SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack Artists Guild welcomes new members Catherine Hartung and Peter Seward into its stable of artists.
NATURE LOVER
Hartung is a mixed-media artist whose work has been inspired by a love of nature.
She creates both representational and abstract paintings, sometimes merging the two styles to create something in between. Her’s work celebrates native flora and has been influenced by her transformation from a traditional gardener to one who now focuses on plants that provide homes and food for pollinators and other wildlife.
Her goal in these paintings is to reveal the richly textured and colorful beauty across all four seasons. She has also been exploring an abstract series, examining the relationship between planet Earth and the humans who live on it, according to a press release.
“Now currently, what I’m really trying to work on is being a little more aware of a direction of with what I’m creating,” Hartung said. “During COVID, I had really gotten interested in creating meadows just for wildlife. There’s been a real learning experience.
“I realize there’s still a lot of people who think of a domestic garden as being the garden that they want to have. What I’m trying to do is just show the beauty that’s in the wildness when you’re outside. Things aren’t perfect, but think of all the life is around and how beautiful that can be. That one, I’ve mostly been using watercolor and acrylics for.
“Then I’ve also worked on kind of coincide with that one in terms of being a little worried about the Earth and where we’re going as a society and just a lot of what has happened, even politically, and just cuts to funding and everything like that. It’s sort of like that’s been my therapy. I’m doing kind of an Earth series where it’s all sort of related to everyday life as humans living on the Earth and what we can do to make a difference.”
Hartung graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in jewelry and metals. She worked for many years as a graphic artist before returning to her fine arts background. She has received a number of awards and features in New York state, according to a press release.
At the AAG Gallery, her painting “Shared Humanity” was originally titled “Lost Humanity.”
“I started thinking and, really, what it is: We are all one people and on this Earth, how we work together, how we live together, is really claiming each other as individuals and being able to see that and have that love and compassion,” Hartung said.
“A couple of years ago, when I was trying to figure out where I was going to go, took a workshop in Maine with an abstract painter. He was working with abstract painting and kind of the process. When you’re painting, I think that a lot people think of realism. A lot of people are amazing, realistic artists. I still like doing things like that, but there’s also an abstract part that I’m really drawn to because when you doing the abstract, sort of like poetry, you can say things abstractly that you can’t realistically sometimes. It’s like another form of expression, relating different thoughts or combining different thoughts. I have all these physical aspects of design that makes the design work, but there’s a whole other level being more conscious about what you’re trying to express and the whole part of your reason to be doing it.”
Her “Pearly Everlastings,” a watercolor, depicts a plant native to the North Country.
“It’s a type of wildflower, and the reason why it’s important is because it’s a host plant for a whole species of different kinds of butterflies and insects,” she said. “They need that plant to lay their eggs and to find food. Of course, all around it I have other flowers. They’re not at the point where they’re going to have blossoms on them, but they will later on. There’s goldenrod and a bunch of other things that’s also in that painting. That’s one of my large watercolors.”
GUILD INVITATION
Hartung’s mother was born in the southern Adirondacks, and she grew up in the Albany area.
“My husband and I lived in Maine for nine years while he was doing his residency, and we came back here because his family was originally from here,” she said.
“We came back for a funeral, and we were like, ‘Wow, the Adirondacks are just so beautiful.’ We ended up making this our home.
“I really like Saranac Lake. I like the community there. There’s a lot of artists. They’re doing a lot of really interesting, good things, so I was thrilled that they invited me to interview to become a member.
“I think being in a group and interacting with an art group like that is like a whole other form of energy that keeps your brain connecting and going — interacting with the public as well. I’m pretty much kind of an introvert. I would probably be at home more than I am going out and doing things, so for me, it’s a way to connect with people as well.
“I’ve met really interesting people, and I really enjoy talking to them about not only my art, but other people’s art and sharing with them any knowledge that I have.”
If You Go The Adirondack Artists Guild is a cooperative retail art gallery representing a diverse group of artists residing and working in the Tri-Lakes region of the Adirondack Park. The gallery is located at 52 Main St., Saranac Lake. Phone: 518-891-2615. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. — 5 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. — 3. p.m. The Guild is on Facebook, Instagram, and on the web at www.adirondackartistsguild.com.