" Road trips for the eye"
Forest Morning is displayed in Bank 21 lobby
through the Carrollton Art Rotation Plan
sponsored by the Carrollton Area Center for the Arts
March 2009
Seven works are
added to the Moberly Area Community
College
permanent fine art collection. Present: curator Felicia Leach
Carrollton artist Joe Tonnar. August 20, 2008
permanent fine art collection. Present: curator Felicia Leach
Carrollton artist Joe Tonnar. August 20, 2008
Beacon Rock, Newport Harbor study by Joe Tonnar is SOLD
to Kansas City collector.
Carrollton Public Library and Arts Council launch Art Talk series
Saturday, September 12, 10 am to 1 pm, 2008
My recent work is a marriage
between landscape and figurative, explained the 63 year old CHS alumni painter and pastelist Joe Tonnar.
In his rendition of Breaking
Up (first created by Winslow Homer)
Tonnar gained a better understanding of what it means to paint
with oils.
Many careful recordings in pencil and charcoal of the
surroundinghills and farmland were necessary in his early work. This particular
drawing started much smaller. He returned to the site a number of
times to get every detail right. As he gained confidence he was able
to assemble his studies into a more comprehensive work. It's not
something he would repeat these days, he said, but it was what
he was interested in at the time. Those studies paved the way
for the looser, more musical expressions that he currently works
with.
"When I look at an outdoor landscape," Tonnar instructed,
"I see it like everyone else, but I FEEL it too...I can feel it turning---rolling
---blowing----moving in and out."
He identified with the work of Kandinsky, who often brought figurative
and landscape elements together. He admired the rich palette and
freeness of brushwork done by Soutine.
"Here
are the materials I work with." Tonnar showed a box of soft pastels with the audience Saturday morning.
The Conference Center in the lower level
of the Carrollton Public Library was set up to show a 15 minute video on Tonnar at his
Walnut Street studio, and also works on-line from his website.
With
humor and leisure, Tonnar perused through an
assortment of works against the front wall, turned away from the public's view, selected one,
and set it on the easel for all to see as he discussed it with those assembled.
In attendance were collectors from Kansas
City as well as relatives and friends, from the city of Carrollton, Missouri.
"What do you do when you get stuck ? " asked Tonnar's
little niece.
When he was in grade school, Joe used to draw planes and
tanks and cowboys with his pencil, Tonnar's older sister, Janette Eaglefield recalled.
As in all his larger compositions Tonnar worked back
and forth to maintain the balance. In Caesar Salad it came down to this particular shape. When
done in a darker purple Tonnar became unsettled. Eventually he lightened
the shape up, and it pleased him greatly. Sometimes he would rotate a work
as he painted, trying it on its side or upside down so as to keep his mind open
to its potential and to help him evaluate the composition.
Movement was an important element in his work.
The audience was invited up to point out a repeated
shape or color they saw in this Sweet Life piece.
A note from Art Talk attendee:
"I want to take a moment to thank you both for
making the presentation at the Carrollton library possible and for your gracious hospitality. Not only
your arranging the video showing but also your help in having a large number of pictures
available for discussion. These represent a lot of time and effort. The presentation was
effective and enjoyable for all. Your coaching and having the appropriate pictures
available helped Chico to be relaxed and on track. It was wonderful, not only for you
and Joe, but also for the Library and the community that the first art event in the
new building went so well and set a high example for future programs."
posted by Karl Marxhausen