“Our Place” by John Toly
“A lot of people, including myself, often think of Mount Sopris as having many beautiful looks, moods, and a mysterious spiritual quality. I try to capture some of this in my paintings.”
Carbondale Arts presented a solo exhibition by watercolor artist John Toly at the Carbondale Arts R2 Gallery, which was on display April 15 - May 20, 2022. The public was invited to the opening reception on Friday, April 15, from 6-8pm at The Launchpad.
Local artist and long-time resident of the Roaring Fork Valley, John Toly likes his pictures to have a feeling of mood, harmony, beauty, and the idea of time and place. A sense of mystery is also important. All of this in a good composition is what he strives for in his work.
Watercolor is the ideal medium for John because it lends itself to be ambiguous, ephemeral, and well defined. What medium could be more natural than one made of pigment, water, and resin from a tree (gum arabic) and painted on paper made of pure cotton?
John says, “My pictures are about the beauty and mood of the landscape all around us. For sure, a very traditional idea: our place.”
This exhibition was generously sponsored by Main Street Gallery & The Framer, located at 399 Main St. in Carbondale. Main Street Gallery and The Framer LTD has represented Western Colorado's finest artists and provided custom framing since 1982. Learn more at mainstreetgall.com.
John Toly, watercolor artist, Carbondale, CO
Originally from Rock Springs, Wyoming, artist John Toly found his way to the mountains of Colorado in the late 1960s. He soon learned to ski and began painting watercolor landscapes, finding a happy home in Vail, then Aspen later on. In the spring of 1974, he moved to the old silver mining town of Crystal City to paint full time for the summer. That autumn he moved to Carbondale for the winter and set up a painting studio apartment in the old Dinkel Building. John kept his studio apartment there for over 30 years and participated in several art shows during that time.
Today, John still resides in Carbondale and lives in an old Carbondale church which he restored to be his home and studio. The eighty-three year old artist paints positive feeling watercolors even though some depict dark and stormy weather. Mount Sopris in its many moods remains one of his favorite subjects.
Click the image above to read John Toly’s interview in the Sopris Sun (cover story on April 14, 2022)
Enjoy the virtual tour video of “Our Place” by John Toly.