Short Hills resident Sandra Gelman Wolf contributed this month’s painting "Chateau Garden" for the front cover of The Showcase.
After a career in securities law, Sandi returned to an earlier interest in art and was honored to present her "First Show" at THE GALLERY at the Summit Free Public Library, June 1 through July 31, 2010. "My life – as an attorney, a wife, a mother of two, an active community volunteer and a PTO president – was always about the details," she said. "In my art, I try to leave behind the "baggage" of details and to express my raw feelings about my subject without trying to depict it literally."
Her training began recently, two years ago to be exact. Wolf's mother was a painter, who worked on mostly landscapes, still life, and paintings of horses. They interested her, but Wolf didn't recognize her own talent. Sandi took an oil painting class with Jessica Lenard at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey (V.A.C.). In the "no rules" class everyone was encouraged to paint their own work, and offer advice and comments to better each student's artistry.
When the V.A.C. asked her to hold her own exhibit at the Summit Library, Wolf was honored. She took nine months to prepare both at the V.A.C. and at her small home studio.
"First Show" displays Wolf's flair for nature and color. She says her strength is finding the right colors and she hopes to continue to evolve and broaden her technique to include architecture and portraits.
"I usually start with a photograph as a compositional reference, but look away from it at some magic point in the process. It is then that I let my feelings take over and make the scene my own personal expression without regard to reality or detail. My goal is to evoke a feeling through color, line, stroke and texture. I prefer subtlety over detail, suggestion rather than exact depiction and a hint instead of an overworked statement…a great departure from the detailed requirements of everyday life."
An accomplished pianist, Sandi draws parallels between musical composition and painting. "For me, musical notes equate to lines, harmonies to colors, key signatures and octaves to shades and hues of color, variations in tempo to boldness of brush stroke. At the heart of both areas, it is all about awakening one's deep inner feelings and letting them thrive." Her exhibition runs the gamut from landscapes to still lifes to wholly abstract representations of the world around us.
While enjoying life with her husband, Geoffrey, and their two children, Wolf will work on expanding her repertoire of painting. She also has hopes to return to work in the elder law field.
For more information you can email Sandi at sfgwolf@comcast.net.
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