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Painter Captures the Social Scenes of Seville
Greenbelt Native's Works, on Display This Month, Portray the Animated Atmosphere of Shops and Bars

By Sara Gebhardt
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 10, 2005; Page PG22

Community is what drives Shayna Sara Skolnik -- even as she splits her time between old Greenbelt and the historic district of Seville, Spain.

Skolnik, a watercolorist, uses community not only as her artistic focus, but she also prefers to show her work in public spaces such as cafes, public buildings and neighborhood centers rather than galleries.

Skolnik's new show, "Cafe Ole: Watercolors by Shayna Skolnik," runs through Feb. 28 in the Greenbelt Municipal Building's conference room/art gallery. It unites the artist's homes by bringing images of her neighborhood in southern Spain to Greenbelt, where she grew up.

The 10 watercolor paintings on display are part of a 50-piece series exhibited in the fall at the Willow Gallery in Annapolis. Skolnik has shown her detailed, colorful portraits of merchants and their small, family-run shops locally and in Spain since 2002.

"I fell in love with those places from living there, long before I decided to paint them," said Skolnik, 28, who first went to Seville during her junior year at Towson University. She started painting seriously after graduating, without much formal training, although drawing and painting had long been important to her.

Because she enjoys the leisurely Spanish custom of trading stories at neighborhood bars, cafes and markets, she set out to capture the warm, friendly environment in her work. She says using watercolors allows her to paint these scenes the way she sees them.

"I like the spontaneity of watercolor because I am always trying to paint the mood of a place, the feeling. They're not supposed to be ultra-realistic portraits," Skolnik said. "Watercolor is such a living medium, and in that sense it helps convey the animated quality of Sevilla. Sevilla is a bright, light-filled, animated place," she said.

Before putting paintbrush to paper, Skolnik sketches the scene and soaks up the ambience while getting to know the shop owners and their friends, family and patrons.

"I like to talk to the people, hear their stories, so I can incorporate them into the final painting," Skolnik said. Her work is filled with images of people gossiping, talking politics and socializing in tiled interiors with intricate woodwork and bullfighting posters adorning the walls.

In "Fresh Para Hoy (Fresh for Today)," an old woman sits in a chair at a fish shop, ready to offer a commentary to anyone who enters. In "Sagrada Cervecita (Sacred Cervecita)," men drink beer and a jovial bartender stands in front of shelves stacked with colorful wine bottles. Skolnik said she painted the ceilings higher than they actually are, much like those found in Spain's cathedrals, to show her reverence for bars and other places that foster the Spanish sense of community.

Skolnik's paintings have made her a historic preservationist of sorts, because many of the generations-old shops depicted in her paintings no longer exist. While she was working on "Serving Aceitunas (Olives)," a portrait of the owner of a family-run store and cafe, the business closed. "El Zapatero (The Shoemaker)" pictures the gray-haired, 89-year-old owner of a tiny shoe shop. In all likelihood, the shop will pass away when its proprietor does.

Skolnik is eager to paint the neighborhood establishments that remain. She wants to preserve her first image of Seville, one that did not include fast-food chains or franchised coffee shops. "People [in Spain] are really interested in my work," Skolnik said, "Nobody's really been paying attention that these places have been disappearing."

"Cafe Ole: Watercolors by Shayna Skolnik" runs through Feb. 28 in the conference room/art gallery in the Greenbelt Municipal Building, 25 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt. Admission is free, and the show can be seen from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, whenever the room is not reserved, and also by appointment. 301-474-8000.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11381-2005Feb9.html