Western landscape artist featured at Plumas Arts Gallery through October
The Plumas Arts Gallery, located at 525 Main St. in Quincy, will host a reception Friday, Oct. 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. showcasing work by dozens of member artists and featuring paintings by Taylorsville artist Sally Yost.
Yost has been painting local and western landscapes for 30 years, often on large canvases that are primed in bright colors. Her pleasure in painting is to place one color against another and see what happens. Then she places a third color against the two, and so on … all the while using the landscape in front of her as an excuse to paint.
“I keep meaning to go abstract, but I never quite get around to it because the colors and shapes in the nature are so exciting,” Yost said.
Yost is happiest drawing or painting in nature … in the field, by the roadside, in a canoe, or in the backcountry … set up with gouache or oils.
“My approach is quick, on-site, ‘alla prima,’ often done in one painting session. Small sketchbooks accompany me wherever I go … full of studies in ink and colored pencil. I currently paint with oils or gouache (opaque watercolors) on brightly colored backgrounds for unexpected results.
“I work quickly. I have come to realize that there is no ‘right way’ to do a piece. Get the picture going, and at some point it will take on a life of its own. When this happens, I have a ‘visual dialogue’ with what is there and make changes until it becomes something that will stand on its own.”
Yost was selected twice to be the Artist in the Lookout, an annual collaboration between Plumas Arts and the Plumas National Forest. A long-time birder, she often includes birds in the landscape.
She studied at California College of the Arts, Chico State University (printmaking), Feather River College and with several California and Nevada painters.
Most recently her show will feature paintings from a workshop with Phyllis Shafer in Sand Harbor/Tahoe Meadows last summer. Before concentrating on fine art, she spent several decades as a graphic designer; her logos can still be seen around Plumas County: Quincy Chamber/Main Street, Feather River Land Trust.
“Every time I think I’m hitting my stride, I turn into the excited beginner, fascinated with the materials at hand, Yost noted.
Yost’s featured exhibition will hang through Wednesday, Oct. 30. Portions of the show will then move to Patti’s Thunder for the month of November.
Plumas Arts Gallery and office hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or by appointment.
For more information about the work of Plumas Arts visit plumasarts.org or call the gallery at 283-3402.
