Landscapes: 3 Artists’ Views – Ambrosier, Mehmert & Zimmer

April 5 – 9, 2023

Artist Reception April 6 from 4 – 8 pm

Artist Open House April 8 from 12 – 4 pm

Three celebrated Evergreen artists join forces in this temporary pop-up exhibition at Center for the Arts Evergreen: pastel artist Roger Ambrosier, oil painter Warren Zimmer, and watercolorist and oil painter Laura Mehmert. Don’t miss this colorful exhibit offering three distinct ‘views’ on the art of landscapes.

ROGER AMBROSIER

Roger Ambrosier draws his inspiration from his ancestral home in northwest Missouri. The landscapes are directly connected with his own experiences there. Having been born on his great grandparents’ farm, he spent his days wandering through fields, woods, and streams. This encompasses an area of three miles by half a mile. With Lost Creek running through this area, and bordered by Baker and Gospel Roads, Roger intuitively felt his connection with the spirituality of this unique ancestral farm. Many of his titles are purposely related to his closeness to the land.

His paintings are directly connected with the Tonalist style of painting that existed from the 1880s to the 1920s by artists such as Inness, Murphy, Eaton, and Crane. Their influence came from writers Thoreau and Emerson. The mood of the Tonalist Painters emphasized symbolism, a quiet poetic solitary experience, mysterious, timeless, and transcendent. These suggestive qualities are used as opposed to a detailed description of the landscape.

These notes were given by National Pastel Juror, Debra Bays, about Roger’s pastels. “His paintings whisper. They are poetical and contemplative. The view of the natural world seems cohesive and at peace. We find enchantment and see the world as we wish it to be.”

LAURA MEHMERT

To write, paint, or sculpt is a lifelong process. It takes courage and tenacity to pour one’s heart out and put it on public view. It is risky but rewarding. I paint because it gives me pleasure and fills me with energy. It balances me. I strive to paint with a fresh eye and open heart. I hope you will receive the same joy from my work as I do creating it.

I studied at the University of Missouri Kansas City and have taught private watercolor and oil classes for 40 years.

Awards and Recognition

• Sculpture “The Firefighter” commission for Evergreen Fire Dept.
  Second place Equine Art for the Parks Mar, 2016
• Best of Show (Oil), Paint Shoot Sculpt, 2009
• First Place (Watercolor), Paint Shoot Sculpt, 2006
• Commissioned work, 8-ft bronze “The Foreman” at Hiwan Museum, 1998
• Loveland Sculpture Show, Benson Park, 1995-1996
• Commissioned work, 7 ft. stork, Mother-Time Store, 1995
• Life-sized bronze horse bust, Morris Animal Foundation, 1995
• Finalist for life-sized sculpture, Evergreen Lake House, 1995
• Finalist for life-sized sculpture, Evergreen Library, 1993
• Best of Show, Audubon Society

WARREN ZIMMER

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design with a Fine Arts Degree, I turned to a career in advertising. Although this career path left me with little time to paint,  it enabled me to travel, to see more sharply and slowly crystalize my personal vision.

My goal in each painting is to create an evocative visual poetry, uniquely composed and executed, that warrants both quiet contemplation and elevates the subject matter beyond the picturesque.