About the artist
Twenty-four year old self-proclaimed “awesome artist,” Alexander Schwartz, of Andover, is a creative force. Once or twice a week for two to three hours for the past two years, Alex meets with his art teacher, Andrew Royce Fournier, a Rhode Island School of Design Graduate and resident of North Andover. Together, they explore shape, form, color and composition using mixed medias. Each piece created is a slight variation of a theme of line, shape, color and form. Alex’s weekly journey is unplanned and each of his creations is raw and “in the moment.” He just creates. Alex knows that each piece he creates is his design and he is happy with the process. He draws his shapes, forms, numbers and letters in layers and then patiently and painstakingly colors them in. His art is layered, intricate and unexpected. The bright colors and geometric and organic forms create motion and energy for the viewer. The layered colors explode on the canvas surface. Alex’s process and completed works engage the viewers and encourages them to take part in his celebration. Alex’s creative space is a myriad of markers, paints, colored pencils, papers, canvas, cardboard and the sounds of music. Alex listens to all types of music as he creates. Music plays a huge role in his expression. In the words of Wassily Kandinsky, “Music is the ultimate Teacher. Lend your ears to music, open your eyes to painting and …..stop thinking! Just ask yourself whether the work has enabled you to ‘walk about’ into a hitherto unknown world. If the answer is yes, what more do you want?” Alex communicates with this colorful abstract language. He is a masterful and talented colorist, uninfluenced and refreshing. He uses the multi-medias to express his love. As an autistic person, art provides Alex with a great sense of accomplishment, joy and self-love. View more of his work at https://alexanderschwartzart.weebly.com/.
Wendy Button – Display Case – Reference Area
Andover resident, Wendy Button, is the mother of 15 year old twin girls, her biggest fans. She has explored watercolor, acrylic and oil painting, and prefers acrylics, followed by watercolor, although it really depends on subject matter and inspiration for the piece. When she was around five, her mother gave her some modeling clay. She shaped a figure of a man, and found various “tools” around the house, like tweezers and toothpicks, to fashion all the details. It was quite the masterpiece, according to her mother. So began her sculpting career! She uses mostly polymer clay to sculpt a variety of creatures, and she uses a marbling technique, combining a variety of swirling colors of clay in some of her projects. A member of the Andover Artists Guild, she exhibits her work in shows around New England. She has also written a short story, Amber and Antiseptic, the first in a series available on Amazon. Her website is www.mulberrymoose.etsy.com