Beyond Paint

How do you convey the mood of a place in an abstract painting? At first, California artist Mary Weatherford used layers of color and texture to achieve that goal. But she sometimes felt that she hadn’t quite captured the essence of the places that inspired her works.

One night, after noticing how a glowing neon sign gave depth to the natural light and colors of the surrounding area, she began adding neon bulbs to her paintings to achieve the same effect. Depending on the painting, Weatherford uses pink, yellow, orange, blue, or other neon bulbs.

In her 2015 double wave at Windansea, top image, which was inspired by the ocean waves near Windansea Beach in California, Weatherford uses a blue neon bulb. The artificial light bounces off the layers of paint to help create the feeling of the state’s unique coastal light.

California artist Mary Weatherford makes abstract works inspired by places. But how do you capture the feeling of a place without showing it in a realistic way? One night, Weatherford noticed a glowing neon sign. She liked how it looked with the surrounding natural light and colors. She began adding neon bulbs to her paintings to achieve the same effect. 

The ocean waves near Windansea Beach in California inspired her 2015 double wave at Windansea, top image. Weatherford uses a blue neon bulb. The artificial light bounces off the layers of paint. This helps to recreate the feeling of the light along the California coast. 

In school, Sonia Gomes learned that “not everything is art, but art can be anything.” She applies this to her own art. Gomes creates work from fabrics she finds or that people give her. She also uses wire, driftwood, old birdcages, and other found objects. 

Gomes was born in the Brazilian town of Caetanópolis. She ties, twists, stuffs, and sews her sculptures into organic, or curved, shapes. They reflect Afro-Brazilian culture and history. Caetanópolis was once an important textile manufacturing center. 

The artist made Gaiola, above, in 2016. Gomes stitches a sculpture and places it inside a birdcage. She wants viewers to think about the meaning of freedom and racism in Brazil. The country didn’t abolish slavery until 1888.

Gomes creates art by upcycling, or reusing materials to make something new. The materials honor local traditions. They “bring the history of the people that they belonged to and I give a new significance to them,” Gomes says.

Sonia Gomes reuses discarded materials in her art. This is called upcycling. The town where the artist was born was once an important textile manufacturing center. Today the Brazilian artist works with textiles, wire, driftwood, old birdcages, and other found objects. 

Gomes sews and sculpts organic, or curved, shapes. They reflect Afro-Brazilian culture and history. To make her 2016 Gaiola, below, Gomes stitches a sculpture and places it in a birdcage. She wants viewers to consider the meaning of freedom in Brazil. The country didn’t abolish slavery until 1888.

Gomes honors local traditions. She says her materials “bring the history of the people that they belonged to and I give a new significance to them.”