The exuberant expressionist paintings of Tiffany Birch will be celebrated in an artist reception at Menlo Park’s new GC Cafe on Thursday, November 13 from 7 to 9 p.m. Birch’s paintings shout, sing, cry and question, even chant in sonorous tones, then grin as you turn to look at another one. “I feel, see and hear color,” says Ms. Birch. “Color moves through me, exploding on to the canvas.” The first time she walked into GC Cafe, Birch knew what her next painting would be. Mustard Movement, shown here, is the expression of this intuitive response to physical space colored by life experience. Evoking the mustard fields of La Rochelle, France, where Birch spent her childhood, Mustard Movement winks, shimmers in the breeze and bounces reflections off the clouds.
Birch has worked with children on special programs for Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and the Charter Learning Center of San Carlos, teaching painting and sharing her passion for art. This work with children informed the stunning piece, Budda Walk, a calligraphic discussion in gold, orange and scarlet of a child talking with himself as he sees and learns his world. The painting holds the hint of a grid overlaid with the bright surprises and melancholy moments that compose a life — windows through which the child can spy a piece of the illusion or learn to take a new step. Eternity, another excellent piece in this collection, is an emotionally evocative dance of ochre and orange that draws the viewer deeper and deeper into the composition, beyond the picture plane. Birch shows deft handling of her medium in this piece, changing the viscosity of her paint and working on top of as well as into the canvas.
GC Tasting Cafe and Specialty Market opened in early September. It is a delightful addition to downtown Menlo Park and an excellent venue for Birch’s paintings. Available for sale, the paintings can be viewed at GC Cafe Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please join us from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, November 13 for fine art, phenomenal cheeses and choice wines at The “Fine Art” of Wine, GC Cafe, 657 Oak Grove Avenue, Menlo Park. For more information on Ms. Birch’s paintings, go to http://www.tiffanybirch.com.
