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October Issue
2008
Elder Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Offers
Works by Mary Erickson, William Farnsworth and Hodges Soileau
Elder Gallery in Charlotte, NC, is presenting the exhibit, Brush with Reality, featuring works by three award-winning southeastern artists who regularly paint together. North Carolina artist, Mary Erickson and her painting friends from Florida, William Farnsworth and Hodges Soileau, will exhibit new paintings on view through Oct. 31, 2008.
Mary Erickson was born in New York and grew up in Connecticut and is a graduate of Sacred Heart University. She studied with noted Maritime artist Don Demers and wildlife artist John Seerey-Lester. She is a founding member of SPAA, member of The Group of Eight, Oil Painters of America, American Impressionist Society, and American Society of Marine Artists.
Erickson's work is produced mostly on location and she spends time painting in Venice, FL, and Marshville, NC. Her work is included in numerous personal and corporate collections in the United States and Europe.
As a 1980 graduate of The Ringling School of Art and Design, Bill Farnsworth has spent the last twenty three years creating paintings for magazines, advertisements, children's books, and fine art commissions of portraits and landscapes.
Born in Norwalk, CT, in 1958, Farnsworth spent most of his life in New Milford, CT, painting landscapes of the rural area while supporting himself and family with his growing illustration career.
Farnsworth is a member of The Society of Illustrators, SCBWI and The Oil Painters of America. His realistic paintings have appeared in many national exhibitions and private collections throughout the United States. He has received many accolades for his children's books which include The 1996 Stepping Stone Award, 2002 Young Hoosiers Award, Napra Nautilus Award, Teachers Choice Award, and The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award.
Farnsworth is now giving back to his profession by teaching part-time at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, FL.
Hodges Soileau is a native of southwest Louisiana. The Cajun accent is all but gone from living in different parts of the country for so many years, but his cultural ties are still strong. He left Louisiana after graduation from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in pursuit of his art whose journey took him first to Texas and then to Connecticut.
Soileau had a successful illustration career which lasted twenty five years. His art graced the covers of more than three hundred book covers while he worked for most of the major publishing houses in New York. Soileau was a twenty three year member of the prestigious Society of Illustrators in New York where he received many citations of merit for work exhibited in their annual shows.
After twenty five years of executing ideas and concepts of others, he now paints subjects that are of interest to him. Soileau has had five one man shows and has participated in numerous group shows. Awards include First place in the T.S.A.A. exhibition in Tarpon Springs, FL, 1997; Finalist in The Artist Magazine 2001 Art Competition; Finalist in The Artists Magazine 2002 Art Competition; Best in Show at 2004 Face and Figure Exhibition, Venice Art Center, Venice, FL; Best in Show 2004 Spring Exhibition, Venice Art Center. Most recently Soileau received an award of excellence in the 2004 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition.
Soileau's work hangs in private collections as well as the US Air Force Permanent Collection; US Coast Guard Permanent Collection; and The permanent collection of Golf Digest Magazine. He does most of his work in a studio, but he likes to get outdoors as often as possible with a few friends to paint en plein air. Each summer he spends a month in the state of Maine painting the local landscape.
For further information check our NC Commercial
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 704/370-6337 or visit (www.elderart.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2008 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2008 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.