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ARTS DEPOT SHOWCASING FOUR AREA ARTISTS IN THE MEMBERS GALLERY |
The Arts Depot in Abingdon is featuring four regional Virginia artists in the Members Gallery. This exhibit opens on May 28, 2009 and continues through July 17, 2009. There will be a Meet-the-Artists reception from 2 – 4 PM on Sunday, June 7th. This is free and open to the public.
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"The Valley", a watercolor by David Alexander |
David Alexander of Abingdon, VA first became interested in art through in grade school, when his teachers asked him to design bulletin boards for the holidays. This sparked an interest that inspired him to take art courses from grade school through college. While David has no extensive formal art education, he has taken private lessons from Carol Blevins and this is evident in the style of his work.. He works in watercolor and has a real passion for painting landscapes and representing the wonder of our lands. David specializes in expressing the beauty of landscapes here in Southwest Virginia. This will his first show, although many will be familiar with his works from his appearances at the Abingdon Farmers Market over the past two years. David grew up in Southern California, joined the military in 1969 and was stationed on the East Coast. After the military he stayed in Virginia and has lived in Virginia except for a 10 year period in Connecticut where he was the Executive Director (a civilian position) of the Submarine Base in the town of Groton, CT. He and his family retired to Abingdon four years ago. |
| Maggie Brillhart grew up in Abingdon and is originally from Johnson City, TN. Her interest in art began in Middle School when she had her first art teacher. She went on to receives an Associate in Arts and Sciences degree from Virginia Highlands Community College. This also is Maggie's first exhibit and she paints in pencil, acrylic, and oil. In her paintings, she tends to gravitate towards subjects that you don’t see everyday like exotic wildlife or a bit of nostalgia when the subject of people is involved. She has entitled her exhibit Legends and Leopards. With regard to her art Maggie says, " I don’t know if I have a philosophy yet or if I did it would change frequently. For me it's about looking at the subject of interest, capturing its essence and using a pencil or paint to 'describe' it so in the end I can say this is how I see it. I think my art is very literal; I tend to focus all my attention on one subject because it’s the most important to me. A black and white scheme can sometimes have a much greater effect than color, which is what I’ve tried to emulate in my work. If I have an idea I do my best to make it happen though the finished product may differ from the original idea I’ll eventually come to the point where I’m satisfied". |
"Vivien", pencil drawing by Maggie Brillhart |
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"Golden Fields", a watercolor by Lyndall Mason |
Lyndall Mason of Radford, VA received her BA in Fine Art from Radford University and has studied further at Virginia Tech, UVA-Roanoke and Virginia Western Community College. She is a past art teacher at Dublin and Pulaski County High Schools, and was an adjunct faculty at New River Community College. She paints in watercolor and acrylic and has exhibited widely throughout the Southeast including shows such as Southeastern Center of Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, NC, Georgia Watercolor Show, Matrix Gallery, Sacramento, CA, League of Roanoke Artists Showcase, Agora Art Gallery, New York City, and Roanoke Museum of Fine Art to name a few. She has received numerous awards for her work, most notable are Virginia Highlands Festival Fine Art Show (1979, 1993, 2006), New River Valley Arts Festival Best in show (1973, 1974, 1976), and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond Juror's Choice Award (1976), In addition her work resides in many collections including Phillip Morris Company, Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Hotel Roanoke, Dominion Bank, and United Cities Gas Company, to name a few. |
| Connie Bundy of Abingdon, VA has a love of creating something new, bright, and useful. This shows in her exhibit of colorful painted pottery and baskets. She has always been interested in art and design and has taken some art classes in basket making, pottery, drawing, and painting in acrylics, oil, and pastels. She began making her baskets in 2004 and branched out into pottery in 2007. Connie's philosophy toward her art is to have feelings of love when telling a story with her art. She especially likes to feel the heritage of her baskets or pottery. |
"Knitters Basket", Handmade basket by Connie Bundy |
The Depot Artists Association is a non-profit volunteer organization that operates the Arts Depot and is dedicated to promoting the arts in the community and features the region’s artists. The Arts Depot is located in the historic Depot Square area of downtown Abingdon, VA. The gallery and artists studios are open for your viewing pleasure Thursday thru Saturday, 11-3 pm, or by appointment. There is no admission charge. For further information, please contact the Arts Depot at (276) 628-9091, or e-mail at abingdonartsdepot@abingdon.com, or visit their web site at www.abingdonartsdepot.org.