Senior holds art show

Evan Longfield, a senior fine arts and humanities major, opened his art show, “Evan Longfield: The Last Two Years,” on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. The show consisted of a body of work that featured wood, oil paintings, sculpture and mixed media to communicate his enjoyment of beauty, aesthetics and the search for spirituality.

 “Showing my art gives me the opportunity to fully finish my work because art is not completed until one shares it with others and is able to engage them,” said Longfield.

 The focused artistic direction of Milligan professors has helped Longfield develop a deeper understanding of art. 

“I owe so much to Nick Blosser and Alice Anthony,” Longfield said. “I have noticed that mature artists like Blosser and Anthony, choose a related topic and, over a span of years, build a focused body of work from that concentration.”

Longfield presented many works made of wood in his show.

 “I love the way that the beauty of the wood mixes with the pigments, allowing the texture of the wood to be visible” said Longfield.

 Also displayed in the show were eight portraits that Longfield painted during his years at Milligan. “I wanted to look at people that I was close to, and I wanted to paint them as saints, similar to the Renaissance painters, by using many layers to build up each image.” 

Blosser, assistant professor of art has mentored Longfield during the years Longfield has attended Milligan.

 “I am pleased with the show as a whole. I particularly like the space given to the images that allows the works to powerfully stand alone,” Blosser said. “I am also pleased with the amount of work shown and that rhythm and pattern of the show.” 

Also in attendance at the opening was Anthony, assistant professor of art and Longfield’s photography instructor.

“The show was very strong artistically, and the presentation was very professional. It felt like a New York show,” said Anthony. 

Longfield came to Milligan with more natural talent than most students, according to Blosser and he said he has enjoyed seeing Longfield advance as an artist.

 “Evan is more versatile in terms of his technique ,and he has sharpened his available talent during the past few years,” Blosser said.  

Anthony also commented on Longfield’s advancements. “I feel that Evan has become more accepting and open minded to other forms or art media,” Anthony said. “I encourage him to always continue his art and education because he has the determination and ability it takes to succeed.”

Longfield plans to apply to graduate schools after graduation in December and eventually teach art.