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December Issue 2009

Shain Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Features Works by Geoffrey Johnson, Veronica Clark & Amy Dobbs

New works by artists Geoffrey Johnson, Veronica Clark and Amy Dobbs will be showcased at Shain Gallery in Charlotte, NC, from Dec. 1 - 31, 2009. These artists offer a contrast of paintings from tonalistic urban scenes, extraordinary still life, to rich animal portraiture.

While Geoffrey Johnson was born in Greensboro, NC, his name and his reputation are recognized from coast to coast. Johnson is a 1993 graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy and is winner of the Morris Blackburn Landscape prize - the recipient is chosen by the Academy faculty. Johnson was also honored as the recipient of the Campbell Soup Company Scholarship and Three Pennsylvania Academy Purchase Prizes.

Johnson's numerous solo exhibitions include Pasadena, CA, Atlanta, GA, Washington, DC, New York, Alexandria, VA as well as Shain Gallery in Charlotte. His work is in numerous corporate and prominent private collections including Turner Broadcasting, Bell South Corporation, Wachovia Bank and the Bernau University Museum in Gainesville, GA.

Johnson's largely tonalistic, soft focus, almost blurred landscapes and strong dark to light urban scenes have an elegant sense of melancholy and that very desirable quality of "timelessness" that totally engages the viewer.

Veronica Clark, born in rural Sussex, England, lived there until 1966 when she moved with her family to the Cote d'Azur in France. She studied in London, Paris and Florence, learning French and Italian and nurturing a passion for art by spending many hours in galleries and museums. Clark then worked as an interpreter and office assistant in Europe before moving to the United States in 1981. She has resided in the Carolinas ever since.

In 1998, Clark renewed her interest in the fine arts under the instruction of Carol Mitchell and Andrew Braitman at the Braitman Studio in Charlotte. In 2004, she completed two weeks at the American Academy of Equine Art in Lexington, KY, studying under Lesley Humphrey and Elin Pendleton. Clark has also attended workshops with Ben Long, Kate Worm, George Strickland and most recently with Scott Burdick.

Using primarily oils, pastels and charcoals, Clark derives inspiration from the many dogs, horses, cats, chickens, cows and geese that call the farm home. She works "plein-air" as much as possible to capture the rich colors of nature and the expressive characters of the animals. Clark's works reflect her passion and affection for animals and rural life. Clark's studio overlooks the fields and woods of her family farm, providing an ideal setting for her work.

As a young artist, Amy Dobbs has had an impressive beginning in the art world. Born in Richmond, VA, in 1970, she has studied in the United States and Europe and now makes her home in the South of France, where she moved in 1995. While in high school, she received the Congressional Award for High School Art Students as well as the A.J. Fletcher Scholarship to study art at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC.

Dobbs returned to Europe following college as a studio artist in Berlin for two years, then returned to the States as an Associate Artist for the Charles Lindbergh Fresco Project in Little Falls, MN. Other shows include private and group venues in Paris and London as well as those in the United States.

Dobbs works in oil on either linen or wood panels that she prepares with a rabbit skin gesso and paints "live" in from of the subject believing that "nature is our best teacher". She is a formidable realist painter, equally skilled in landscape, still life and portrait with an extraordinary ability with color. Dobbs' "classic with a twist choices" in subject matter and composition give her exquisite paintings a wonderful individuality.

For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 704/334-7744 or visit (www.shaingallery.com).

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