Drawing Exhibited at the Duluth Art Institute

Annual Membership Exhibition 2012

Duluth Art Institute
Great Hall Gallery
Duluth, MN

January 18th thru March 1st
Artist Reception: Wednesday, January 18th, 6:30 - 8:00pm

Exhibiting in Savage Arts Council's Juried Show

Savage Art Studios & Gallery
Savage, MN

June 10 to July 14, 2011

Award Ceremony and Judge's Reception, Sunday June 12 from 11:30am to 2pm

Juror: Dale Redpath

The Body Beautiful: Life Drawing at DAI

Having recently moved back to my home state of Minnesota, I had the desire to take some drawing classes to get back into the swing of things. The Duluth Art Institute offers some good classes open to the public; I chose their Life Drawing intensive, three evenings of drawing nude bodies. Since I primarily work from photographs, it was wonderful and challenging to work from a live model again. I had to perform more quickly, focusing on the gesture of the figure and less on the details. The goal was not to execute a finished work of art, but to study the body and add to your anatomy knowledge base. This, too, was difficult for me, since I always want to have a polished and complete drawing to show for my time.

The class had a nice array of students, from complete beginners to more advanced artists, which showed various styles. It is always inspiring to see how other people interpret the same subject matter and what approach they use for choosing their composition. Our instructor, artist Sarah Brokke, led us through multiple techniques and poses, ranging from 30 seconds to an hour. Having three different models to draw during the course of the program was refreshing, two females and one male. It ended much too soon for me; by the third and final evening I was just getting warmed up! What a great way to get those creative juices flowing, which I was definitely needing. Off to create!

Published Article in Siouxland Magazine

The Spring 2011 edition of the Siouxland Magazine has arrived! I was honored to be asked to be this season's featured artist, showcasing three charcoal drawings from my "Relative Distance" portrait series. The article reads:

Relative Distance


By Terra Fine

“Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.” ~ George Orwell

Regardless of age, gender, or cultural background, within all of us is the strong desire to be known and seen for who we truly are and not for how others perceive us. We long to be understood as a person, to connect with another human being, but we assume no one else can possibly feel our heartache or fears or longing. Judgments are often made based on age; the young are seen as reckless and naïve, the elderly as boring and out of touch. We think, how could she possibly understand, she’s just an old woman? Or, these kids today don’t know what life’s all about. We think they don’t know what it’s like to be me.

“Relative Distance”, my most recent series of charcoal portraits, focuses on this rift between generations. Within each portrait you see two people, physically so close, almost touching, yet the emotional distance between them seems unbearably vast. Each drawing is composed to reveal an intimate scene, as if we’ve stumbled upon a moment of tension, a point in the relationship where neither person can break through to the other. Assumptions have been made; walls have gone up; there is nothing more to be said.

In the portrait “Can You See Me At All?” two women stand, faces inches apart, without seeing each other. Both entrenched in their own thoughts, the younger with piercings and heavy makeup, eyes clenched, the older with lines creasing her face and lips drawn tight. Each woman both accuses and desperately seeks acknowledgement of the other with that one simple question. A similar scene is drawn in “How Could You Understand?” with evidence of sorrow and emotional isolation etched on the faces of two women, old and young, cast in deep shadow. There is a darkness present in these images, a sadness. As an artist and observer of people, I believe these conditions to be self-inflicted. We don’t have to feel so alone. If only we didn’t assume that our experiences were so unique, if only we saw others with our heart and not our eyes, if only we let ourselves be more vulnerable, if only we took the time to truly listen to each other, if only…

Perhaps an answer lies in the third portrait featured here, “Building Bridges”, where both the physical and emotional gaps are “bridged” by the extended hand of a child and the indulgent smile of an elder. Their eyes lock as they see the other and accept all that they behold. Perhaps it is their extreme distance in age that allows for this connection. The infant has not yet learned to be cynical and presumptuous and the elder has outgrown the need for it.

Terra Fine currently lives and works in Sioux City, Iowa. She received a B.A. in Fine Art at Western Washington University. Terra’s artwork has been recognized and exhibited internationally. For more information, visit www.terrafine.com.



Can You See Me At All?




How Could You Understand?




Building Bridges



Featured in Siouxland Magazine

How Could You Understand?, Charcoal

I was recently contacted by Siouxland Magazine's editor Susan Fey to write an article about my artwork for the Spring 2011 edition. I've chosen to highlight three charcoal drawings from my "Relative Distance" series and discuss the ideas behind the work. As many of you know, the "Relative Distance" drawings focus on the rifts between generations, often showing a moment of tension or discord within a relationship. I'll post a copy of the article once it's published in a few months. In the meantime, happy art-making!

Commission Completed

I recently competed this commissioned charcoal drawing of a lady here in Sioux City, Iowa. It was a gift from her long-time admirer and companion, who absolutely loved it. Though he did ask if they ever split up would he get a refund! He was just joking...I think...

"Drowning" at Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Conference

Drowning Charcoal on Paper

I was recently asked to have a reproduction of my charcoal drawing "Drowning" be displayed at an upcoming Center for Substance Abuse Treatment conference. This federal agency awards grants that address substance abuse and mental health issues, and shares the results of these efforts through a variety of conferences. This particular conference will focus on how addiction affects adolescents, young adults and their families. CSAT will have a small addiction art gallery consisting of 14 works of art from the Addiction and Art book as part of their annual grantees meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness next month in Baltimore (December 14-16, 2010 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel). By invitation only, a wide range of partners (treatment providers, families, youth, community leaders, researchers and policymakers) will come together to discuss the latest advances in adolescent drug treatments, with a particular emphasis on the unique perspective of youth and their families. The 3-day meeting will draw about 750 participants.