Fertile Valley, Watercolor Monotype, 24″ x 30″
Holly Hughes, a New York based painter and painting instructor, finishing a sabbatical from RISD, began her week here at Oehme Graphics with a quick tour of the studio and stroll around the town of Steamboat Springs with her husband, Bruce. Holly and Sue have had an ongoing relationship of student and teacher; Holly has taken two of Sue’s workshops, one at the Women’s Workshop in New York State, and the other in Steamboat at OG in early 2012. As a tenured professor of painting at RISD, Holly has had much practice as a teacher, but this past week, she had the opportunity to be a student again! This summer, for the first time, Holly and Sue had the chance to collaborate on a print project.
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Toy Table Top, Watercolor Monotype, 13 3/4″ x 16 3/4″
Holly came to OG well prepared for a prolific week. She had been developing a series of watercolor vellums, most of which were printed on her first day here. A couple of these watercolor vellums were made into solar plates. Throughout the week, Holly continued to make watercolor vellums some of which were layered with the solar plates while others stood alone. After pulling proofs Holly and Sue sat down and decided on four solar plates to edition.
Woven Garden 3, Watercolor and Oil Monoprint, 13″ x 12″
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Woven Garden 2, Watercolor and Oil Monoprint, 13″ x 12″
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During this past year on sabbatical, she has spent time with her artwork, traveling around the globe, continuing her search for inspiration. Holly is interested in ancient mythology and decorative design traditions, which take apparent shape in her pieces. She has created an elaborate abstracted symbolic vocabulary, and creates intriguing compositions compelled by an expert color palette, while other times she works directly from her interest in decorative tiles, complying imagery in a grid-like manor.
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Holly’s week here at OG was exciting, everyday showed a wall covered in new pieces ranging from small to large, monochromatic to polychromatic. The week ended with a quick signing and a night at the local rodeo, something not to be missed in our western town of Steamboat Springs!
Please visit our website to view all of Holly Hughes’ work.