Orland art show: gallery double take

Visitors to the Orland Art Gallery likely will do double takes at the displays for the April art show.

Northern California artist Jeff Fennel's "Double Vision" exhibit incorporates very traditional landscapes and portraits on one side of the gallery and space-age fantasy on the other.

This is his first show in Orland and his first one-man exhibition in this large a space, Orland Arts Commissioner Rae Turnbull said.

The showing runs through April 28 at 732 Fourth St.

Hours are 1-7p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

Fennel is an award-winning artist and illustrator who gained an appreciation of the wild from his father, an avid outdoorsman.

He became involved in art while attending Shasta College in Redding and taking courses there.

His show biography said the "space race" excited him and he followed the Apollo space program along with astronomy and science fiction.

The space-themed art follows that vein and includes paintings on aluminum, a space-age metal, Turnbull said.

In fact, Fennel is a member of the International Association of Astronomical Artists and a frequent speaker at science fiction conventions throughout the West, he said.

"My personal artistic journey has led me in a variety of directions," Fennel said, in a statement, "But always with the idea of communication, expression and connection as focus."

He added "This connection, the creative impulse that resonates between artist and viewer, through time and across cultural, gender and political boundaries, is profoundly moving to me."

Fennel closed by saying his goal as an artist is to express his vision in direct and powerful ways that connect with the viewer and promote a "deep, meaningful response within them."

Turnbull said about 65 pieces are in the show with many works for sale.

Many of the landscapes, done in oil on canvas or linen, were painted on site in the "plein air" method, she said.

The abstract artwork primarily is painted on aluminum to include space objects, planetary visions and other fanciful items.

Fennel also will have some space-inspired sculptures in the show, Turnbull said, but they are not traditional ones.

For more information, visit www.orlandartgallery.com.

Contact Rick Longley at 934-6800 or rlongley@tcnpress.com.