“Hiatus,” a mixed media painting by Tina Cantelmi

Large, color saturated abstract landscape paintings by Tina Cantelmi will be on view at Edge, 74 West Broad Street, Bethlehem, PA, from Feb. 7 through May 31. A meet the artist reception is slated for Feb. 9, 5:30 until 7:30 p.m.  

“Inspired by tepid locations and imaginative compositions, layers of light, shape and hue either rev or calm these works,” says the artist.

A visit to the Valley of Fire in Nevada, a super heated afternoon in Key West, or a spectacular sunset in the Lehigh Valley, all are inspiration.

At least two of the six paintings on view incorporate “Goblies,” paint balls created by inventor Brianna Gardell, a Lehigh University Alum.

“I thought it was really cool that Tina wanted to bring my toy product to her fine art work,” says Gardell, principal of Mezzimatic, the parent company for Goblies, voted Best New Toy of the Year in 2016 at the Toy Fair.

“I met Brianna at Sobe Co Working space in Bethlehem last year, and I was immediately mesmerized with all the possibilities her vegan throwable paint product posed for the craft and fine art market,” says Cantelmi.

“I love the color and spontaneity of tossing Goblies onto a stretched canvas as a foundation for for a painting. But most importantly,  I had to create a means to ensure that the washable toy product adhered for fine art permanence,” says Cantelmi. She adds that she applied various permanent mediums, first in acrylic, and then in oil had to over the paint ball splatters.

Tina Cantelmi earned a B.F.A. from New York State College of Ceramics, at Alfred University.  In New York City, Cantelmi studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and worked as a fashion editor and reporter for WWD.  She also contributed for more than a decade as a weekly columnist and feature writer for the Morning Call and other local magazines and papers. To contact the artist, emailinfo@tinabradfordpr.com