Local Artists Plan Art Show
By Cynthia Cheng
When local artists Lacey Bryant and Lara Sophia visited a thrift store, they found large bed sheets for sale at $4 per piece. The women took the sheets home and painted colorful, edgy portraits of their friends on the sheets.
On Saturday, Dec. 13, the two artists will host Oh Sheet! This art show will take place between 6-9 p.m. at Barefoot Coffee Roasters at 5237 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Santa Clara. The show will feature the bed sheet art as well as a number of other stunning portraits on traditional canvases.
Sophia holds a degree in Art with an emphasis in Education from California State University at Humboldt. She is currently working on a teaching credential so she could teach art to elementary school students.
“A lot of my art is very intuitive,” Sophia says. “[When I draw people], I try to catch a quirky emotion or an alluring ‘come hither’ sort of glance.”
Bryant holds a degree in Fine Art from Ohlone College in Fremont. She has been painting since 2000.
“I tend to like bright colors,” Bryant says. “I like color contrasts, shape contrasts, and contrasts of things that are three-dimensional next to something flat. For example, I like to have one part, like a face, that pops forward while the rest of the painting is a backdrop.”
It just so happens that both Bryant and Sophia cite Henri Matisse as one of their favorite artists. The two women favor the French artist’s use of flat spaces and unusual color combinations in his works of modern art.
In 2006, Bryant and Sophia started bouncing ideas with each other and decided to work with each other on a series of collaborative art projects, many of which wwill be displayed at the art show on Dec. 13th. The two artists’ work styles complement one another.
“[Sophia’s] style is more wild. Mine is more realistic,” Bryant says. “So when we work together, we break each other out of our mold. We have grown as artists because of it.”
The two women have been busy getting their eye-catching art work set up around Barefoot Coffee Roasters. Strolling into the earthy, relaxed atmosphere of the coffee house, one would now be greeted by giant bed sheets with brilliantly composed portraits hung up on both sides of the walls. Near the back of the store are framed portraits.
Bryant and Sophia encourage everyone to attend their art show to pick up some affordable and original art work to give away as holiday gifts. The art will be on display through December.
Sophia shares some advice to aspiring artists who wish to promote themselves.
“Keep working. Make a lot of art. Make a lot of contacts,” she says. “Do group shows. Join an art collective. See how people respond to your art and go from there.”
For more information about the artists, go to www.larasophia.com or www.laceybryantartist.com.
