Raechel Guest
Paintings

Artists seem to most often depict cities as either ugly or desolate places, but in my view the city is a place of great beauty and liveliness. My oil paintings are focused on the city in which I live: Waterbury, Connecticut. This city is often maligned in the press as a “junk pile” dominated by empty storefronts and abandoned factories, but this is a very distorted view of Waterbury. Through my paintings, I preserve and champion the Waterbury I know and love, while also exploring the dramatic visual qualities of man-made structures—strong architectural verticals contrasting with wide sweeping roadways punctuated by the ever-present automobiles—surrounded by sculpted parks. The city I paint is a blend of past and present, historic structures, landscaping and modern technology, creating a stage setting for the activities of the city’s people.

My influences include Alberto Pasini's use of line and scumbling, Canaletto’s cityscapes, Inness’s later tonalist work, Renoir’s scenes of outdoor gatherings, especially La Bal au Moulin de la Gallette, and (of course!) the Waterbury paintings of Nelson Moore, Peter Poskas, Edward Balthazar, Joseph Oaksten, Elsie Rowland Chase, Samuel Scott and many others.

For the latest updates on my progress, to see what I'm working on now, visit my Facebook page or my artist's blog at polychromes.blogspot.com

A selection of prints and related merchandise is available at www.CafePress.com/raechelguest


 

  Fulton Park
oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches
In Progress: please check my
Facebook page for updates.

Rush Hour Traffic, 2011
oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches
$500 (unframed)

Immaculate, 2009
oil on canvas, 10 x 8 inches
Private collection

 

 

St. John's on the Green, 2009
watercolor, 16 x 11 inches
Private collection

Horse, Revisited, 2009
oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches
$1800 (unframed)

 

 

Sunset from lower Willow, 2009
oil on canvas, 10 x 8 inches
Private Collection

Holyland Cross, 2009
oil on canvas, 5 x 7 inches
Private collection

 

Tempus: Lux Clock on the Green,
2009
oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches
$2000 (framed)

Exhibited at Connecticut Women Artists'
Open Juried Show, June 19 - July 16, 2011
Selected by Juror Dr. Fereshteh Daftari,
former Curator at The Museum of Modern Art.

 

 

A Midsummer Day: Shakesperience
in Library Park, 2008
oil on canvas, 14 x 18 inches
$450 (framed)

 

 

 

Rainy Day, Pine Street, 2008
oil on canvas, 18 x 14 inches
Private Collection

Meadow Street, 2006-08
oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches
$350 (framed)

Exchange Place from the
Green, 2008
oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches
Private Collection

East Main Street, 2008
oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches
Private Collection


Exhibited at "Show for a Show,"Artwell,
Torrington, March 28-May 4, 2008

Frankies, 2007
Private Collection - on view at Frankie's
Restaurant, Reidville Drive, Waterbury

Ahab @ John Bale, 2006
Private Collection

 

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