The elevator opened to a long corridor that was hung with art on the walls, lined with small private rooms decorated with single art pieces. For ArtHop this week, I visited the Valley’s Saint Agnes Medical Center’s new North Wing, Feb. 16.
The North Wing was added as the new Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, filled with 72 private rooms. Along with the advance in this department the wing features a family Church of Christ, a 20,000-square-foot pavilion that includes a cafe, library and education center and a 260-seat auditorium.
The ArtHop featured several artists who donated their art for the North Wing’s sixth floor. I was excited to see particularly the artist that showcased their art because most of the donators were new to the art community.
President and CEO of Saint Agnes Medical Center Nancy Hollingsworth, Vice President of Clinical Services Debbie Chappell and Vice President of Marketing, Communications, Advocacy and Human Resources Stacy Vaillancourt guided along the floor informing me of certain artists.
Some of the artists present at function included landscape photographer Jim Ritter, landscape and floral photographer Brittaney Osburn and landscape watercolor painter Joyce Truck.
The first artist I met was Osburn, who photographs mostly floral images. Scenic pictures were also shown at this ArtHop. Her pictures were crisp with detail, but possess a mellow tone. The art was calming and I enjoyed how it was realistic, as if I was sitting in the very meadows that she captured.
The photographs were peaceful, which perfectly benefited the hospital environment. I liked that Osburn was able to bring out the beauty of local surroundings, and capture the scenery that we usually forget about.
Next I was aquatinted to Ritter, who mostly photographs landscapes of water. It was interesting to hear him talk about his love for water, being a new photographer in the community. Though he has always enjoyed photography, Ritter recently made it his career a couple of years ago.
His pictures were unique because I have seen water like this before. I thought the images might be boring because of water’s plain features, but I was completely wrong. Each art piece was exciting, capturing water forms like waterfalls, oceans and rivers in their natural state.
Though Ritter features rich color in his art, I also liked that he finished some of his pieces black and white. I enjoyed his evident love for photography, but I wished he would have donated more art to the hospital.
Being a painter for over 30 years, Truck only created art as a hobby. However, she showcased her art at the hospital. Though hew to promoting her art, Truck loves to paint landscape in watercolors, which added a different perspective to the pictures. She enjoys painting with a group of artists as a class visiting different local surroundings around Fresno.
Her art was worthwhile to see because it showed her view of the Valley. I wish that artists like Truck, who use their art skill as a hobby, would publish their art because it allows others to enjoy and discover new masterpieces. Truck is one artist that I will not forget about.
After viewing the art in the room, I felt that all of the different artists brought a domestic touch to the North’s Wing sixth floor. I enjoyed how Saint Agnes displayed new, local artists. This provided the chance to see impressive, original art pieces.
Overall, the artists provided creative artwork that was well-worth the visit. Even though this was a one-time ArtHop promoting the donators, I am definitely curious to see more artwork from these individuals.
For more information on ArtHop, read the Feb. 9 article Notable figures a trademark of Colligo Studio.
