Photographer Elizabeth Bush and painter Mark Mattioli offer their first joint art exhibit at Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum, July 9 through September 7, in a show entitled Mare Island Now.
In 2008, Ms Bush sold the national wholesale company GeoCentral, based in Napa, which she co-owned and managed for 30 years. Returning to her pre-business fine arts roots, she has focused on refining her digital photography skills.
Since 2010 she has participated in numerous group exhibitions. As Artist of the Month at the Napa Library in August 2010, Ms. Bush presented a slide show and talk about Mare Island, A Photographer’s Point of View. She has been featured in three solo photography exhibits, most recently The Allure of Mare Island at Napa Valley Museum in Fall 2012. September 2013 marks her fourth year of participation in Napa Valley Open Studios, along with Mark Mattioli.
Ms. Bush has been a member since 2009 of the Napa Valley Photographic Society, a local club of photography enthusiasts. She currently serves as President of the NVPS board of directors.
Mark Mattioli has successfully created livelihood from commercial and fine arts for the last thirty years. In 1984 he launched “Mattioli’s In-Your-Pocket Guides” for several wine country towns. These quirky hand-illustrated maps continue to this day to provide success, recognition and livelihood. A man of many talents, Mattioli has executed many additional commercial art projects over the years, including custom illustrations, sign making, mural painting.
Mr. Mattioli began exhibiting his fine arts work in 1991, participating in the prestigious Napa Valley Wine Auction for many years and in art invitationals throughout the region. His paintings have been featured in numerous solo shows. A veteran of a dozen Napa Valley Open Studio seasons, and the 2012 Open Studios catalog cover artist, he likes nothing better than making his highly collectable art accessible to the public.
Mare Island has been an intriguing subject of special interest to Bush and Mattioli ever since their first visit to the decommissioned Naval Shipyard in 2005. The artists are pleased to share with viewers their impressions of Mare Island Now.
“There’s always something evocative to photograph or sketch, whatever the weather, time of day, or quality of light. Mare Island is a heady composite of roads, trees, vistas, and hundreds of buildings—mostly abandoned and largely unpopulated, since the de-activation of Mare Island Naval Shipyard in 1996. When visiting the Historic Core of Mare Island, the palpable pulse of its fascinating past can still be felt.” --Elizabeth Bush
You can see Mare Island Now through September 7th at Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum, at 734 Marin Street, in Vallejo, California.
