Cover Artist Scott Upton
 
“This Atlanta and North Carolina painter’s multi-layered technique mixes acrylic paint with concealed reflective textures including silver and gold leaf, all sealed under a varnish of his own devising. Upton’s determined innovation in depth and surface distinguishes him from his sources, which include the late work of Mark Rothko but combine many other atmospheric abstractionists.” - Jerry Cullum, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “We are so lucky to live in an area of such beauty. It feeds the eyes every time you step outside, every walk to the lake. Every day, every season is a new body of work to be painted. Especially this time of year, all you have to do is look at the ground around your feet. It is a tapestry of color and texture: a painting every step of the way. How could I do anything but what I do? I get to take a real world and put it to canvas in an abstract way. Layers and layers of paint just like leaves layering the ground. Rich autumn earth-tones, the play of light that make this season glow. “In this exhibition, 'Pushing Paint,'at Summit One Gallery, I get the best of both worlds: the real and the abstract. Along with my abstract paintings I get to do a series of wildlife paintings where I use the technique found in my abstract paintings along with realism of the area's wildlife. This series is exclusive to Summit One Gallery,” said Upton. “Light matters. The Atlanta artist excels at suggesting it on canvases that can glow. At times, he uses reflective material to enhance the affect. And while he does abstract paintings, some of these works more than suggest realism, with a horizon line here, a sky there – even the hint of buildings. There’s also the influence of the great 19th–century English landscape painter J.M.W. Turner, who took a very solid world and, with color and form, de-materialized it." - Richard Maschal, Charlotte Observer. Scott Upton studied fine arts at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and The Art Institute of Atlanta. His art is included in collections of: Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, Tennessee; Eastman, Kingsport, Tennessee; Lit Bow Wow, Atlanta, Georgia; Arthur Blank Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia; Crescent Capital Investments, Four Seasons Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia; Progress Energy, Corporate Collection, Durham, North Carolina; Northside Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia; The Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia; The Breakers, Palm Beach, Florida; Memorial Mission Hospital, North Carolina; Chase Manhattan Collection, New York; Chase Collection, Chicago, Illinois; NCNB, North Carolina. “Pushing Paint” will open at Summit One Gallery on Saturday, October 14th with an Artists’ Opening Reception from 5:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m. and will continue through December 31st. “Pushing Paint” will showcase new works by Scott Upton and Jane Smithers. Both are represented by Summit One Gallery, 4152 Cashiers Road, Apple Mountain Shoppes, Highlands, (828)526-2673; summitonegalle ry@verizon.net; www.summitonegallery.com. mailto:ry@verizon.nethttp://www.summitonegallery.comshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1
LAUREL Blurb Blog
October 2006