Review

"Inspiration Overlook", Acrylic on Canvas.

Richard Scherubel
Memory Vistas

1-5 p.m.

West Wyandotte Library
1737 N. 82nd St.
Kansas City, KS
913.596.5800

Hours: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday
Runs through: Oct. 30

Artist's site: http://www.scherubel.com
Gallery site: http://www.kckpl.org/FINEARTS/exhibits.htm

One of the most difficult things about any artistic endeavor is finding a starting point: the opening chord ... the first line of Act 1 ... the first stroke of brush, pencil or chisel.

For Richard Scherubel, the process of creation starts with tone ... both visual and emotional.

 My abstract paintings are sometimes based on small composition sketches, and are at other times the result of spontaneously manipulating the elements of line, shape, color, and texture, Scherubel writes. I begin with decisions about color and attitude or mood, such as whether I want the work to reflect excitement, calm, or complexity. Titles are given as I react to the final image. Multiple interpretations are welcomed.

The works in Memory Vistas, Scherubel's current show at West Wyandotte Library, convey a variety of moods. Some pulse and crackle with energy. Others, like Inspiration Overlook (today's featured piece) are more contemplative. What ties them together is that each piece, whether quiet or vibrant, seems to be both land- and mindscape.

Memory Vistas, if you will.

Going back to Inspiration Overlook, the work reproduced above,  it's possible to see a physical place -- whether real or imagined doesn't matter -- awash with the hues of sunlight, grass and flowers. At the same time, the piece stands on its own as a strongly composed and colored abstract, its elements working together to create an effect both calming and uplifting.

Scherubel, a retired educator as well as an artist, taught for years at both the secondary and collegiate levels. That gives him plenty of experience in guiding people toward understanding without telling them what to think (yes, there''s a difference). He does the same with Memory Vistas, providing hints for viewers while encouraging them to come up with their own interpretations.

I hope that viewers will find something about the work that either resonates with their experience or provides them with a new experience which may be stimulating, satisfying, or interesting, he writes.

And just as creation requires a starting point, so does appreciation. Your first look at Scherubel's work -- the real thing, not an online reproduction -- will be your personal first stroke, opening line, leadoff chord. Where things go from there is up to you.

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