Painter Wendy Hall will be the 2010 Elizabeth Rubendall Artist-in-Residence April 27-May 2 at the UNL’s Great Plains Art Museum.

During her residency, Hall will create two paintings: one still life and one bucolic scene from her farm. The commissioned works will become part of the museum’s permanent collection.

Artist Wendy Hall’s “Corn and Beans,” oil on canvas. Hall will be artist-in-residence at the Great Plains Art Museum April 27 to May 2. Courtesy photo.

Visitors and school groups are invited to view and interact with Hall as she works. There will be hands-on stations for visitors to attempt still-life object arrangement, perceptive drawing, and media experimentation. Hall will paint 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m., April 27 through May 1, and 1:30 to 5 p.m., May 2. Groups may arrange tours by contacting museum curator Amber Mohr at 472-0599.

Working in a traditional style, Hall’s landscapes focus mainly on field and pastoral scenes of Nebraska. Her still life paintings contain primitive items accompanied by fruits and wildflowers found around the farm where she lives near Ashland. She attended the State University of New York at New Paltz and has worked as an art director, layout artist and pre-press worker in the Omaha/Lincoln area. She paints full time and is a member of the American Plains Artists.

“I’m honored to be selected as the Elizabeth Rubendall Artist in Residence,” said Hall. “I spent a lot of time watching Michael (Albrechtsen) during his (2008) residency and I appreciate the opportunity for all members of the public to see the artistic process demystified and made accessible.”

During the residency, Hall said she will be working from a study painting and using a grid system to transfer the composition from photo reference and personal memory.

“We are thrilled that Wendy Hall will be our artist-in-residence,” Mohr said. “Her still lifes are reminiscent of the Dutch masters in their surface detail and light effects, and her landscapes and bucolic scenes exhibit the same lusciousness and appreciation for the Earth’s rewards. As an artist and farmer, I know Wendy will be able to capture young visitors and school groups with her stories of working with animals.

“Engaging people with the process of artwork rather than just the product of a finished painting is so fundamental to understanding and appreciating art, and we’re glad the Elizabeth Rubendall Foundation recognizes the importance of this type of educational experience.”

This is the fourth year that the artist-in-residence program has been supported by the Elizabeth Rubendall Foundation Artist-in-Residence Program Fund.

A solo exhibition of Hall’s artwork will be on display at the Great Plains Art Museum in conjunction with her residency. “Pastoral Paintings: Landscapes and Still Lifes by Wendy Hall” begins April 22 and runs until June 6 with a First Friday reception, 5-7 p.m. on May 7.

For more information, go to http://go.unl.edu/9ti or call 472-6220.