August 2011

Skyuka Fine Art in Tryon, NC, Features Works by Linda Cheek, Shelia Wood Hancock & Kelly Phipps

Skyuka Fine Art in Tryon, NC, is presenting the exhibit, Women of Western North Carolina, featuring works by three exceptional artists; Linda Cheek, Shelia Wood Hancock and Kelly Phipps, on view through Sept. 1, 2011.

The work that these three women have produced for this show is truly remarkable. Oils that depict dramatic sunsets at dusk, inviting pastoral scenes drenched in glorious greens and blues, and charming cityscapes of Asheville and Marshall, NC. A number of pastels have been completed for this exhibit as well.

Linda Cheek has made a career of landscape painting since 1990 when she gave up her job as an illustrator for Lockheed and moved to the Marshall, NC, near Asheville. She has a BS degree in Fine Art from the Ringling School is Sarasota, FL. Cheek is one of the founding members of the Western North Carolina Plein Air Painters.

Cheek says, “When possible, I prefer to paint en plein-air, on the spot because I feel the mood of the place and my reaction to the surroundings are of vital importance to the production of a good painting. I believe that if I spend a lifetime seriously and humbly studying the beauty of the spots of color made by objects as they come together, it cannot but react on me as part of God’s creation and by the time I have painted my 1,000 and 1 paintings, I’ll begin to have a glimmer of what beauty is.”

Sheila Wood Hancock specializes in landscapes inspired by her extensive travels in Europe and her love of the southern United States, where she has always lived. She paints in oil in an impressionistic style, both in the studio and en plein air. While studying for her Bachelor of Arts and then her Master of Arts in Psychology at East Carolina University, Hancock studied at the East Carolina University School of Art and Design.

Hancock is a member of Oil Painters of America, Mountain Arts Association and the Atlanta Artists Center. Hancock says, “Painting is my passion. I look forward to getting out there and having a conversation with my canvas as I try to weave a story using paint. When I get lost in a painting, I know I have a good painting and hope that the viewer can see the story and the mystery also.”

Kelly Phipps’ work blends the worlds of Classical Realism and Impressionism. She began studying painting early on with a group of landscape painters from the Asheville area, followed by three years of study of painting from life at an Asheville Atelier, learning the methods of Classical Drawing and Painting.

Phipps is a Signature Member of the Western North Carolina Plein Air Painters. Phipps says, “Painting from life is a joyous and fulfilling process. When one can let go and simply see the subject, one realizes that everything is there already, laid out and generously given to those who care to stop and see. It’s a humbling and wondrous feeling that life gives so freely… all I have to do as an artist is let go of all my presumptions about a subject and say ‘yes’ to all that my subject offers.”

For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 828/817-3783 or visit (www.skyukafineart.com).

[ | August 2011 | Feature Articles | Carolina Arts Unleashed | Gallery Listings | Home | ]