ARTIST ENDS 52-YEAR LULL WORK USES RARE STENCIL TECHNIQUE.

Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley artist Louise Goodrich's works that haven't been shown in public since 1950 in New York City's Staten Island Museum will go on display Saturday at the Cedar Centre Art Galley.

Goodrich will display 40 pieces that use a hand-colored stenciling technique that she perfected, as well as several paintings and a poem written by her late daughter, Esther ``Tess'' Casey.

``I'm having a wonderful time, I think this is a lot of fun,'' Goodrich said of her exhibit.

Originally intended as a mother-daughter show in 2001, the exhibit was postponed after her daughter died in an car crash that year.

``She was very, very creative, this is sort of a memorial to her, sort of a tribute,'' explained Goodrich.

Goodrich became familiar with hand-coloring stencils when she obtained a job doing piece work for publishers. In 1944 she went to work at the Brakeley Art Studio in New York and eventually opened her own art studio.

In the early 1900s hand-coloring was extensively used in a wide range of applications, from the coloring of illustrations for limited-edition books to greeting cards.

The cost of the simple stencil process had a tremendous competitive advantage over the newly developed printing plates, and smaller limited quantities could be completed in less time than it would take for a printer to set up the press.

By the mid-20th century, the commercial use for hand-coloring had largely fallen into disuse as the quality of color reproductions dramatically improved with the advances made in the color plates used in the printing industry.

As the stenciling process went by the wayside, Goodrich took two years off from her job to create a process that used multiple stencils to create shading during the painting process. This technique could be used to create the same picture in different colors, multiple times.

Her goal was to use stencils to create watercolors, with each original composition to be produced in a limited edition, and signed by the artist. All the color was to be applied by the artist using up to 30 different stencils for each composition.

``I really hope to inspire artists to learn the process, because just by pure time alone, art is expensive and if they learn this process it would bring the retail price down quite a bit,'' Goodrich said. ``Five people should be able to enjoy the art, not just people who have a lot of money. Good art costs a lot of money.''

In 1949, Goodrich decided she had developed the technique to a point where it was time to show and teach it to other artists. She went to New York and began a series of shows in and around the New York area, exhibiting at the New York Horticultural Society, where she was awarded a silver medal certificate, and at the Audubon Society's headquarters.

When she exhibited at the Staten Island Museum in 1950, she did a personal appearance on the ``News On The Hour'' television program and interviews on several radio programs. Five of her florals were purchased by the Julius Pollak greeting card company and used in its Pollyanna series.

After the birth of her daughter, and later her son, Goodrich put aside her painting and turned to catering to support the family, and her paintings were packed away.

Fifty years later, Goodrich is retired and living in Lake Los Angeles. In 2000, she became involved with the Antelope Valley Allied Arts Association when she attended an auction for the organization.

``One of the things being auctioned off was an etching by Salvador Dali, and I bought it, realized the people were very friendly, and lo and behold I'm back in art and I love it.'' laughed Goodrich.

Goodrich says she would like to teach the technique to artists in the Antelope Valley.

``The bottom line is, instead of just having prints on your wall, you'd have something done by an artist,'' Goodrich said. ``There really is a difference.''

The exhibit will be on display Saturday through June 21. The dates have special meaning for Goodrich because June 1 is her daughter's birthday and the Staten Island exhibit took place May 27-June 19, 1950.

``It's like an anniversary for me and it's like a birthday anniversary for her (Tess),'' Goodrich said.

Receptions will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the gallery, 44857 Cedar Ave. Admission is free.

For more information call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Louise Goodrich poses with her artwork, above, echoing a photo taken 52 years ago, below.

(2) Louise Goodrich stands with some of her works at her first big show, at New York's Staten Island Museum, in 1950.

(3 -- color) ``Carnations,'' a watercolor painting on display beginning Saturday at Cedar Centre Art Galley, uses Louise Goodrich's special stencil technique.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer