River Gallery's artists featured during July approach their work in the same manner. Clara Blalock and Edie Maney let their emotions and intuition guide them as they create abstract paintings. Their show, "Exploration," is on view through July 31.
Blalock attended art school in the 1960s when the New York abstract expressionist painters were influential. Their work and approach seemed to fit her own sensibilities, and she continues to create in that same style.
"I work on large canvas, use broad brushes and get my whole self into the painting," Blalock said in her artist's statement. "I don't allow rules to get in the way, and I'm in constant motion as I work all over the surface to create a unified whole."
The Georgia artist enjoys this lack of constraint and sees the brush as an extension of her hand. Her goal is to allow her voice to come through in the finished piece.
Maney, a resident of Tennessee, is driven by color.
"The language of color is profound in my exploration of the painting process," she said in her statement. "It is color that determines the shape, motion and texture in the design and composition of my work."
Using watercolor, acrylic and mixed-media materials on both paper and canvas, she begins with chaos and continually refines the surface until she achieves a focal point. Maney moves the paint around with plastic scrapers, squeegees, brushes and palette knives.
She hopes the viewer will get lost in her paintings and feel the emotions of pleasure, playfulness and drama.
River Gallery, corner of Bluff View and High streets, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday and by appointment. Call 265-5033.