For the first time in her meteoric art career, painter Cara Roberts will hang a show of her abstract work. Prior shows have focused on her realistic paintings for the simple reason of that was all she had.
Roberts turned a time of upheaval and new directions in her personal life - the ending of her marriage, the establishment of a new home with her three children, having to establish a "new normal" in all interpersonal relationships - into the inspiration she needed to be an artist. One was always laying dormant inside her, she said, and when she became truly her own free agent, she mentally dusted off the art lessons of her youth.
In only a few years she took up the paintbrush, but did more than shake off the rust. She exploded with the force of 16 years' pent up artistic repression. She earned some encouraging fans within her circle of friends, which led to some paintings gaining inclusion in group art exhibitions, then invitations to take part in art-based community events, then collaborations with other artists she admired, and even her own solo show at Groop Gallery called Into The Deep that focused on aquatic scenes.
She called it her "aquarium period" and at the urging of Community Arts Council (CAC) senior staffer Lisa Redpath, she entered a different phase altogther this summer: her abstract phase.
On Thursday night, her next solo art exhibition is unveiled when the CAC opens the doors on the show they're calling Square Routes.
"My first art lesson was at Studio 2880 when I was eight or nine," Roberts said. "I love that this show is happening at the same place now."
Even though it has been a rocket ride for Roberts' artistic reputation, she did start slowly in a way. As a focused parent and member of a marriage, she channelled her artistic skills and desires into daily activities like cake decorating, interior decoration, gardening. "I just amped up all the mom duties," she said.
Naturally when painting was a regular option, she kept to safe basics to begin with. But she did a large abstract piece she happened to have in her studio when Redpath paid a visit and the CAC curator seized on that image. Roberts was shy about delving into abstract art at first, but not discouraged. She soon relished the work as she built up an inventory for the CAC show at Studio 2880 that Redpath said could be hers.
"I don't know what I'm doing, when I first start. I just start," she said of the conceptual images that slid off her brushes onto the canvass. She discovered quickly that it was daily mental images that moved her moods and her hand. One painting, for example, is almost entirely an ode to the forest fire fighters and the people who faced evacuations this summer, as she breathed smoky air, took in news reports, and listened to the water bombers rumbling over her house.
"The pieces are all so different from one another it might have the look and feel of a group show," she said. "I just love the journey taking me to these new places and experiences. I'm blessed to be there [at Studio 2880]. I have been blessed that people like Lisa and Melanie [Desjardines of Groop Gallery] have seen something in my work and encouraged me. On Thursday, and at the Art Battle [Roberts is one of the speed-painting competitors at Groop Gallery on Sept. 19] night I'm just going to revel in the people I get to be with and the amazing opportunities that have come my way with my art."
The opening reception for Square Routes is at 7 p.m. The public is invited to this free event. The exhibition then runs until Nov. 15.
