21Dec/090
Kendra Bidwell Ferreira in SO Rhode Island Magazine
At the tender age of 5, Kendra Bidwell Ferreira announced to her mother her intention to be an art teacher when she grew up. True to her word, Ferreira graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts and a minor in printmaking. Forgoing teaching at first, she concentrated on graphic design and worked for newspapers and printing companies. In 1996 she made the leap to pursue her art work full time and enjoy raising her three sons. Although Ferreira works in watercolor, pastels and oils, her favorite medium is colored pencil.
The precise points of the pencils allow Ferreira to render astonishing detail in her work while other techniques and her amazing ability to create light give the finished drawings a painted feel. She starts many of her pieces outdoors, finishing in the studio by way of a photograph. Ferreira, a signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America and President of the North East chapter, explains that because the pencil process is so slow the light changes too rapidly, even while working on still life in the studio. Drawn to the natural beauty in Rhode Island she is fond of the organic subjects of beach, shells and rocks. In the studio fruit and food come deliciously alive on the textured papers or Gesso board that she favors. Just viewing her sold out candy apple series (see her website) conjures up anticipation of sticky hands and faces. Along with landscapes and scenics, Ferreira is concentrating on smaller slices of scenes such as her current project of the rock, shell and seaweed tangles found on the local beaches. One such piece, Flotsam & Jetsam, was accepted for a juried show at the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club in New York City this month.
Ferreira is a member and exhibiting artist of the Spring Bull Gallery in Newport and also takes on commissions. There are only about 80 artists in the North East who work in colored pencil making it one of the rarer mediums. Now teaching adult and children's classes at her studio, Beach Studios, in Middletown as well as through community programs, Ferriera has fulfilled the dream of that 5 year old little girl.
For more information on classes or to view more of her work, visit www.kjfdesign.com or call Ferriera at 401-682-1915
21Dec/090
Artist Cynthia Blair in SO Rhode Island Magazine
Jamestown artist Cynthia Blair's pastel work has the unique quality of being realistic and ethereal all at once. Viewing the pieces, especially the ones that include water, you get the feeling that if you touched the painting a ripple would appear that you would be able to step through and become part of the scene.
Blair loves the vivid colors and textures that she is able to conjure from the oil pastels. “I use very little fixative on my finished work so as not to muddy the colors” said Blair. “Because pastels are so easily smudged, the originals must be framed with glass.” Fortunately, the colors transfer well to print and Blair has started to print onto canvas, providing a new way to showcase her work.
Blair discovered RI when she arrived to attend RISD. Having grown up in a small, coastal area on Long Island she felt very much at home in Jamestown and decided to stay. A vibrant, curious person with diverse interests, Blair sampled a wide range of art styles and media before graduating with an illustration degree. Over the years some teachers tried to rein her in by telling her to focus on just one genre but she having too much fun to be corralled. “All of my experiences ultimately end up forming the whole of each work” she said.
Blair does illustration work such as logos, theater posters and murals but since picking up the pastels in 2002 she has been happily creating a body of work that evokes the small coastal town “feel” of both her hometown and her current home. Along the way she also returned to RISD for classes in website design and other art related computer programs. She brings her design skills to the websites she creates and especially likess to help other artists by creating sites that reflect their style and craft while promoting their work. Blair doesn't teach, but she loves to mentor younger artists and connect with artists of all ages to share ideas and solve problems.
Her latest project, stunning charcoal portraits of musicians, began as a fun way to help her daughter learn to draw. Being music lovers they decided to attend concerts and give the originals to the bands. In doing so Blair found that many musicians have charities they support so now donates originals and the proceeds from limited prints to the specified charity. She often donates finished pieces or offers of pet or human portraits to local charities as well. “I'm thrilled that some of my work is out there doing good things” said Blair.
View more work at www.cbastudio.com or www.cynthiablair.com or contact the artist at cblair7@gmail.com or 401-560-0030. You can also see her work at The Schock Gallery, 47 Conancious Rd. Jamestown.
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