Exotic places in a familiar space

Young Chang

Marlyse Ruess has loosened up of late.

Though the classically trained artist used to paint in “tight, tight,

tight” brush strokes that made an impressionistic picture from afar,

Ruess now works with larger and blotchier spots.

“I’m really having fun with loosening up and using my brush strokesto

create movement and energy,” the Laguna Beach resident said. “It’s kind

of fun to see.”

But you still need to step slightly back to clearly see her images,

some of which are hanging at the Newport Beach Central Library through

the month in an exhibit titled “Mediterranean Colorscapes.”

With sweeping strokes, Ruess has painted scenes and strangers from

areas of the Middle East, including Turkey and Lebanon.

The show follows Lydia Ringwald’s June photographic exhibit of ancient

archeological ruins in Turkey, but library officials say there is no

connection.

“We had been showing a lot of photography, and I think [Ruess’]

paintings were a refreshing change for summer,” said Jana Barbier,

cultural arts and grants coordinator for Newport Beach. “To me, the best

part was to see a painting of a coast in another part of the world.”

Ruess, a Swiss-born painter, moved to Lebanon as a young child and

took early art classes from Italian nuns while there. Her parents didn’t

think they’d be staying in the area long, which is why she got to take

art and piano lessons instead of Arabic.

Their stay lasted 20 years, and Ruess grew to feel at home among the

ancient archeological sites in the Middle East, which later influenced

her art. Donkeys would trot past her home, as would nomads on camels

making their way through the desert. The experience was “so fairy tale,”

Ruess said.

“With landscapes, I’m really fascinated by the old, by the ancient, by

the bridge that barely holds up,” the 50-year-old said.

Her exhibit includes images of a little church, a yellow house, little

boats, big boats, harbors, beaches, Roman pillars and a Roman bridge, all

of which nostalgically pay tribute to the place of her childhood.

When it comes to painting people, Ruess prefers women. “Contemplation”

shows a woman in Lebanon whose head is covered in cloth and who is

holding her baby. Ruess randomly saw this woman in the street and asked

if she could photograph her years ago. The woman agreed. Ruess took the

portrait and turned it into a painting.

“It’s taking those moments in life, it’s about human condition,” she

said. “I’d rather do that than paint landscapes actually. It involves

more. And as a woman, I just love to paint women from other cultures. It

makes me really rich inside when I paint about women in general.”

Another painting, titled “Reflection,” shows a woman holding a child.

Thinking back, Ruess says she should have titled the work something more

severe, as the woman in the painting looks startled and scared. Her head

is also draped in a veil.

“Some wear veils and some don’t,” the painter said. “This woman was in

Turkey.”

It is this sort of unexpected bit of knowledge that Ruess wants to

share with the world through her art. Women in the West tend to assume

all draped or veiled women are oppressed, she said.

“But women in that part [of the world] have, underlying, a lot of

power,” Ruess continued. “In different ways they do have a lot of power .

. . and I would even say [the veil] is an accessory. Some of those women

don’t want to take their veil away. They feel safe, they like their

privacy.”

The artist said that sharing areas foreign to most of us gives her the

chance to take a trip through her past.

“It’s about the places I’ve been to and the people I’ve met,” Ruess

said.

FYI

WHAT: “Mediterranean Colorscapes”

WHEN: Through July 31. A reception for artist Marlyse Ruess will be

held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Newport Beach Central Library, 1000 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach

COST: Free

CALL: (949) 717-3801