Printmaking has taken a front seat in artistic reproduction with the arrival of compact photographic presses that can duplicate original art works with precision. Debra Maddox's prints on canvas are further personalized by hand coloring (painting) on the printed surface. This gives the work more character and life. No two are ever alike and the whole work is glazed in such a way as to lift the background printed colors into the mix making the whole giclee (pronounced gee-clay) an original work of art to rival an original oil at a fraction of the price.
Debra Maddox of Mill Valley is an artist of considerable talents. She stops short of calling herself an impressionist. Rather she says: "I observe how shadow, light , texture and color transform shapes into compelling compositions."
Her treatments of the field around her subjects seems to suggest that she has a talent for lyrical color fields like the work of other artists in more transparent mediums, as in watercolors.
Her strong point is her treatment of water surfaces that give her work a sinuous and sensual appeal.
In the "Summer Breezes" show at the Nourot Glass Gallery, Ms Maddox is represented by quite a few works that deal with water, oceans and clear skies. The predominance of blues in her compositions, at least in these few works in the Nourot Gallery show, seem to suggest that cool tones of blues, lavenders and pinks are a favorite of her color palate. In contrast is the energetic work: "Tour de California", where a herd red and orange bicyclists hurtle down a road at the foot of a Northern California mountain which could be Tamalpias or Mt Diablo.
Looking at Debra Maddox's paintings one can see her gentle use of the brush, never heavy handed. Truly she succeeds in translating light and texture of liquid surfaces in her waters and skies. Even so, her clarity in relating the subject matter never varies and her works can stand next to more photo representational works on their own.
