Show Preview | Whistle Pik Galleries: Fall National Show

Fredericksburg, TX, October 5-November 30

Michael Malm, Playful Wonder, oil painting

Michael Malm, Playful Wonder, oil, 24 x 12.

This story was featured in the October 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Order the Southwest Art magazine October 2012 print edition here, or purchase the Southwest Art magazine October 2012 digital download here. Or subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!

“It’s the two F’s, Fredericksburg and fall,” laughs owner Tim Taylor, explaining the reasons behind the annual Fall National Show at Whistle Pik Galleries. Autumn weather in the charming, artsy Hill Country town is, he says, “pretty near perfect, with cool evenings and days warm enough for a golf game,” making October and November a peak tourist season in the region. So it seemed only natural, he says, to stage a major show during a period when “there are so many people walking through the streets of Fredericksburg.”

For Taylor, that means featuring Whistle Pik’s “stalwarts,” strong-selling artists who have a long history with the gallery and enjoy collector attention from coast to coast (hence the word “national” in the show’s name). This year, he invited nine of the gallery’s regulars—“not even a fifth” of the total number of artists it represents. They cover a broad cross-section of works: oils and bronzes; subjects ranging from landscapes to wildlife, western scenes to figurative paintings; and styles as varied as tight realism, sleek modernism, and gentle impressionism. “The show has something for everybody,” says Taylor. Among those included in the show are Larry Dyke (“among the best waterfall, stream, and river painters in the country,” says Taylor), sculptor and painter G. Harvey (“one of the most popular artists in America, always keeping the mark high”), and painter Chauncey Homer (“phenomenal narrative work with a very fresh style”).

Taylor expects most, and possibly all, of the nine artists to be on hand on October 5, from 6 to 8 p.m., for the opening reception, complete with hors d’oeuvres and refreshments. The event is timed to coincide with Fredericksburg’s popular monthly First Friday Art Walk, when all 13 of the town’s galleries stay open late and many of them offer special entertainment as well.

Michael Malm, Turning Gold, oil painting

Michael Malm, Turning Gold, oil, 24 x 24.

The show and the opening promise to be particularly pleasurable thanks to Whistle Pik’s unique personality. “The owners and their staff have created a very relaxed atmosphere that shows off the artworks in a natural, homelike environment,” explains participating artist Mick Doellinger, represented by the gallery since 2009. Among his bronzes on display in this year’s show are TOTEM, a bison head, and ANTICIPATION, a Labrador retriever.

“Whistle Pik has such a family atmosphere,” agrees oil painter Sonya Terpening, an impressionist whom Taylor describes as “one of the best storytellers in painting today,” and a gallery stalwart since 2000. Among the idyllic works she says are likely to be included in the show are a nostalgic landscape featuring an old stone farmhouse and a gnarled live oak, and the painting titled A GOOD LISTENER, portraying a young girl sharing a quiet moment with her dog. The other four artists in the show are Gerald Balciar, John Cook, Veryl Goodnight, and Michael Malm.

To Terpening, the opening reception “feels like a personal party with really, really good art on the walls”—and, it might be added, happy throngs of partygoers. Tim Taylor anticipates “as many as 200 guests in attendance at any one time. That kind of buzz is always fun, for the artists and the collectors alike.” —Norman Kolpas

contact information
830.990.8151
 www.whistlepik.com

Featured in the October 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art magazine October 2012 digital download
Southwest Art magazine October 2012 print edition
Or subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!