Editor’s note: Theresa Brandon took the smaller photograph.
The auction of this 18 x 24″ commissioned oil painting by Stuart Roddy capped a glittering fundraiser for The Loft on Main, 112 E. Main Street, Morrison, IL, on Saturday, October 20, 2018. The sale of his donated artwork brought $2500 to benefit programs at the local gallery. On Tuesday, October 23, during a telephone interview, Roddy stated he “will come this week with some paintings” to sell at The Loft on Main.
He has received other commissions. “They’re always special. I take a journey that should fit someone else’s vision.” Contact him at 815-632-7208 or roddystu39@hotmail.com to discuss a proposed art piece.
The artist “used to work in egg and tempra. It taught me how to layer and build up colors,” which he now does with oils. His skill in “pen and ink drawings and etchings helps with draftsmanship, to draw things realistically. Working in pastels taught me to have accent colors and create harmony.”
Roddy was the Morrison High School art instructor from 2000 to 2008. He and his wife moved to Sterling, IL, because their five children attended school there. Since 2008, Roddy has taught students at Sterling High School in grades nine through 12: “digital drawing, graphic design, and media arts.” He is a Sauk Valley College staff member in Dixon, IL. On Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., he instructs adults at The Next Picture Show, a non-profit arts center, at 113 W. First Street, in downtown Dixon. Six-week painting sessions focus on “oils; acrylics; composition; art principles.”
He tries “to title [his] work, in order to have as many people as possible move in and perceive the painting; to make a connection to as many people as possible.”
The painting he created for auction has no title, but the criteria for building it was to show “a snapshot of Morrison” that all would relate to and recognize. “I went into this somewhat blind,” Roddy admitted. For inspiration, The Loft on Main Board members supplied “150 photos of the Morrison area (taken in September by Ned J. Nesti, Jr.) Sunset colors were wanted for richness. They wanted the painting to show a place where people meet. Morrison is a town where people go to talk and see each other; downtown is almost a family place. Towns tend to keep young and old together in a family place.” That does not occur in all small, Midwest towns, he noted. Roddy said he has this vision for small, Midwest towns to redirect that.
“It was unique that Morrison wanted to step out, [by focusing] on art. I wanted to define Morrison as an art center, to draw people to the downtown.” That sense of community is “all about it,” he felt.
He took the challenge to capture the emotional connection to a place. Roddy did not know the females in the photograph, but he recognized the location. Joan and Elise Vander Bleek’s backs were to photographer Nesti, as they approached Fitzgerald Pharmacy. Faceless figures allow the painting to represent any woman and child, who have carried items in the 100 block of E. Main Street, during the summer. In the distance, Board member Anne Frame leaned against a building outside The Loft on Main.
Second-highest bidder and retired Morrison art teacher Jane Ann Ardapple instantly related. “That was ‘my’ Main Street since I was a child. It is a beautiful rendering.”
What was Roddy’s process going from photograph to glowing oil painting? Did he embellish and/or simplify the photo?
“Yes. I simplified the photo by omitting reflections, reducing lots of details to a smaller number, and de-emphasizing the shapes/buildings on the left. I added more detail to the unique storefront and lamppost. You always create harmony, so you find something in the painting to harmonize. I added green color to balance the green in one area of the painting.”
As an artist, “you strive to package a feeling you are chasing. If it’s visually pleasing, it connects with the viewer. You want them to slow down the world and understand [the art piece] on your terms. [Appreciating] the world of art and painting makes you a better person. The more you can excite the viewer next to you, the better the world is.”
“I am so thankful Ned, Jane Ann, Joan, and Anne reached out to me. My feelings are in the painting. [I wanted to] connect to a community I care about and see the amenities that come from having an art center” in Morrison.