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ARTIST STATEMENT Sandi Whetzel A WINE ODDYSSEY

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ARTIST STATEMENT  Sandi Whetzel   A WINE ODDYSSEY

Early in my art career, I was strongly attracted to curvaceous, graceful shapes in sensual flora subjects. After a few years, I took a slight artistic detour--a painting competition to promote a premiere wine event. To win, I knew I'd have to create a concept conveying their theme, Wine on the Vine, better than any other. This challenge was pivotal--I had limited experience inventing paintings from my imagination. I thought about all things wine--grapevines, vineyards, wine bottles, goblets toasting, finely set tables, formally-attired maitre d's, etc. However, I was looking for an exceptional concept.

I honed in on the graceful shapes of wine bottles, thinking I might paint them abstractly, nestled among grapevines. I sketched five robustly curved wine bottles hanging from grapevine stems in groups of three and two--each bottle placed at a slightly different angle, gently swaying in the wind. More ideas for the concept occurred as I continued sketching. Aha! I added a big cluster of grapes growing inside each bottle. And what about adding a pearly-gold textured moon above the grapevines? Using large circular brush strokes, I radiated the moon glow out into the evening sky. Determined, I gathered fallen, wind-twisted grape leaves and grapevine tendrils to study their curving structures. I experimented with the direction and position of each leaf and the careful placement of just a few graceful tendrils to enhance the visual flow of the vines.

Ideas for the painting continued flowing--glistening highlights, colored reflections and shadows in the grapes, bottles and leaves revealed form and transparency. The wind-blown grape leaves, the climbing tendrils and the skewed placement of the bottles echoed the radiating pattern of the moonlit sky. The elegant, rhythmic movement appealed to many viewers. The painting succeeded because it came entirely from my imagination--I devoted considerable thought to each element of the design, expressing Wine on the Vine like no other. This painting experience taught me what can be when you trust your imagination to lead you in your creative endeavors.

The overwhelming enthusiastic response to that first wine painting inspired me to enter other competitions. Each contest yielded paintings I might not have created without these challenges. The wine paintings sold more quickly than my graceful floras. Wineries and wine enthusiasts popped up all over the Umpqua Valley. Between wine events, I dreamed up other ideas to fit my twists on wine : elegant celebration, romantic fantasy or whimsy. My wine odyssey continues.

In each painting, my goal is to outshine the previous one. I aim to impress and connect with wine enthusiasts--It's almost as if I am creating commercials for the wine industry. In my wine-frame-of-mind, I ask, "What feelings are associated with wine and how can I convey those feelings exceptionally?" When viewers are drawn-in to the fantasy, they imagine their version of the suggested story line. If I can add a romantic hook, all the better. My passion for curvy shapes easily glides into the graceful wine bottles, goblets and elements I associate with them. Stimulating, breathtaking color, novel subject matter, fluid lines, movement and rhythm are all part of the design to draw the viewer in to my wine odyssey.