henderson. Henderson is also inspired by travel. She also lived abroad for 15 years with her military husband, stationed in England, Italy and Holland. A lifelong photographer, she enjoys recording her responses to other cultures from unusual angles, capturing super-sized, “macro images.” In the last few years, her part-time work as a vocal director for a major cruise line has allowed her to marry her love of travel, her performing arts, photography, and watercolor. Recently, Staley and Henderson have participated in workshops with Johnny Johnson, experimenting in different forms of watercolor using assorted surfaces with different approaches. They enjoy painting together to encourage each other to stretch outside of the envelope. Both see their artwork as a means to escape to exotic places. This similar approach results in works from two artists remarkably in harmony in this show. Don’t miss it. www.suehendersoncreates.com
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