A Sense of Place in the Appalachian Wilderness
An enduring subject matter in the midst of transformation.
The endurance of the Appalachians as a haven and hideout. The mountains have seen cycles of transformation in society.
Starting with the classics and seeing where it goes.
In 2024, there’s a foreboding atmosphere despite the timeless concept of landscape painting. What will this year bring to the locality?
A sense of place
— my transformation of what that means now that I’ve lived in Appalachia longer than any place in my life. (home)
— what it means in the contemporary and the Anthropocene. How will it change?
Migration to Appalachia (one of many ideal locations for climate change refugees/migrants)
Crowding —> maximalist —> an abundance of color and form
Wayfaring Beacon, 18”x24”, acrylic on wood panel, 2024
The build up of rocks and vegetation alongside the Pigeon River gives a maximalist sense of nature in terms of its design. Crowded, but just enough room to breathe.
Using color as a means to bring a joyous, hopeful aesthetic, despite it’s connotations of camp. Hope for the future despite the changes to come.
Referring to the sense of place, influenced by childhood. Appalachia is my new sense of place.
Color depicting the utopia, in the perspective of climate change refugees (bright, romantic)
Finding comfort in the “picturesque;” a way to tame the wildness for human understanding. What will this view look like in 30 years?
Final result of one of the phthalo blue underpaintings. The warmth of the green shade of blue is a good base for the golden hour. Like the last bit of energy before turning in for the day.
Played on translucent pigments to give movement and a sense of breathing.
Flat head brushes used to retain structure to the forms.
Created this painting without an underpainting to get a more delicate sensibility, remarking on the fragility of the clouds.
The addition of the line of light cutting horizontally across the scape was an instinct, deriving from my love of contemporary and minimalistic design, Japanese woodblock prints, and a science fiction or cinematic flair. The landscape transforms from timeless to “futuristic.”
A Collective Artistic Expression
“As part of Homecoming Weekend events, a special group of artists have come together to highlight their artistic abilities and celebrate the exceptional education and training experiences they received at UNC-Asheville.”
Opening Reception: Friday, February 9th 4-6pm @ Ramsey Library, Blower Gallery
Homecoming Alumni Art Exhibit: Saturday, February 17th 11 am-12pm
“Tess Darling ’13
Darling pursues wild areas to capture wildlife and landscapes in her paintings. Her field work in photography and sketching enables her to create detailed work using acrylic and mixed media as her medium. Dramatic line work, structure, layering techniques, and a contemporary, pop-naturalist process captures the fleeting expression of wildlife.” UNCA
Asheville Made by Lauren Stepp and The Laurel of Asheville
My work from my latest continuation of Into the Hollow will be in this group exhibition.
Into the Hollow cont.
Science fiction continues to inspire, especially when the “dystopia” feels all too real.
Vibrant colors give a sense of radiation/toxicity though also beautiful as it glows. An earthly place but it feels changed, dangerous.
Self portrait in front of glowing things; an implication of fireflies because that’s what we understand visually, but the face mask gives it a more sinister feel.
Progress report— these two still need a few more adjustments but they will be ready for the UNCA Alumni show Feb. 9th-26th at the UNCA Ramsey Library in the Blower’s Gallery.
Through the Hollow
In progress. A continuation of the science fiction, exploration aesthetic. 24” x 36”, acrylic, 2023.
Creating a narrative. Something said about the relationship between human and nature, where humans need protection in order to explore a seemingly tranquil scene.
The “halo” — a future, technological effect? Or an icon symbol from the past, turning them into a “saint”, or holy figure.
Humans as stewards of the earth.
Through the Hollow, 9” x 12”, acrylic on canvas, 2023
An impression of the Hellbender with motion and color and a moody science fiction aesthetic.
Wanderings away from the hollow that inspire the mood. Images from Oyster Point Campground.
I was able to finish the painting after remembering these photos.
Using technology for inspiration — the phone camera can capture night scenes in a convenient way. The marvels of mundane and modern capabilities.
Coastal Inspiration
Space, light, and color at the end of the world.
Lavender lighting in the morning. Quiet and solitude.
Powerful waves in a coastal wilderness.
Washing away the earth
Primordial setting. Where life started on earth.
Decorative Elements
Sections, blocks, and subtle traces of abstracted patterns within the background or alongside the subject.
These elements emphasize the two-dimensionality and the iconography of the space.
Sharing the Road, 8” x 8”, mixed media on wood panel, 2023.
Using the left block as a decorative example of the environment the subject lives in.
Sanctuary, 8” x 8”, mixed media on wood panel, 2019.
Using graffiti-inspired tracings to compose the background.
The Forager, 18” x 24”, acrylic and ink on wood panel, 2019
Using the impression of vegetation as means to “fill up” the space and the iconographic “halo” I’m drawn to strongly focus the viewer’s eye.
The use of foliage is an element I’ve turned to recently. I’m surrounded by it in my home environment. It draws comfort, protection, connection to nature and disconnect from humans (hiding myself and the neighbors)… until winter. Autumn is a reminder of the lost of coverage to come— change.
In progress with leaves in the background.
Surrounded by patterns, where the wilderness and the rural boundaries collide.
Natural decoration around the studio.
The stars offer another repetitive, natural decoration. Photograph taken from my surroundings.
Lost Words, 8” x 10”, acrylic on paper, 2023.
Having the patience to use only “dots” to fill the space and make the greater picture.
Arcadia (Beast), 9” x 12”, acrylic and graphite on canvas, 2023.
Application of the stars to fill the space. There are still moments to breathe, but the subject’s world seems to open up with the night sky as its backdrop.
Nocturnal Prelude, 36” x 36”, mixed media on canvas, 2023.
Using the iconic halo around the portrait and filled in with stars. The starscape was a peaceful, repetitive motion for myself working as an artist. The patience is worth the resulting visual.
Nocturnal Prelude detail with increased brightness and contrast.
Continuing series “Into the Hollow”
Arcadia (Beast), 9” x 12”, acrylic and graphite on canvas, 2023
A wash of peace and wonder when painting a starry background.
Creating an iconographic image by using the circle to focus in on the portrait, as well as a sense of the space helmet — a globe of protection?
Combined with my animal portraits tangent.
Continuing to use different parts of the sky from my reference photos of home. I retain a sense of place for myself, while the viewer is allowed to imagine a greater environment.
Maintaining color from the reference photographs with a heightened saturation to give it a “pop art” aspect.
Naturalist Pop Art
Into the Hollow series
Similarity with Ursa Major (9x12, mixed media on canvas, 2023, Sold).
Combination of star-scape with a wildlife portrait.
Continuation of a blue tone which evokes peace, melancholy, nocturne, fantasy…
Contemporary Series
Local landscapes on horizontal 8”x16” wood panels in a contemporary setting.
In progress of concept.
A sense of wilderness/wildness/awe/nature mixed with the comforts of human life.
Reference photos I’ve taken from the highway interest me so far. A sense of place, travel… a wholeness to the environment.
02.02.2021, Contemporary III, I-26, Marshall, NC, 4:52 PM… 8” x 16”, acrylic on wood panel, 2023
(winter-scape)
Detail
06.23.2023, Contemporary I, I-26, Marshall, NC, 7:19 AM … 8”x16”, acrylic on wood panel, 2023
(summer-scape)
Using “dots” to convey a sense of light, design, and comfort for man-made things in the distance.
02.09.2021, Contemporary II, I-26, Marshall, NC, 5:52 PM… 8”x16”, acrylic on wood panel, 2023
(winter-scape)
Dots appear to be a “clean” or “neat” way of painting
Wildlife References— the human way
Allows for close observation and detailed photographs, despite a human-created environment which alters behavior and physicality — a consideration when painting their portraits. The painting approach becomes more about design and a reflection on the iconographic quality of the animal (the impact of an image of a black bear, a red fox, a wolf…).
With Composure, 36” x 36”, acrylic on canvas, 2023. The pose could be seen as submissive, contemplative, or a quiet build-up to aggression.
Traces of water/light reflected effect in the brushstrokes on the bottom right.
An accumulation of structure in the facial features. Faint traces of previous work maintained.
Glory, 36” x 36”, acrylic on canvas, 2023 (Red Wolf reference). A painted bust for wildlife.
Creating wildlife sketches in a more humanized setting— a stylized, minimalism focused on basic principles of design to correlate with our human perspective on something wild.
Vox Clamantis in Deserto, 36” x 36”, mixed media on canvas, 2023 (Red Fox reference [ “voice calling out to the wilderness”])
A recent batch of photographs taken from the WNC Nature Center in Asheville, NC.
Rehabilitated wildlife in a human environment.
Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes
North American River Otter, Lontra canadensis
Hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
Other photographs taken from previous visits —
Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina
Rattlesnake
Grey Wolf, Canis lupus
Grey Wolf
Grey Fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Into the Hollow
Available for viewing in person at Mark Bettis Studio and Gallery, 123 Roberts Street, Asheville, NC.
Labyrinth at Dawn, 36” x 48”, mixed media on canvas, 2023
Experience, 12” x 12”, mixed media, 2023
The Night Traveler, 12” x 12”, mixed media, 2023
Rediscovered Legends, 8” x 10”, mixed media on paper, 2023
Lost Words, 8” x 10”, acrylic on paper, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Mark Bettis
Mark Bettis Gallery
941.587.9502
MARK BETTIS GALLERY PRESENTS
“INTO THE HOLLOW”
AN OPENING EVENT FEATURING
ASHEVILLE ARTIST TESS DARLING
ASHEVILLE, NC March 10, 2023 – Mark Bettis Gallery announces a new art show featuring Asheville artist Tess Darling, beginning May 13th, 2023, at Bettis’ River Arts District Asheville gallery. This showcase, titled “Into the Hollow”, is a meditated mixed media exploration of the Appalachian cove.
“Into the Hollow” exhibition will run from May 13th, 2023, through May 26th, 2023 at the Mark Bettis River Arts District Gallery located at 123 Roberts St. Asheville, NC. The gallery is hosting an opening night reception on Saturday, May 13th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The reception is free and open to the public; refreshments and light hors d’oeuvres will be served. All works will be available for purchase.
Darling’s “Into the Hollow” approaches landscapes, wildlife and portraiture with a subtle science fiction theme, using her detailed sketching and note-taking naturalist style. Her show features mixed media works – using acrylic, ink, and graphite on canvas, wood panels and paper. She describes her show as a “means to rediscover the wonders of nature in Appalachia, combined with visualizing the concept of making contact with other life forms and reflecting on the self as a curious outsider.”
Originally from Chapel Hill, Tess Darling now resides in Asheville. She is a recipient of the Tucker Cooke Scholarship for Studio Drawing at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, and the Penland School of Craft Work Scholarship for Screen-printing. Describing her art to Carolina Home & Garden Magazine, Darling said, “I want to help others connect to the natural world.”
Mark Bettis River Arts District Gallery hours: Monday – Thursday from 10 am to 4 pm, Friday & Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, and by appointment on Sundays.
Mark Bettis Gallery offers two locations in Asheville: the original River Arts District Gallery located at 123 Roberts Street, and the Downtown Asheville Gallery located at 15 Broadway Street. Each gallery features unique and distinctive works of art in a variety of mediums including contemporary paintings, glass, and sculptural work, as well as a variety of rotating exhibitions by local and nationally acclaimed artists. The River Arts District Gallery is a working art studio and gallery, where visitors can observe the creative process as artists compose new works. For more information about the upcoming “Into the Hollow” exhibition and the galleries please visit markbettisgallery.com or contact Mark Bettis at 941-587-9502 or markdbettis@gmail.com
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Cold Wilderness; Winter Inspiration
The bomb cyclone hits Appalachia, and with it comes photographing the nature of ice, rock and water.
Taken in Marshall, NC. An afternoon in the freezing temperatures.
— Something about the black water and the ice; a wild, dangerous look
— The warm and cool temperatures in harmony
Looking UP
Untitled, 8” x 10”, acrylic on paper, 2023
— Looking to outer space; a window to infinity
— The glow is compelling; invokes a feeling
An Exoplanet for Every Star, 8” x 10”, acrylic on paper, 2023
Sublimity in Gold: An Expedition Through Elements of Earth
In View of Lava, 24” x 24”, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022.
Taking Action, 30” x 40”, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022.
A visual journey of an expedition whitewater rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon for 25 days. A transformation from the grinding force of civilization to the serene and daunting wilderness, immersed in a totality of rock, water, and sky. Escaping to the other dimension of the world, where humanity remains in ancient ruins and nature holds its domain.
The elements dictate the fate of the expedition. Nature is the great equalizer. An acceptence of the dire consequences develops an understanding to the fragility of human life. Tragic consciousness-- the sublime creates a strong grasp on the artist's psyche. The most primal fears and moments of awe were felt through the grind. Waking early to find a memoriable sunrise created with a celestial cloud formation, pulsing in the sky. The anticipation of maneuvering past massive hydrolics, with the moment of contact felt as if passing by an eye of a beast. Then rushed through the hall of towering rock while maintaining direction despite the burbling water. The quiet intensity of the hardened landscape, where everything is sharp and desolate.
The bleakness becomes a majesty, aged to a golden hue, where awe is discovered and remembered. Through darkness there is light, through terror there is marvel. The translation of the canyon world through a gold lense evokes a gothic romance, a beauty in the canyon spires and deep swirling water of deadly consequence. The paintings are aged with a sense of an older world.
The artist's attempt to control is remarked upon the subtle forms of draftsmanship, of structural directions visually steering the viewer along a path through the wilderness, to make sense of the exposed elements. The underlying markings are redrawn on top of tonal brushstrokes, grounding the the expanding landscape.
Despite the hostilities of the environment, a grainery constructed into the cliffside remained intact for thousands of years, fingerprints visible in the texture of the binding mixture. Humanity remains a natural marvel of possibilities.
The Threshold, 36” x 60”, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022.
Foreshadowing, 36” x 48”, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022.
PRESS RELEASE:
Asheville, NC – On November 4, 2022, Mark Bettis Gallery will host an opening night reception for wildlife and landscape artist Tess Darling’s newest exhibition: Sublimity in Gold: An Expedition Through Elements of Earth.
The theme of her exhibition, “Sublimity in Gold,” was sparked by Darling’s life-changing whitewater rafting trip on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. She experienced treacherous rapids and overwhelming waves. Then, “on land we scrambled through bouldered trails and crumbling cliffs,” she said. “There were moments of quiet contemplation as we walked in between walls of rock in the depths of slot canyons, interrupted by obstacles of stagnant water or greater heights to climb — one step at a time.”
Tess was inspired by her “highly sought-after journey, seen through the golden hue of its value — enlightenment, ancient knowledge, and danger,” she explained. “The gold lens transcends time and place; the richness of Earth and its sublimity does not end. There’s gold in the perspective of a journey through the wildness of the natural world.”
A Chapel Hill native, Darling told Carolina Home & Garden magazine about her art, “I want to help others connect to the natural world.”
“Sublimity in Gold: An Expedition Through Elements of Earth” will commence with an opening reception on Friday, November 4th, from 5:30—8:00 pm at the Mark Bettis Gallery located at 15 Broadway Street, in downtown Asheville. Also 10% of sales from show will benefit the non-profit organization “Mountain True” which champions resilient forests, clean waters and healthy communities in the Southern Blue Ridge.
Guests will be able to meet and talk with artist Tess Darling during the opening reception. Light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.
For more information about the exhibition and the gallery please visit markbettisgallery.com or contact Mark Bettis at (941) 587-9502 or markdbettis@gmail.com
10% proceeds to Mountain True
In Spite of the Beast (Moonshadow), 18” x 24”, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022
Through Gothic Realms, 18” x 24”, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022
In Slumber, 16” x 20”, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022
A Human (Dis) Interest Story
Photographed by Evan Anderson
Revisiting an article posted in April of 2022 written by Lauren Stepp
A Portrait of Red
24” x 24”, acrylic on canvas, 2022. Commissioned grey fox neighbor.
— A recurring theme when portraits are painted: a stroke of paint to ground the image in combination with a push and pull of realism and abstraction of the subject.
No Fixed Abode
— Continuing the Part of the Environment series in Archive
— Red Fox vulpes vulpes
— The idea of naturally moving from place to place; nomadic. Humans and foxes do this.
— Nomadic: colorful; full of life, variety, experiences; stillness for brief periods
— I’ve captured a brief moment in time when the fox is still, its attention caught by something. A smell perhaps.
— The moment is memorialized into a design. Catching that experience as it moves.
No Fixed Abode, 36” x 48”, acrylic on canvas, 2022
Available at Mark Bettis Studio and Gallery
— The muse
MONOCHROME
Mark Bettis Studio and Gallery, downtown Asheville, Aug. 5th— 12th; Artwork is available after Monochrome exhibit dates
— A color picked for me — turquoise/teal jewel tone
— Inspires something a little more surreal and mysterious
— Appalachian ghost stories; folklore; exploration
The Explorer, 18” x 24”, acrylic on canvas, 2022
The Explorer, detail
— The surreality comes into play with only deer as well.
— Pagan ritual at work
Assembly, 8” x 10”, acrylic on canvas, 2022
Black Bear and Red Wolf
— Recently finished commissioned work
Black Bear, 30” x 42”, acrylic on canvas, 2022
Red Wolf, 30” x 42”, acrylic on canvas, 2022
In View of Lava
— The scouting perspective of Lava Falls Rapid (Class 9/10)
— The last week of the journey through the Grand Canyon. The last large rapid to conquer.
In View of Lava, 24x24, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022
Detail
— A dramatic light was hitting the rocky, sharp shore of the lava field.
— The golden hour
— Remarking on the beauty of the rapid instead of the fear. There was always anticipation and anxiety, but this feeling had toned down to this point, which happened to be the largest rapid of all. The water level was low, so this rapid was not as fear-inducing as the ones we had gone through.
FLORA
Contributing to this exhibition with inspirations from my whitewater, stillwater and camping experience on the French Broad River.
A Group Exhibition
5:30 pm at Mark Bettis Studio and Gallery
15 Broadway St. Asheville, NC
My painting references start my vertical compositions taken from the river shore:
— From the naturalist/scientist/adventurer perspective
— Admiring the green that grows on the shore. Vivid, soft, flowing into the water.
— Sense of adventure
— Acrylic on canvas, framed in maple
— Focusing on the moss and vegetation on the rocks to emphasize the flora aspect
Viridescent Captivation, 24” x 30”, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022
— The finished look
— Thinking of immersion in green, bryophyta, the life cycle, absorption.
Detail
Viridescent Immersion, 24” x 30”, acrylic and ink on canvas, 2022
Detail
