Wendy Wolfe Fine

During the pandemic, I took several online classes with artist Karen Lederer to learn the technique of Pochoir, stenciling, influenced by artist Henri Matisse. Several 20th Century artists chose pochoir to reproduce their works of art, and Matisse was one of them. Matisse preferred this printmaking technique to lithography and woodcut because he could achieve the vibrancy of color through gouache paint. Matisse's jazz series consists of 20 Pochoirs. For our Kaleidoscope mail art project, I chose to do postcards using pochoir and gouache. I also did a couple of larger pieces with nature themes that were accepted into online exhibitions (see below).

The Meadow is a place in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, Canada. As children and then adults, we hiked through the Meadow in all seasons. In summertime, the meadow came alive with wild flowers, butterflies, birds and turtles. During the pandemic, I couldn't make my annual summertime trip to The Meadow, but would travel there in my mind and in my art. This brought me joy. This piece is influenced by Henri Matisse's jazz series, where he used pochoir (stenciling) and gouache paint to make prints of his collages. This piece was accepted into the online group exhibition Joy (This Is Just What I Needed), Edward A. Dixon Gallery, Dayton, Ohio, 2021.

“Celebrate Animals!” shows animals gathering in their different habitats for one joyous celebration. This piece is influenced by Henri Matisse's jazz series. This piece was accepted into the online group exhibition, ArT4 Animals, Red Bluff Art Gallery, Red Bluff, CA, 2022.