Meet the Artists
Roberta Condon
Roberta Condon is an award winning artist recognized with a Master Pastelist ranking by both the Pastel Society of America and the International Association of Pastel Societies. This ranking is for only those artists who have lifetime achievements in national and international shows juried shows.
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Her pastel paintings are in the permanent collections of the National Arts Club in Manhattan, Barton College in Nebraska, and multiple hospitals and public spaces. The work has toured throughout the Midwest at Museums, Universities, and fine galleries.
Enjoying the same high reputation as a basket maker, and a member of the National Basket Organization she is an award winning artist in this media as well.
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Bringing this same level of expertise and accomplishment to all the pieces in the gallery, Condon is a 24/7 artist who toggles between a large scale painting that will be shown in a museum, to an award winning basket, to small jewelry pieces and sculptures.
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Her philosophy of bringing artistic perfection to even the smallest item in the gallery and her enjoyment of being a "maker" insure a fresh supply of work that will delight.
Her vision is nature based. She works in large series of work with her pastels and features topics such as the plight of the small farmer, the relationship between humans and nature's creatures, and preservation of the landscape in the Midwest. Her current tour features birds and humans in relationship to one another, and the new series she is embarking on has a "Farm to Table" theme. Her basketry and smaller items in the gallery echo the theme of nature and often contain small pieces she has picked up on her walks through the Wisconsin landscape with her dog.
Vicky Hanson
Vicky had a happy childhood and came from a supportive family of artists. She was born and raised in Illinois. Her family often took trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, and there were always works of art on the walls of their home. Vicky's love of art grew, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fine and Applied Art, from Illinois State University. Her emphasis and special studies were in painting, printmaking and color theory.
In the years following college, Vicky created a colorful collection of jewelry and designed painted rugs (floorcloths). She taught workshops and her award-winning work was displayed and sold in art galleries, and art fairs throughout the Midwest.
From these years forward, her focus turned primarily to painting. Vicky has had two solo shows and exhibits regionally. In addition, she has an interest in the fiber arts. She is a 3rd generation rughooker and uses the traditional method of hooking cut wool strips. Her work has been published in rug hooking magazines.
Vicky was a Kitchen and Bath Designer by trade. This vocation gave her an appreciation for mathematics, symmetry (or lack thereof), detail and precision. This discipline often shows in her work, with particular interest in linear composition and design. Her work is a colorful combination of abstract, mixed with familiar imagery. She loves applying layers of color and pattern to create energy in her paintings.
Living in the countryside just north of Portage WI with her husband Jay, Vicky enjoys having a home-studio in which to work. Currently, she has a wonderful show display area featured in the R. Condon Callery in downtown Portage. Being part of a gallery is inspiring and gives opportunity for Vicky to continue growing as an artist. She is exploring new painting mediums and creating new artful functional pieces.
Harley Smith
Harley Smith is a self taught artist who has enjoyed putting pencil to paper since his days on his childhood farm in the driftless area of Central Wisconsin.
With a degree in Mechanical Drafting where he learned to see in 3-D, he enjoys working with natural and recycled sculptural forms.
An award winning artist participating in recycled art shows, his work is often humorous and reflects back on society.
Smith never strays far from his natural roots in his pieces. A quiet man, he sees art as communication and an artist's purpose to help people see the world from a different perspective.