For Gloria Cassidy and Charlotte Mullitch, creating art is just as much for the viewer as it is for the artists.
Both artists were highlighted at their Nature and Inner Self gallery at a reception in Old Town Newhall last weekend.
The event was held by the Santa Clarita Artists Association, which both Cassidy and Mullitch are a part of, and showcased art inspired by the colors and motions of nature.
Both artists had their own forms, with Cassidy providing collages and Mullitch showing watercolors, but they both had similar styles and color palettes. The biggest similarity is that both artists said their art is meant to tell stories.
“I think sometimes people think they’re… not an artist but anyone can collect a work of art just by starting out with something that is personal to you,” said Mullitch. “But you know, every art piece is a story — the story that the artist tells, but also the story that, you know the client…how it relates to them.”
“Oh my art tells stories. So I like people to make up their own stories when I see it. But if they want to know my story, I’ll tell them, but my stories are generally about hope, productivity potential and then there’s just an element of nature,” said Cassidy. “But every time you see a pomegranate or a seed pod, it has to do with the potential that we each have. Like each of us has all the seeds of potential and if we use it for the right reasons we can grow gardens of plants that will bless other people.”
Both artists said they’ve been creating for decades but became serious in the past 10 years, leading them both to join the artists association. Although they became serious around the same time and displayed similar styles at the gallery, their different forms have reasons.
Mullitch said she’s painted through a variety of different mediums but that watercolors have a uniqueness to them.
“I just liked the way that the water blends together,” said Mullitch. “You don’t have as much control over that and actually, that’s what I like, that it kind of, in some ways, sort of paints itself and then I go back and I add a little bit more detail and color.”
For Cassidy, she got into collages due to a tremor in her hand, which prevented her from drawing with colored pencils — her favored method of making art. But this necessity mothered her innovation and led her to creating a unique method of making collages.
Cassidy uses a gel plate and then paints with acrylics over it to create different textures, which she says is different from how most collage.
“So making the papers is what’s really unique about my particular collage,” said Cassidy. “So a lot of people collage using found papers or magazine or different photographs, but I actually paint all my papers with acrylic paint or alcohol ink.”
For any artist, showing (and of course selling) their art is a high water-mark. Both Cassidy and Mullitch were able to sell some paintings (which weren’t necessarily cheap) and were satisfied with the turnout of the reception.
“Oh, well, it’s always nice when someone comes, obviously, and admires your work and wants to have it in their home,” said Mullitch. “So yes, that’s, you know, in many ways you paint for yourself but also your painting for the clients who, you know, hopefully will enjoy the water as much as you enjoy creating it.”
“It makes me feel fulfilled,” said Cassidy. “Like it’s a fulfillment of many hours of work [that] are being appreciated, makes me feel fulfilled and appreciated and valuable.”
Nature and the Inner Self will be showing at the art association’s gallery in Old Town Newhall through Sunday.
For more information on the art association and for future receptions visit bit.ly/3xBompx.