Bold and Colorful Demonstration

“Shades of Green” by Rodger Bechtold.

Edgewood Orchard Galleries will host the Exhibit II reception on May 23, 4 – 7 pm. Featured artists include Rodger Bechtold, Craig Blietz, Olga Ganoudis, Jeremy Popelka, Stephanie Trenchard and Carl Vanderheyden. The featured artists will briefly speak about their work at 5 pm, and wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Bechtold has built a solid reputation for being a major contributor to the ongoing dialog in contemporary landscape painting in the Midwest and beyond. His work is expressed with energy, painted with seemingly effortless brushwork and charged with color.

“Beginning a painting from the initial inspiration is one thing, but to carry that inspiration through an evolution of risk and change is quite another. I must work until that painting stands alone and finally has something to say,” said Bechtold.

On May 24, 1 – 3 pm, Bechtold will demonstrate his bold and colorful oil painting techniques in the gallery courtyard.

Blietz has been represented by Edgewood Orchard Galleries since 1998. He is influenced by the rural geography of this area, which helps him create the agrarian imagery for which he is best known.

Featured jeweler Ganoudis is known for the juxtaposition of a hard grainy texture next to the smooth surface of a pearl. Her wide traveling experience and her Greek heritage influence her esthetic expression.

Door County artists, Popelka and Trenchard have been making art together for more than 30 years. Their work varies from brightly colored hand-blown vessels to sculptural studies in cast glass.

Green Bay sculptor Vanderheyden uses recycled steel and other “found objects” to create spectacular lifelike animals, eagles, angels, and a variety of other creations.

Exhibit II will be displayed until June 10. Edgewood Orchard Galleries is located at 4140 Peninsula Players Road, midway between Egg Harbor and Fish Creek, open daily 10 am – 5 pm. For more information, call 920.868.3579 or visit edgewoodorchard.com.