Stoddard-Scheckel Exhibit

“Compassing Nature”

March – June, 2024 – Forest excursions are reinvented in the prints and paintings of Julia Scheckel and Beth Stoddard. Personal on-site photographs and plein air oil sketches form the basis for many-layered pieces. Direct observation, sensory memory, and love for the process of artmaking itself offer the viewer shared experiences of woodland beauty. Both artists exhibited together.

ARTISTS STATEMENT

JULIE SCHECKEL

My approach to creating imagery starts with spending time in our natural world. While going through daily life, or during special adventures, imagery will jump out at me, and in that moment I know that I need to record it. These flashes of connection are often inspired by the sublime qualities of nature or cherished moments of friendship. I reproduce these experiences through printmaking. The act of making prints combines my love of working in the photography darkroom with my love for drawing. Printmaking is a time-consuming process that allows me to relive the moments being depicted. My work encourages viewers to slow down and appreciate what makes life worth living. For me, that means taking time to be present with nature or enjoying connections with others.

BETH STODDARD

My work is about the experience of directly observing the natural world’s changes and continuities over time. In oil on panel I paint on-site landscapes of protected ecosystems and urban green spaces. Figure drawing and painting are also constants in my output, and I’ve recently returned to intaglio printmaking. Larger studio-crafted pieces draw from the experiences of direct observation. The beauty of my city’s nature and its people motivate me to continue to pursue excellence in drawing, painting, and printmaking. Visually studying a landscape, flower, or person never fails to renew a sense of wonder in me as an artist!

ARTISTS BIOGRAPHY

Julia Scheckel is a printmaker and illustrator based in Milwaukee, WI. She obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art with a concentration in Print and Narrative Forms from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2020. In college she fell in love with printmaking due to its blend of illustration, process, and her passion for working in the photographic darkroom. Scheckel is the Shop Manager at Anchor Press, Paper & Print which is a non-profit dedicated to providing access to printmaking equipment and education. Most recently, Scheckel had a solo exhibition at Port Washington’s Gallery 224 to finish her year-long artist residency there. This residency is called ARTservency and pairs artists with a park to study and make work about. Her first solo exhibition was held in the summer of 2022 at the Pump House Regional Arts Center in La Crosse, WI. It showed woodcuts and screenprints that explored the way she connects friendships to a walk in the woods. Learn more about Julia here.

Beth Stoddard is a city-dwelling landscape painter and printmaker devoted to creating art that enriches our relationship with urban natural beauty. Her foundational artistic practice is the plein air painting of metropolitan parks and preserves. Observation-based work continues indoors with figure drawing and handheld sketches. In the studio and the print shop she draws from these direct visual encounters to create personally meaningful woodland interiors and intaglio prints. Wisconsin-born, she studied in Philadelphia, obtaining a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania, and a four-year Certificate in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Following her return to Milwaukee, between 2015–2020 she set and achieved the goal of painting on-site all 156 of the Milwaukee County Parks. Since 2020 she has undertaken local artist residencies with ARTservancy and Studio 224, and this year she will be an individual artist-in-residence at Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence, MA. Her painterly realist pieces and commissions are in numerous private and corporate collections. Ms. Stoddard teaches observational painting and drawing independently, at the Wilson Center, and at MIAD, and also serves as a plein air competition judge and art awards juror. Learn more about Beth here.