Spring arrives late in Orland

A touch of spring will greet visitors to the Orland Art Center this month even though fall is here.

Award-winning artist Jeannie Vodden's colorful watercolors dominant the gallery with hues of red, blue, pink, white and green.

The show is titled "Magical Mixes of Light and Color."

Vodden features 43 pieces in the show that runs through Nov. 21 at 432 Fourth St.

The Jackson artist's work includes portraits of beautiful women and lots of flowers and greenery.

"Jeannie is one those painters who has great facility in drawing," said Art Commissioner Rae Turnbull, "and it shows in her paintings."

Turnbull added Vodden displays "meticulous attention to detail,' and "a feel for color and light that is truly magical."

Vodden's show biography said her interest in textures and patterns of both natural and man-made objects is the starting point for her paintings.

She said she starts with three basic colors, sometimes a figure and light, and goes from there - adding different textures and complexity as needed.

But the goal is to pull everything together with a limited palette, she said.

Her paintings have been featured at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, the Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento, the California State Fair, and in Gold Rush communities like Placerville, Sutter Creek and Jackson.

Another biography said Vodden's paintings include complicated subjects like the scales of a reptile, branches of a nest, a child's tousled hair or the floral patterns of a woman's dress.

"Painting complicated subjects represents a satisfying and valuable challenge to me," she said, in a written statement."I love the mystery and magic involved in creating the illusion of texture, depth and volume on a two dimensional surface."

Vodden added she works from photographs and her imagination, and sometimes incorporates mythological or fantasy themes into her paintings.

Some of the pieces in Orland have such themes - portraying women as nymphs, goddesses and butterflies.

"It is fun to create scenes of friends or family attended to by strange companions in mysterious settings," Vodden wrote. "But I also enjoy painting casual portraits, nature and everyday objects lit by natural sunlight."

She also teaches watercolor classes and workshops and judges art shows.

The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday through the 21st.

It is going to winter hours this month from 1 to 6 p.m.

For more information, visit the center's website at www.orlandartcenter.com.