Vegas artists asked to go blue and summery in ‘Summertime Blues’

Before the ocean, beneath the clouds, behind the mic, even under the water.

All bathed in blue.

"This group was able to come together and create pieces for the blue theme, which I really liked," says Denise Alvarado, gallery coordinator of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, about the "Summertime Blues" art exhibit at the West Charleston Library, mounted by the Vegas Artists Guild.

"The guild has a variety of mediums and ages from younger to seniors, and it also ends up being a very multicultural component."

Created to bring both established and amateur artists in Las Vegas to the community's attention, the guild asked contributors to this 30-piece show to concentrate on summer themes, or on work that makes generous use of the color blue -- or both.

"I like rock music, and I thought of that song, (Eddie Cochran's) 'Summertime Blues,' " says Karen Wheeler, who organized the exhibit for the guild. "I thought, let's do this title and see what people come up with."

That yielded some of the aforementioned works.

Jeffrey Oldham's acrylic piece, "The Boys of Summer," pictures a row of 10 apparent retirees sitting in various types of lounge chairs, relaxing before a calm, blue-green ocean, stretching across an expanse of sandy beach the width of the canvas. Digital photography creates the striking effect of Helen Murphy's "Red Sky Morning," as clouds coalesce into a gorgeous mass of blue and red at sunrise that dominates the sky.

Capturing the famed lady singing the blues, Mitchell Buckner's oil painting, "Blue Day," is a deep-blue portrait of Billie Holiday behind the microphone, white flowers flowing down her hair onto her shoulder, head tilted and eyes closed, enveloped by the passion of the music. And in "Water Colors," an oil painting by Janice Arduni, a young boy in a bathing suit is pictured as if emerging from under the water and toward the viewers, giving off a vivid effect.

"It's so abstract, but if you stare at it long enough, it's like the water is really moving," Wheeler says. "It has a lot of movement to it with shapes that make it look like sunlight is coming through the water."

Multimedia creations are sprinkled throughout the exhibit, notably by artists Sharron and Roger Westeren, who team on "Summer Memories," in which a blue necklace is positioned next to a photo of the ocean and a plaque that holds Roger's prose:

"Skipping of stones. Hot summer day. Smooth as a mirror. Water waits patiently. Needs a child's visit. And the skipping of stones. Hand in hand. To the lake. A father and child. Sharing dreams."

Grace defines Robert Rico's acrylic, "Reflections in Blue," portraying a splashing swan, water cascading off its back as if a natural extension of its hind legs. Amusingly titled "Strawberries, Blueberries and Red and Blue Raspberries," Dolores J. Nast's acrylic is a boldly painted framing of the titular fruits, the blueberries swirling around an oversized raspberry.

Poignantly, given her back story, is Wheeler's own "Dancing Naked," in which a tree takes on the face and posture of a dancer, eyes and mouth visible in its leaves, atop a trunk depicted as if it's a body striding forward. Wheeler has a curved spine as a result of a form of muscular dystrophy.

"I decided to do my body as a tree," Wheeler says. "Trees are really connected to the Earth. They're just very strong, and I love the shape, you can do anything with them." Laughing, she adds: "That's as close to a nude as I'll ever do."

Other pieces are purposely provocative, revealing the backs of bodies that ask viewers to imagine what's not seen. One is Rita Malkin's question mark-titled "Bathing Beauty?" watercolor, picturing the back of a woman in a one-piece bathing suit. "I think she is questioning what is beauty," Wheeler says.

Even more open to interpretation is Jon Campos' piece of digital computer graphics, in which a girl holding a book outside -- we see only her flowing hair from the back -- gazes as a man walks past her. Titled "One Summer Story," it compels viewers to provide their own narrative to match the visuals.

"When I look at it, I'm thinking, is the man dangerous?" Wheeler says. "He could be a kidnapper. Or is the summer story just the book she's reading and she's just a lonely girl in the park?"

Or perhaps she's got the blues.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.