Hinterlands

 When you look at a picture drawn by someone else, you can sometimes become inspired. Stephanie Ryan likes to draw pictures of her kids and her mom.

“People tell me that they can relate to my drawings because they raised children,” Ryan said. “[It also] reminds them of their childhood.”

Ryan, an art professor at Fresno State, is showing her work this month at the Art Space Gallery on campus. The title of the show is “From the Hinterlands” and runs through April 10.

The gallery’s curator, Edward Lund, wanted to get Ryan, one of his favorite artists, to show her paintings to the community. “This show is to present these paintings to faculty and students,” Lund said. The gallery periodically hosts a new art show for hundreds of visitors to enjoy.

Ryan is the author of a book called “The Lost Child,” which includes pictures that she painted that now appear in the art show. Her paintings have stories in them involving her younger life. They also feature drawings of her children and mother.

In a telephone interview with The Rampage, Ryan said she decided to show her work at Art Space Gallery because she has a lot of paintings to show off.

“I was told an opportunity opened up at Fresno City to show my artwork off, and decided to do so,” she said.

Ryan, who has been drawing and painting as long as she can remember, said it took her about a year and a half to put the whole show together. She said she often works with family themes.

“I’ve always worked with personal issues, always been interested in family because I came from a dysfunctional family,” Ryan said. “You can get a lot from working from your own experience.” Ryan, who has shown her work all over the world, liked the atmosphere of the Fresno City College gallery.

“I love the space,” she said, “and I teach at Fresno state and a lot of my students come from City. I also like the art department. It feels very intimate and has a nice flow. Seems like a very welcoming place.”

Ryan likes the smaller space and thinks her work interacts with it well, since she works at home now. “It is a smaller space,” she said, “the work can speak back and forth.”