WHERE:         Flying Star Café, Bernalillo

WHEN:            Now through April 30

WHO:              Marjie Bassler

Animals, Art and a Café

During the months of March and April diners at the Flying Star Café in Bernalillo can enjoy the brightly colored, whimsical animal art of Albuquerque artist Marjie Bassler. In addition to providing joyful art to be viewed, the exhibit will benefit Animal Humane|New Mexico which provides everything from sheltering unwanted animals and sponsoring mobile adoption events to an on-site veterinary clinic and an animal behavior hotline to help people deal with their pets’ problems.

“I was inspired to mount this exhibit of animal art originals and prints to benefit Animal Humane|New Mexico when I heard that donations to charities are down,” says Bassler. “Flying Star seemed like a perfect place for the exhibit – they do much to support AH|NM plus Flying Star is an upbeat, contemporary gathering spot.” A percentage of the price of artwork sold from the exhibit will be donated to AH|NM.

 “My ultimate goal is to add fun and lightheartedness to people’s lives by creating art that makes them laugh, relax and feel uplifted. I’ve always loved animals and find them the perfect subject for paintings that are happy and fun and that invite the viewers to imagine their own stories to accompany the paintings. Right now we could all use a good laugh and an amusing story. But isn’t that always the case?”

Using vibrant colors Bassler creates both watermedia paintings on paper and acrylics on canvas, most often depicting dogs, cats, horses and rabbits. Her watermedia paintings tend to be more detailed, with the acrylics on canvas being done with larger brushes and blocks of color, foregoing the tiny details.

Several images from Bassler’s Chair Series are included in the Flying Star exhibit. “My Chair Series began when I woke up in the middle of the night and had the sudden urge to do some sketching,” states Bassler. “The resulting drawings showed cats and dogs in various poses on overstuffed armchairs. This provided me with the beginning point for endless inspiration as I continue this series.”

Bassler’s work can also be viewed at Sumner & Dene Gallery, 516 Central NE in Albuquerque, www.sumnerdene.com and at www.artistsregister.com/artists/nm22.