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McMurtrey Gallery is pleased to present new work by longtime gallery artist Jean Carruthers Wetta.
After 21 years in Galveston, her "true home," Ms. Wetta spent 9 years in Florida, which "brought weekly treks into the swamps. Finishing a painting in one sitting on location forced an immediacy of approach---no time to overwork, no time to refine, no time to second-guess that first impression."
Currently living an hour and a half outside New York City, she is once again on an island, however the light on this island is much less intense than in the South. Her move to the New Jersey coast, at the juncture of the Toms River and Barnegat Bay, has led the work in a softer, moodier direction. Although this is most evident in her landscapes, it is even seen in her flowers. Despite their bright and cheerful colors, there is something melancholy in their depiction, as if their stoic appearance is merely a front.
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Overall it is this greater sense of mystery, even romance, perhaps, that is more evident in Ms. Wetta's recent paintings. Their sheer simplicity, loose brushstrokes, and dramatic lighting remind us that art need not be overworked in order to evoke feeling.
Ms. Wetta's work can be found in a number of museum, public, and private collections in the United States including: the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas; The Contemporary Arts Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii; The South Texas Institute for the Arts, Corpus Christi, Texas; Southwestern Bell Telephone Corporation, St. Louis, Missouri; RAYOVAC Corporation, Madison, Wisconsin; Fulbright and Jaworski, Houston, Texas; and Moody National Bank, Galveston, Texas.
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 Jean Carruthers Wetta 2007 Bio
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