Suggestions of Natural

Realism
by David Wilson
Freelance Art Consultant/Writer
Greater Phoenix, Az.
May 2016

Surrender to a universe that delicately holds

earth and nature. The art show Coastal

Waters West in the Steel Lane Community
Center, Santa Rosa, Calif., is a larger-scale solo
show of fifty-three recent paintings by the colorist fine art painter Vanessa Hadady. The show includes
about two dozen coastal, a dozen inland, and a handful each of Childrens and Urban themed paintings,
all portraying coastal water scenes. Works shown, all originals, were completed within the last two
years, various just this last year. Having started at a young age under the guidance of elders who
noticed and encouraged her talent, the artist has been exploring fine art painting for more than four
decades.
Popular coastal paintings today often frame and focus on the movement of one well-composed wave
curling near a shore. In this collection, however, the artist Hadady looks expansively beyond, over
several breaking waves, and upwards, to a horizon. While waves break in lower canvas surface areas,
above is filled with oceanic atmosphere. Foregrounds are contrasted with white foam against
illuminated aqua blues; horizons are diffuse and hidden under bands of gentle, perhaps mauve, mist.
Sea foam in a smaller painting titled falling tide (documented in painterly stages in one of several online
videos by the artist), is not quite blindingly white, cutting kinetic swirling layers that intertwine around
softly painted, almost negative in space, coastal crags. Gazing upon these color filled, almost bouncy
works, one has a sense of solid ground with the artists thick finishing paint applications reminiscent of
still claymation scenes. Ocean spray leaps out, capturing and transporting me into a crisp dawn
drenched coast the moment I enter the space of near Pt. Joe, a painting slightly larger than a square
foot. I feel as if I am being showered with effervescent healing ions.

review

What about these painting have given the impression of effervescent healing? Is it the range of active
colors the artist used? Is it the expansive vista views or the expressive near one-stroke brushwork over
well developed subsurface? In study in blue and gold and morning station, the artist reports as many as
20 layers of glaze development over up to five layers of careful foundational painting. Skyscapes inside
these two paintings pop with resonating warmth. Wind breaking an awkwardly angled grey wave likely
diminished by submerged crags in Bodega fog addresses natures unpredictable reach and cruelty under
a vast soft sky that offers no more than a hint of light and hope from a distant horizon. Inhale the
gentlest of aqua and turquoise hued skies made apparent by a suspended, floating, solo photorealistic
sea bird in lifting fog that pictures the same coastal breakers in Bodega fog, the artist masters
juxtaposition of subject, painterly surface, and dimensional illusion.
Realistic subject presentation is simple, almost blunt, everyday and nondescript; however, Hadady
elevates the ordinary into extraordinary with a sensitive analogous palette. This artist is a colorist who
works well within the bounds of local, realistic, color. In contrast to coastal works where she offers
several inland waterscapes, Hadady captures the movement of water in ripples under reflective skies.
The color and quality of her paintings support a presence of life, hope, and promise by casual
observance of nature.
1 Suggestions of Natural Realism
David Wilson

Near foregrounds are not common, if at all evident, and crudely executed in these works. In fact, some
images engage artistic license with anamorphic perspective that exaggerates forward and down,
foreground area. Perhaps the images would be too noisy or unreasonably complicated with foreground
information before the nearly overactive coloration. Viewers might quickly tire if it were not for the
artists use of simplification. It is as though she meant to express extensive depth in nature by
emphasizing complex color sensitivity to create advanced depth while also minimizing form details, give
emphasis, without grandiosity, to entirety as an elemental, a single amalgamated whole. It looks as if
she has just sketched notes of the views, quickly and under pressure; while not missing any essentials
like she would rather not have been interrupted from her thoughts, or worse, bore viewers with
overworked details. sketch (dusk, 101 freeway, Burlingame, Calif.) that tells metropolis interstate as
concrete coursing river, expresses advanced depth with rich colorist surfaces and reduced value that
captures all light at once, in one encompassing diffuse that speaks almost solely to subject item color
and greater color possibility. This is definitely unlike fauvism: Hadady works a type of literal trueness to
object color and surrenders shadow and highlight with a palette that nearly screams color excepting a
carefully crafted analogous palette.
Reviewing given production reports, the artist painted over forty paintings within a recent twelve-month
period. Reviewing additional productivity reports posted to her website, she has painted, on average, a
completed mid-sized work (approximating 24 inches) each week for the last seven years. Earlier works
depict her emergence out of abstraction, as made known in a year 2015 solo show titled Transitions
held nearby in Lodi, Calif. Those works resembled prominent mid-century expressionistic works
resonate of color field study or abstracts modeled to those by the great Georgia OKeefe. The artist
studied in Albuquerque, New Mexico during the 1980s where OKeefe retired. Larger (48 x 36 in.) jet
stream and estuary sky, two works from the Transitions show represent some of the earliest works
included in this Coastal Waters West show. Grounded in realism that historically becomes more
marketable during times of economic downturn, current works are probably intended skill
advertisements to attract commissions. In fact, since August 2015, the artist has been formally teaching
her mastery, including successfully developing independent written and video educational materials.
Clearly, prior paintings, paintings oversized beyond the convenience of reduced urban housing footage,
were not designed to attract private commissions. Perhaps these new paintings hold and capture a
greater honesty of form; an uncensored intention in Hadadys true surrounding landscape. In a quick
visit to this artists website that does not include her Eastern European surname ( such ignorance
toward prejudice and bigotry are entirely tiring, states Hadady), it is clear American-born Hadady,
whose elders were titled Hungarian-Americans, holds skill and imagination to paint through several
domains beyond suggested impressions of realism: non-representational abstraction, dreamy
surrealism (see, what the Fire said), or social satire (as in one of the shows largest and final works, the
patron where one wonders if she parodies her own works, collections, museums, and galleries). Hadady
chose to focus on representational realism.
As a viewer, I cannot absolutely know why Hadady decided on oceanic and inland shores active with
natural occurrences and resonate chromatic surfaces when designing the solo show Coastal Waters
West. Her wide subject range and skills are proven. I must assume she was certainly trying to both
evoke and express feelings of hope, inspiration, healing, or even a sense of infinite life energy. Perhaps
she has painted the power and vulnerability of expansive outdoor light by way of objective subject
coloration sunlit to overcast skies (delta cloudburst, Constable Haiku I and II,), early to late midnight
hours (sketch, solar moon), timeless glimpses of nature (near Pt. joe and lifting fog), and more.
Conceivably, Hadady merely marvels upon great outdoor waterfronts and pleases to ensure they remain
lasting for generations.

Suggestions of Natural Realism

David Wilson