Carry Out Cafe Hosts Sandra Turner’s Torn Paper Art for September and October

Local artist Sandra Turner’s colorful collages are on display during September and October at Carry Out Cafe & Catering at 155 State Street in Newburyport. “Creating Art from Torn Paper” features layers of paper on stretched canvas to make scenes from nature and the region. The public is invited to an Artist Reception on Friday, October 4, 2019, from 5-7 p.m. at the cafe. The event is free and refreshments will be served.

“I was familiar with Sandra’s art of Plum Island and Newburyport and enjoyed how she captures the quintessential views in our area,” said Paula Simpson, owner of Carry Out Cafe & Catering. “Not only is she a talented illustrator and teacher, but this new direction of painting with paper is very fun and compelling.”

“In the fall of 2018, I tried my hand at collage. I call it painting with paper as I didn’t cut out images and lay them out on a background, rather tore swaths of color from magazines and use them much in the same way as you would but a brushstroke on a canvas,” Turner explained. “I worked intuitively which resulted in many layers of paper as I was continually adjusting color combinations.”

This approach has forced a looser and more intuitive approach to Turner’s art. Overlapping colors and shapes has allowed for nuances to take place by leaving just enough of the underlay to achieve a line or curve where needed. “Collage has added a whole new dimension to the way in which I express myself as an artist,” she added.

Turner, whose interest in art began as a child, graduated with honors from the New England School of Art in Boston, before enjoying a lengthy career as a graphic designer. She left the corporate world to follow her passion in 2015. Since then, she has been a full-time artist, mastering a mix of media – sketching, watercolors, acrylic and mixed media, clay relief, and collage.

In recent years, she illustrated and self-published several coloring books: Imagine; Color Plum Island; Color Newburyport; and Color Cape Cod. Turner is a member of the Newburyport Art Association. A six-week class “Painting with Paper…”  collage course is currently being held at the Artists Playground at the Tannery in Newburyport. She holds outdoor sketching classes in the Newburyport area in the Spring and Fall, along with weekend Sketching Workshops in Maine. For a complete listing of classes and workshops, please visit her website at plumislanderart.com

When she is not creating out of her home studio on Plum Island, she loves to travel and fill sketching journals with memories of each trip. “Over my lifetime, art has given me pleasure, solace, satisfaction and joy, allowing me to live in the moment, and learn to create without fear,” Turner said.

The artwork on display at Carry Out Cafe are available for purchase. Please contact Julie Cook at julie@cookbowe.com or Sandra Turner directly at plumislanderart@gmail.com. Commissions welcomed.

About Carry Out Cafe & CateringCarry Out Cafe & Catering offers soups, sandwiches, daily specials and freshly prepared packaged meals-to-go. The comfortable cafe features artwork by local artists. Carry Out Cafe also provides boutique catering for corporate conferences, weddings, funerals, special events, parties, fundraisers, and other functions. With an extensive menu, helpful staff, and unparalleled attention to detail, Carry Out Cafe & Catering will make your next meal or event one to remember!