Lost Cowboy

One of the great things about Wellfleet (the Cape Cod town where I spent my vacation last week) are all the galleries located there.  Lynda and I made sure to set aside some time to take a walk and check out the cluster of galleries spread around the town.

On of my favorite galleries is the Left Bank Gallery, which is really two galleries – a front part that displays installations of noted artists; and a back part that is more of a retail gallery.  Inevitably I fall in love with an artist in the front half (read: expensive) and settle for something from the back part (affordable).

Anyway, the gallery is great, and on this year’s visit I discovered the art of Carol Aust.

About Carol Aust: “Carol Aust works in acrylic on canvas and wood panels from her studio in Oakland, California. Her figurative paintings are emotionally-charged narrative fragments infused with mysterious tension and secrecy. She often places her figures in precarious environments where anything could happen. Sometimes celebratory, sometimes lonely and disturbing, her paintings express a wide range of human desire and yearning. Aust’s work consistently features strong and vibrant colors along with figures that are both engaging and vulnerable.”

I love the whimsical yet somehow realistic images Ms. Aust invokes in her work.  I was thrilled to visit her website to see the full expanse of her work. So many great works by this talented artist – I am simply in love with her art.  Now I just need to save my pennies and keep an eye out so I can add one of her pieces to my collection.

The lesson is to not be intimidated by galleries – it does not cost to look – and in the end you may discover something that moves you that you can dream about.

I love the scale (18” x 48”) of Ms. Aust’s “Boat Without Oars #3” (Acrylic on wood):

Check out the Left Bank Gallery here.

See the wonderful paintings of Carol Aust here.