Art Auction

Mountain Lake PBS Auction 4/23-4/25

PBS is a well-known and nationally respected station, adored by children thanks to broadcasts such as Sesame Street, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. As a non-profit organization, Mountain Lake PBS must work diligently, organizing fundraisers to insure that they will remain capable of providing grumpy, green garbage can creatures, and oversized dogs to appreciative children on Saturday mornings.

The most profitable and cooperative fundraiser that the station coordinates is the annual Arts Auction. It is a much-admired community event and everyone is invited to participate Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25. Artists throughout the United States and Canada donate their work to the station to be sold to the public. This allows Mountain Lake the opportunity to make money, while providing artists with recognition that they might not normally receive. This year is particularly special because they have dedicated an Adirondack Theme in honor of the auction’s 20th anniversary. Therefore, they are encouraging artists who are passionate about the Adirondacks to participate. Although the donation period has passed, there is still plenty of time to check out the artwork and place a bid. The collection will be on display to the public March 27-28 at the Stewart Museum at the Fort Ile Sainte-Helene in Montreal, then once again April 4-18, 5-7pm at the Council on the Arts for Clinton County. In addition, the Mountain Lake PBS web site will display photographs of the artwork at all times, leading up to the auction date.

Each year various people are highlighted as “featured” or “profiled” artists. Profiled artists are labeled as “up-and-coming” artists, chosen by PBS and the Arts Council. People’s choice awards from the previous year determine the featured artists. This year, the station is profiling Linda Harwood and David Monette, and featuring Maureen McShane, Amneris Fernandez, and Barry Lobdell. Each artist has a unique style and together they create a very wide spectrum of the arts.

Linda Harwood

With determination to create the art she had fallen in love with in a respected carver’s shop, Linda Harwood began carving in 1995. She joined the Champlain Valley Woodcarvers Club to gain the skills she needed, and was inspired and taught by many local carvers. As a resident of the North Country, it came as no surprise when Harwood learned of the Club’s emphasis on carving birds. She quickly gained a respect for the idea and now admits, “My favorite part of carving a bird is detailing the feather groups.”
Harwood has come a long way since 1995, exhibiting her birds locally, on Long Island, in Maryland, and in Florida. In 2000, she won second place in the Quebec Wildfowl Carving Show in Montreal, and her work has been shown several times at the North Country Cultural Center for the Arts.

David Monette

“Realistic” is a fresh and interesting word to describe fantasy artwork. The idea may seem an oxymoron, but it makes perfect sense to David Monette. He stretches his imagination to produce what reality would look like if dragons roamed the earth, and wizards determined human fate. “I try to paint things as they are and how they would be. I try to render things as realistically as possible.” As creative and unique is his attitude, so is his artwork.
Monette has completed numerous paintings for the overwhelmingly popular gaming and hobby industry. Perhaps the most popular, is a card game based on the JRR Tolkien’s book series, called Wizards of the Coasts’ Magic The Gathering. Monette is adamant that his biggest achievement is that he is “Continually improving.”

Maureen McShane

Painting the intense colors of flowers, fish, and landscape allows Maureen McShane to express herself and share her joy with others. She has always loved to create, “to make something out of nothing,” and if painting is absent from her life she feels as if she is not living to her full potential. McShane completes 30-40 paintings a year and still finds time to utilize her medical degree. Two days a week she practices medicine in a walk-in clinic in Plattsburgh, New York, where many of her paintings have been on display over the past two years. To combine her passions, her next goal is to create a series of medical teaching posters to motivate people to take care of their health.

Amneris Fernandez

Living on several continents over the course of his life has inspired Amneris Fernandez to paint what “identifies a country as real.” From tropical Venezuela, to historical Europe, to snowy Canada, Fernandez quickly developed an appreciation for the authenticity of culture, and has carried his artistic skills with him on every journey. Upon moving to Canada, the wildlife, Inuit, and dogs immediately captured his attention, and encouraged him to represent the daily lives of the countries’ people. Ironically, his frosty paintings exude a feeling of warmth, which is a talent he adopted in Venezuela. He says, he did not choose to be an artist; he thanks God every day for giving him this precious gift.

Barry Lobdell

Natural landscape and Cultural landscape are the two dominant themes in Barry Lobdell’s photography. He “reveals nature’s beauty by exploring the emotional and spiritual substance of the moment, as inspired by the always changing environmental conditions.” Lobdell has received tremendous recognition regionally and nationally. Just recently he was one of four artists who contributed to “Places of the Spirit”, an exhibition and book documenting sacred places in the Adirondack Mountains, sponsored by the Lake Placid Institute for the Arts and Humanities. He was honored when his piece, “White Pine Teahouse” was chosen for the cover of the book.

These six people can only begin to describe the abounding talent that this auction has to offer. If you are an art lover, a viewer of PBS, or a supportive community member, show your interest by participating in this event!

What do you think of these artists?