LISbeth quebe
Lisbeth Quebe has loved drawing since she first picked up a crayon. She first took oil painting lessons as a teen in her hometown of Decatur, Illinois, and went on to major in art at the University of Colorado. A three-decade career in marketing and communications for the architectural industry left no time for drawing and painting, but when she retired in 2002, Liz immediately picked up a brush.
Liz is an associate member of Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, and American Women Artists. She is represented by Outside the Lines Art Gallery in Galena and Dubuque, and by Plum Bottom Gallery in Egg Harbor, downtown Egg Harbor, and Fish Creek (Door County).
When I resumed painting again, I first painted still lifes, and I continue to enjoy creating them. I like to incorporate items that resonate with people because of the memories they prompt. I use many family heirlooms–my grandmother’s sewing items, my great-grandmother’s linens and vases, my grandfather’s pocket watch, my mother’s dolls, my father’s old tools. Vegetables fresh from the garden or just-picked flowers are universal pleasures that just beg to be painted.
I soon began painting en plein air. The rolling hills of the Driftless Area, the creeks and streams, and the iconic family farms offer countless opportunities for painting. The quickly changing light, the many shades of green in spring and summer, the rich hues of fall and the harvest all draw me outdoors–alone or with other painters–intent on capturing a small part of this special area. I also paint landscapes in my studio, from studies or photographs taken in the area.
My latest interest is painting animals, especially cows, but horses, goats, sheep and chickens too. And the rare attractive pig. Living in an area with small dairy farms and Amish farmsteads, subjects are not hard to find. My husband and I go on frequent “photo safaris,” looking for the perfectly posed animal in perfectly placed light. I paint from these photos, as most animals are notoriously bad at standing still. I strive to capture not only the likeness of the animal, but a little of their personality too.
jerry quebe
Jerry Quebe grew up in a small farming community in North Central Iowa. He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1965 from Iowa State University and practiced architecture with major firms for 37 years, specializing in health care facilities.
His career in architecture gave him an eye for composition and design and since he retired in 2002, he has pursued his interests in photography and woodworking. While living in Wisconsin, he had a large woodworking shop where he made many of the birdseye and curly maple frames that grace Liz’s paintings. He also made cutting and serving boards that he sold directly or through galleries. A move to Rochester, Minnesota, meant giving up the shop but before he did, he stockpiled many beautiful items.
Some woodworkers will tell you that the wood will speak to them and tell them what it wants to be. I may be one of those woodworkers. Evary piece of wood is different. I carefully study each piece to determine its optimum use given its color, grain, accents and size. Each of my boards is different as no two pieces of wood are exactly alike.
My serving and cutting boards are made of local woods, including ash, curly oak, curly maple, birdseye maple, flame birch, walnut and cherry. Using the end grain and/or face grains with unique patterning, I configure the woods to make designs that are unusual, interesting and beautiful. Eschewing the usual finishing treatments for cutting boards, I have chosen a mixture of tung oil and citrus spirits, yielding a hard-wearing, food-safe surface. It takes a lot of time and effort. I soak the boards in the oil for 30 hours and then spend three weeks wiping the boards daily as they give up excess oil and dry.
