Southern Reflections: Eric O’Dell’s Works of Art

Eric O’Dell wanted to be an art major from day one of his undergrad at Mercer University, Macon, Georgia. His dad, his hero, was a colourist who worked in the textile printing industry and always taught him to do his very best at whatever it was that he undertook. Eric says art can’t be measured in terms of dollar signs: it is energy.

Liberty Hall Studios and Arts Exchange are collectives that Eric formed with fellow artists.

“We call it sanctuary. No matter what is whirling outside, no matter how many obligations, this is our sanctuary. It is the space and the time to do the best thing to do: to make good art. You need to have your mind, your feet, your hands, your eyes, and you need to give yourself room to breathe.”

Eric says that art making is an act of communication. He, along with his brother Brian, a sculptor, comes at art with a southern angle. At one point, Eric was curator of Exhibitions and Collection at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, Georgia. He has also given a Tedx Talk on what it is like being an artist in a particular place. He is currently full-time professor of art at Mercer University.

Eric’s works of collection include mainly charcoal and pencil drawings and acrylic on canvas landscape paintings. He says he never wants to paint something that is pretty or seductive. His landscapes have a dark side to them. He only paints what he sees but intentionally puts items in them that man would place within a landscape, so to speak violating an environmental space for good or for bad. To begin with, he was only painting what he saw by looking at high angles, stars, the sky and skyline. Over the past few years he has turned his gaze downwards.

These two pieces that Eric shares with us here, and others, emanate from the death of his mother, Patsy O'Dell. Each piece continues a concentration on landscape, specifically the Panhandle Florida, where he essentially grew up. Florida’s Panhandle, when he moved there with his family in the early ‘80s, was to Eric as exotic a place as he could imagine.

Heavy in the Air

“Mom was actually terrified of water. Heavy in the Air is a bit of thievery from Willie Nelson’s album Spirit. ‘She is gone, but she was here, and her presence is still heavy in the air....”

Heavy in the Air is from a visit to a park near his mom and dad’s house on the day she died.

“I went there with my brother. It was a painful, disorienting time. It was powerful and very intimate and epic, all at once.”

Unlike the common belief of art and the production of artistic pieces being a therapeutic experience, for Eric this series wasn’t so.

“These are not pieces trying to resolve that experience, and they are not an attempt at a summation either. I guess they are a witnessing of sorts, a meditation or soft assertion as to my presence in a particular place at a particular time.”

Last Year's Lessons

Last Year’s Lessons is the first piece he executed after his mother died. It is also derived from one of nature’s features: a creek in Panhandle Florida.

“If you look closely there is some text, towards the bottom. It happens in my work at times, and these snippets along with the title all derive directly from Gillian Welch’s song I Dream a Highway from her album Revelator.”

For more work by Eric O’Dell visit his website. To find out more about Liberty Hall Studios visit its Facebook page.

Love Art, Live Art: Diane Fine

In Diane Fine's world of art, if you can create art, why not make your life a work of art. 


The best example of this philosophy is Diane's own house. She has surrounded herself with colours and beauty in the forms of her paintings, cushions, rugs, lamps, tapestries, furniture, sculptures, quilts, etc. to create a stimulating and uplifting environment.

Rya Rug

Rya Rug (above) is the fifth rug she has created. The first was at 19, when she fell in love with the vibrant Scandinavian rya wool on display at a CNE booth. Her first rug (10' x 6') became a three-year project. Skeins of leftover wool turned into pillows, ottomans, paintings, door frames, upholstery, mirror frames, sculptures, and other rugs.

Staccato, acrylic collage

 

Jigsaw, needlepoint

Diane attended art schools at Concordia University and University of Toronto. She studied with many illustrious teachers from the post-Plasticien abstract movement in Quebec --- Guido Molinari, Yves Gaucher, and Charles Gagnons. Later, she studied at The Three Schools of Art with multi-disciplinary artist Vera Frankel followed by the Toronto School of Art.

Arabesque Tapestry

Diane originally set out to become a modern dancer, but starting a family early forced her to reconsider her plans. In her twenties, she had a Eureka moment when she noticed how out of breath she became after lugging groceries and children up the stairs. From that point on, fitness became a priority that has lasted a lifetime.


She joined a local fitness centre. When she complained about the low standards of aerobic instructors, the management dared her to come up with something better. A week later she did. And thus, a fitness professional was born. This career has allowed Diane to pursue her first love: art, and remain true to her instincts.


Always fascinated by nature and its elements, Diane has effectively used materials collected from her surroundings in her collages.

Costwold Hills, mixed media collage

"I was cycling down a country lane and noticed the endless patterns of grasses all along the road. I plucked them out and put them in my basket to be pressed into my next collages."

Wake Up Call, charcoal drawing

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, along with her fitness business, Diane worked as a commercial artist, art teacher, and an editorial illustrator. In the 1980s, she wrote and illustrated two health-oriented cookbooks: The Cookie Bookie and Perfect Pies. 

Garden Cottage, charcoal drawing

James Hunt, charcoal drawing

Diane's eyes and the sparkle in them, are what captivate one the most. She exudes an energy that can put twentysomethings to shame. When she speaks about her artwork, she radiates excitement, and one look at the artwork makes it clear that parts of her animated personality have stolen their way into it. 

Youth, acrylic collage

"I prefer the medium of collage as it forces one to abstract and exaggerate. There is an element of play as you viscerally assemble your puzzle."

Diane, acrylic collage

Diane's subject matter is varied. Her landscapes and still lives have been inspired by English gardens, her nudes from years of first hand experience with the body and movement from her dance and fitness disciplines and her portraits from a lifelong fascination with characters and the human psyche. Over the last year she has concentrated on working in abstract acrylic collages.

Hymie, acrylic collage

Up Close and Personal

In Diane's view the creative process has to be liberated from logical interference.

Evanescence, mixed media collage

Repose, acrylic collage

"One must detach the logical brain from the creative process. It's a no-holds-barred approach, almost like an out-of-body experience."

Recline, acrylic collage

All manner of objects, such as decayed organic matter, glasses, textile, sugar, tea bags, scissors, buttons, feathers, and gloves have ended up as elements in her collages, often adding whimsy and humour. 

"I have always loved the freedom of Matisse cutouts and been influenced by the great mixed media collagist Norman Laliberte who glued all manners of objects into his riotously colourful pieces."

Floral Arrangement, mixed media collage

Diane's art allows her to be a child; it allows her to satisfy her sense of wonderment.

London Map and Glasses, mixed media collage

White Glove,mixed media collage

"Art is my salvation. When I am creating art time stops, and I can escape." 

Flowers and Dreams, mixed media collage

In Diane's world of art, creativity is unbridled. Every creation begins from a point of mystery and little is known about the path it will take until it reaches the point when the process culminates into a piece that gives way to a delightful surprise. 

Orchestra, acrylic collage

"The process of creating art is a gift that everyone and anyone can take advantage of." 

Concert, acrylic collage

For more on Diane's work visit: http://diane-fine.fineartamerica.com/ and http://painterskeys.com/pal/diane_fine/