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About the Artists.....
After studying art at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, we fell in love, married, and took off
in search of beauty and inspiration. That was in April of 1984, and we found it, and we stayed. Ken and I and our two almost
grown children have enjoyed living in Manitou Springs. Elena is a junior at Manitou High School and Mark is in Florence Italy
studying Art. You can find us most days, out painting on the streets or in the hills, or making pots at our studio behind
the Green Horse Gallery on Manitou Avenue.
Tina Riesterer
I like to draw and paint from nature; the direct and personal experience is a perfect
place for creativity to exist in. Drawing from my imagination or being inspired by other artists is also exciting. The creative
process is an adventure. It's all about us, about originality, meaning not that which is all new, but that which is fully
and originally ourselves, it's about play and what is beautiful and interesting to us. To me, to do art is an incredible gift
from God. It's so easy and difficult, like holding water in the palm of your hand.
Ken Riesterer
My approach to painting landscapes is to use nature without copying
it. I never look at a scene and try to match the color exactly. It either works on the canvas or it doesn't. In fact I feel
you need to change the color from what you see. Nature is three dimensional but you are working on a flat surface. With color
you can show depth. By exaggerating color you can let the viewer feel how hot or cold it was that day. I also like to use
brushstrokes to show movement in painting. You can direct the viewer's eyes to where you want them to go. You can give the
feeling of air or breeze or wind. The best examples of this would be the paintings of Cezanne and Van Gogh. These two great
artists worked from nature constantly but never let you forget they were dealing with paint.
Click on any image to enlarge
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