'Awash In Color' Exhibition Kicks Off 2012 First Friday Series

Albany Barn, Inc. will present “Awash in Color” on Friday, January 6, 2012, at Stage 1, Albany Barn’s headquarters and community art space located at 46-48 North Swan Street. A reception will be held from 5:00pm – 9:00pm in conjunction with the monthly “1st Friday” arts walk in the City of Albany. Refreshments will be served and the 1st Friday Trolley will provide complimentary transportation to and from the venue. The artwork will be on display throughout the month of November. Admission is free.

“Awash in Color” offers watercolors by Judy Haller-’Angelo, Charles DeMarco, Mary Frances Millet, and Ruby Silvious.

Judy Haller-D’Angelo finds being outdoors totally invigorating for her creative spirit. This appreciation of the beauty found in nature started early in her childhood, having spent summers at her family’s summer home in the town of Day, on the shores of the Sacandaga Lake in the Adirondack Mountains.

Throughout Judy’s life, being creative has been a large part of who she is. Her strong desire to make art started as a young child, at the age of 5. Her artistic journey has included working as a production potter for 10 years, then as a graphic designer, creating logo designs for numerous small businesses in the Capital Region, including Adams Station Apartments in Delmar NY. She has also designed and painted stage backdrops for the Capital Ballet Co.’s (now Saratoga Ballet) Nutcracker and Peter and the Wolf (1992-1995).

Judy is a 1988 graduate of the Sage Colleges in Albany (magna cum laude), in Fine Art-Graphic Design. As a member of the Colonie Art League, she was a chairperson of their Scholarship Committee, Board of Directors, chairperson and co-director for their Local Color Art Gallery. She also is a member of the Saratoga County Arts Council, and the Capital Region Plein Air Painters. Her paintings have been exhibited in numerous juried and small group shows and she has had several one and two person shows, from Greene to Saratoga Counties. Through the Colonie Art League, Judy has participated in their Summer Art Program, teaching watercolor techniques to select elementary school age children. She also has participated in judging for the Olympics of the Visual Arts for NYS Department of Education.

Judy paints both outdoors and in her studio. She feels that painting on location is both challenging and inspiring. It helps her to capture the immediacy of light, shadows and colors of the landscapes.

Charles Alain DeMarco chose a non-academic approach to better achieve his distinctive style of watercolor painting.  He studied painting with the best watercolor painters around—Webb, Wade, Castagnet, Walsh, Betts, Couch, Ochs, Stabin, and Correiro among others.

He continues his growth as an important local artist by painting inside during the cooler months and plein air during the rest, exhibiting, entering shows, doing demos and teaching.  He’s past president and a Board of Director’s member of the Colonie Art League.  He is also past gallery director of the Local Color Art Gallery and Summer Program coordinator for the same organization.

Charles won the prestigious “Ernest A. R. Cohen Award” September 2010 for excellence in depicting the Schenectady Stockade neighborhood, first place in watercolors for “Platte Clove Falls” at the Colonie Art League’s 2010 Annual Holiday Show, and recently, first place at Niskayuna’s First Annual Niskayuna Train Station Art Out, for painting, “Niskayuna Recreation,” August 2011.

Charles has won various other awards and has been juried in numerous regional and national shows.  Mr. DeMarco has had several one and two person shows, including Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Agro Forestry Resource Center in the Catskills, the William K Sanford Library in Colonie NY, and Northville Public Library, in the Sacandaga Region.Charles is careful not to get too photo realistic or detailed in his watercolors or he might as well be a photographer.  He strikes a balance between realistic and abstract elements, always finding the light and right composition that excites him with each motif.

His paintings are in collections on both sides of the Atlantic, and he welcomes commissions. His art can be viewed by appointment at his Colonie Shaker Dwelling House location, by calling 518-573-3581, or online.

Mary Frances Millet has loved working in watercolor since 1979. She has enjoyed teaching for 7 years at various places in Florida and New York including MVP’s Wellness program. Millet’s style is loose with intense color contrasted with rich deep darks. Her philosophy is to work less and let the paint, paper, salt and water work their magic together. She also collages fine handmade papers into her work so come prepared for a fun night of learning to let go and play. She will be teaching at The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy in 2012. For more information, please visit her website.

Ruby Silvious is a painter, printmaker and paper artist working primarily with traditional origami models.  Her clean, minimalistic approach produces exquisite work that is consistent across all media, inspiring the viewer with images that leave a sense of calm.

Silvious studied briefly at the Art Students League, NYC in the ‘80s.  Her formal training and background is architecture and fine arts from the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines.  Art has always been her passion, albeit a mere avocation.  Currently an artist resident of the Ragged Edge Printmaking Studio in Cohoes, she also teaches origami classes at the Athens Cultural Center.  She works as a full time graphic designer for an architecture firm in downtown Albany.Her award winning work has been exhibited in Albany, Greene and Columbia counties.   Silvious lives with her husband and her son in Coxsackie, NY. For more of her art, please visit her website.

“Awash in Color” is produced by Albany Barn, Inc.  Albany Barn is a local nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization developing a permanent creative arts incubator and community arts center in Albany, NY called The Barn. Albany Barn has partnered with the Albany Housing Authority and the City of Albany to redevelop St. Joseph’s Academy, a long-vacant former school building in the Arbor Hill neighborhood, for that purpose. Stage 1 is located one block from St. Joseph’s Academy.