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The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, January 31, 2013
Eye Street Editor Jennifer Self | Phone 395-7434 | e-mail jself@bakersfield.com
Index ‘Camp to Campus’ screening .................. 18 CSUB Opera Scenes .................................. 19 Arts Alive.................................................. 20 Father & Daughter Dance ........................ 21 The Lowdown with Matt Munoz.............. 22 Styx .......................................................... 23 St. Francis Game and Card Party............ 24 Calendar .............................................. 28-29
Artfelt: Works of love, loss First Friday art shows include strikingly sensual canvases BY STEFANI DIAS Contributing writer
W
ith four art openings and the official unveiling of a mural that celebrates Bakersfield’s rich guitar-making history, there’s a lot to love about First Friday in February. Betty Leonor — whose exhibit, “Love, Betty,” opens Friday at Metro Galleries — is a woman who knows a lot about bringing love to her work. The primarily selftaught artist has drawn inspiration from her love life since her first major heartbreak at age 19. “I began painting not to be an artist, but as a way of releasing whatever conflicts I encountered. ... All my work in the beginning was personal. Not just personal, private, a diary. I had to keep it in my house.” Leonor’s romantic disappointments fueled much of her early output while she worked in marketing at a financial services agency to support herself and her son, Jonathan. Now lucky in love (married to Cal State Bakersfield baseball coach Bill Kernen), Leonor still pulls from her past for her paintings, which she focuses on full time. “It (my work) has to do with nostalgia, that you go back. Now that I’m married, I laugh and go back. It’s reliving in a different life. Once it’s over, you see it different.” Since becoming a full-time artist, Leonor, 40, has had the opportunity to fully develop her technique. “I learned more in the last four to five years I’ve been doing this than in the last 15. (Before) it was only on weekends that I was able to paint; I wasn’t looking for growth. (Now) I had to bring it up a notch, look at it in a professional way. I paint every single day. There isn’t a ‘weekend.’” That process allows Leonor to explore painting in a more universal way, to tell a story for all women, not just for herself. “I try to keep my own story private. I want people to see it and relate. I learned to pull some things out so other people can relate, try to cover the face or show a back so more people can connect. “I like (depicting) women that are strong, but you still see the softness. None are exempt from being hurt.” Leonor said “Autonomous,” her favorite piece in the show of 40 works, is a nod to her early days when she painted for herself. The work depicts a woman in repose, holding the hand of a mostly unseen man. “It takes me back, if you were to see paintings when I used to paint. ... It’s a
PHOTO COURTESY OF DON MARTIN
“Autonomous” is part of the exhibit “Love, Betty — The Betty Leonor Collection,” which opens Friday at Metro Galleries.
complete in the fall, and she looks forward to a conference in Georgia for the Portrait Society of America, of which she is a member. “That (series of workshops) is always refreshing. There is a wealth of connections and knowledge.”
Travel art at BAA Art Center
PHOTO COURTESY OF NORMA EATON
This Charlotte White piece is part of her exhibit, “Israel,” which opens Friday at the Bakersfield Art Association’s Art Center.
blend of what I have learned and what I didn’t know then.” The artist continues to grow artistically as she plans a book of her work (paintings, along with poems and letters) she hopes to
Like Leonor, Charlotte White is an artist whose work follows her on her travels. The fruits of her recent trip to the Middle East are the focus of the exhibit “Israel,” opening Friday at the Bakersfield Art Association’s Art Center. White recently took an 11-day trip to Israel with choir members from Valley Baptist Church for the Bethlehem Christmas Festival. Exploring Bethlehem and Jerusalem, White found inspiration from the steps of Via Dolorosa to the path of Masada. She also was inspired by a common travel experience: long lines. “We had to go through customs — everyone in the world is going through customs. I took a newspaper and drew (the scene) on it. ... It’s kind of fun when you look at the print through it. It’s like wallpaper.” Although the informal, whimsical nature of the pieces in the show are not new to
First Friday “Love, Betty — The Betty Leonor Collection,” 5 to 9 p.m., Metro Galleries, 1604 19th St. “Israel,” art by Charlotte White, 6 to 8 p.m., Bakersfield Art Association's Art Center, 1817 Eye St. Patti Doolittle, reception, 6 to 8 p.m., Dagny’s Coffee Co., 1600 20th St. “The Perceptual Focus,” art by Leonid Koff, 5 to 9 p.m., The Foundry, 1608 19th St. Bakersfield guitar mural, official unveiling, 6 p.m., Padre parking lot, 19th and H.
the part-time art teacher at Valley Oaks Charter School, fans accustomed to seeing her detailed oils may think the work represents a new direction. “This is work that I’ve been doing off and on. Working with oil pastel and newspaper is not uncommon for me. The first time was a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. When I got to the show, I had brought my oil pastels and watercolors but had forgot the paper in the car. I went down to the snack bar and bought a paper. Then I Please see FRIDAY / 26