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April Issue 2007
Ten Notables from the Art World Gather for Paint Wilmington! 2007
Walls Fine Art Gallery in Wilmington, NC has invited ten artists, the majority from the east coast - Massachusetts to Florida - to translate their vision of what has become known as the low country to images on canvas during an intensive week of painting during Paint Wilmington! 2007, May 5 - 12, 2007. The exhibition of newly completed paintings will be open the public for viewing on May 12 from 9am-4pm. Larger previously completed works by the guest artists will be hanging at the gallery throughout the week.
Artists participating during Paint Wilmington! 2007 include: Don Mosher, famous for his lush paintings of his New England Seasons; Charles Movalli, a contributor to the lives of artists for years through his writing and his teaching and to those fortunate collectors in the know; Dale Ratcliff, known for her paintings of deafening New England surf and silent Vermont winters; Mike Graves, a landscape painter written about in the New York Times? Humm; John Poon, painter of serene landscapes with six kids at home; Perry Austin, the wine-drinking, paintbrush wielding gentleman farmer; Gavin Brooks, a competitive surfing, floor trading tri-athlete with a paint brush - don't stand in her way!; Larry Moore, Cocoa Beach native with an eye for the disappearing landscape; Robert Isley, Savannah's visual record keeper; and TA Charron, best known for his portraits of famous folk, his precision is a great counterpoint to Graves, Movalli and Ratcliff.
When artists work around each other a lot, they develop a vocabulary in common, something that in time identifies them as "Hudson River" or "Prairie School" or "Impressionist". Having for several years brought many Western painters and their vocabulary to Wilmington, Walls Gallery decided to bring the New England forces south for 2007.
Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont have colors and contrasts in nature that are unique in their prevalence, and the painters of the region reflect them in their work. Where else do maple trees abound? Unlike Wilmington, many New England towns have chosen to remain as they have always been, and Don Mosher's wife, Christine - also a painter, says Rockport, MA, is like Mayberry. No surprise that there is such continuity of imagery throughout the Cape Ann School, the Gloucester, MA area art colony that has flourished for over 100 years. So what does an artist who is used to crystal clear air do in a high humidity haze? You'll have to come and see!
This year, Paint Wilmington! has a friend in City Hall in Mayor Bill Saffo. Wilmington is a town that has decided what it wants to be and it is on the move. Over two years ago the city recognized the value of art and culture and outlined a Plan. Saffo, a Mayor with business experience, saw the importance of joining forces with existing arts businesses in order to take action on that plan. Paint Wilmington! 2007 is one of the head liners of "Bridge to Bridge and Beyond", Wilmington's celebration of art and culture from May 3 - 14. The Mayor makes clear that this is not a festival, it's a destination - the arts are the attitude of Wilmington.
Following last year's success, Walls Gallery
will host a daily "Lunch with the Artists" Mon., May
7 through Fri., May 11 from 12:30 to 2:00pm. Although it's
called lunch, what attendees will be chewing on is information
from two artists per lunch gleaned from a demo, Q&A, discussion,
story telling, or whatever the artists might choose to do. Not
only was "Lunch" well attended last year, but the artists
enjoyed it, also. The time is chosen for its light - around
the middle of the day when the sun is high, the shadows shift
pretty quickly from one direction to its opposite and that makes
it a good time to take a painting break. The schedule of
who "Lunches" when will be posted on our website.
For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings,
call the gallery at 910/343-1703 or visit (www.wallsgallery.com).
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Copyright© 2007 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
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