Reviews		San Francisco Chronicle, 1990
San Francisco Chronicle, 1990 The Martha's Vineyard Times, July 2001 The Martha's Vineyard Times, July 2007 Martha's Vineyard Gazette, November 2007 Vineyard Visitor, October 25, 2007 Martha's Vineyard Times, March 5, 2009 Martha's Vineyard Times, June 25, 2009 Chilmark Arts & Culture, Summer 2009 Martha's Vineyard Times, March 25, 2010 Martha's Vineyard Times, July 22, 2010		PAINTER WENDY WELDON'S ABSTRACT WORKS COMBINE METAL LEAF WITH BROAD AREAS OF RICH COLORS MESA GALLERY, SAN FRANCISCO From abstraction to realism to graphic design and back again, artist Wendy Weldon has come full circle in a twenty year artistic exploration. Her latest works demonstrate her versatility and accomplishment in varied styles and mood expressions. Weldon was raised in Indiana farm country where her mother was a well-known portrait artist. Weldon says watching her mother go to the studio to paint everyday had a profound effect on her and showed Weldon, at an early age, being a painter was a legitimate choice a woman could make. After completing her degree at Bard College, where abstract painting was emphasized by her instructors from New York City, Weldon says she was embarrassed to be an art school graduate who couldn't draw well. She set out to teach herself that skill by focusing on realistic landscapes, seascapes, lifelike bird drawings and woodcuts. After moving to California in 1983, Weldon decided to abandon her art career and to concentrate on graphic design. She returned to school and started a new business. Although challenged by graphics, she felt she wasn't using her full talent. "I felt dry and unimaginative. I knew I wasn't doing what I wanted to do...what I felt I had to do." It was then that friends who were opening a restaurant asked Weldon to select artwork for their walls. Rather that buy the art she decided to create it. That was nearly three years ago and Weldon has been immersed in her abstract vision ever since. Inspired in part by the quality of light on the west coast, Weldon combines a color field painting style with expressionist brush strokes and personal markings. Her paintings range from colorful 'landscapes' to more serene atmospheric statements. Recently, Weldon has incorporated metal leaf - copper, aluminum, and gold - into her works. Weldon says the process of creating an abstract painting has no pattern. "The unknown is always present while you're working. There is a broad range of emotions; from feelings of frustration and despair to moments of relief and calm. The painting lets you know when the process is over." Weldon's latest paintings reflect her fascination with the walls and doors of the Alentejo, a region in the south of Portugal. Each painting has a unique palette which seems to relate to weather conditions and light changes. While in Portugal, Weldon observed the architectural details of this Alentejo region; "Doors are brightly painted in strong contast to the white-washed walls. Time has weathered these painted stucco exteriors, creating beautiful color field patterns." Her most recent works may be viewed at a one-person show at Mesa Gallery, 2178 Bush Street in San Francisco opening on Thursday June 7th and continuing through July 15th 1990. Some of her other works may be viewed at an exhibition at the Artful Eye , 1333 A Lincoln Avenue, Calistoga, California from April 13th to July 15th. from April 13th to August 31st, 1991. In November of 1990, Weldon spent time in her Mother's old painting studio in Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard Island. The vivid colors of the sunrise's and sunset's are apparent in her latest abstract pieces. The metal leaf seems to capture the reflections of these colors as they sit on the surface of Squibnocket pond. Some these most recent paintings may be viewed at The Gay Head Gallery during the months of July, August and September 1991 on the Island of Martha's Vineyard.