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The Crossroads Art Center has included information about artists in residence on this page. You may click on an image of the art work to enlarge it.

Chase Spillman Decker was raised in Richmond and attended the public schools there. Professor Decker earned a B. F. A. and M. F. A. from the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and he has earned a Certificate from the Academia De Belli Arti in Rome. He now lives and works in a pre-Revolutionary home near Aylett.

Chase Spillman Decker won every grant. prize and scholarship the Pennsylvania Academy of fine arts has to offer. In the states, he has shown in one person shows in Chicago Illinois, Racine Wisconsin, and Woodstock New York. In Europe he has had one person shows in Florence and Rome. His last one man show was in Greenwich Village in 2001.

Please visit his web site at: http://staff.jsr.cc.va.us/CDecker

My name is Sylvia deShazo. I was born in London, England and have traveled extensively around the world, but I now count Richmond, Virginia as my home.

I love to paint. I doubt I can ever capture the true beauty of nature, but I tend to paint scenes or images that make me happy when I see them, most of them are reminiscent of my life in England. I painted as a child, starting with charcoal salvaged from the garden bonfire. Now that my family is grown and work pressures reduced, I now have time to do what I love - PAINT!

I use both acrylic and water color as a medium. I am an exhibiting member of Bon Air Artists and Tuckahoe Artists in both acrylics and watercolor. My paintings have been accepted in juried shows in Richmond and Petersburg and have been shown at Uptown Gallery, General Assembly, St. Michaels, Glen Allen Cultural Center, Henrico Libraries and other local venues. I have studied with nationally known artists and I continue my studies with Christaphora Robeers.

I enjoy my art and I hope my art also affords you some pleasure.

Please visit Barbara's web site at www.barbaradill.com.


 

I began my career as a registered nurse in 1979. After twenty years of nursing I found myself beginning to spend more time on the art that I had studied in earlier years and less time in nursing. This led to an early retirement in 2002 in order to pursue art on a full time basis. We live in Chester, Virginia where we enjoy our pets and, time allowing, gardening. My studio is attached to our home where I also teach private and class lessons. Although the painting of animals is my real passion, I love to paint anything that captures my imagination and enthusiasm. My preferred medium is watercolor, but I also occasionally work in oil. My style is referred to as loosely realistic although frequently a switch to photorealism is necessary for an animal portrait. I am a member of several local professional organizations and have enjoyed participating in a variety of art exhibitions.

Artist Statement

My passion for all of nature and my love of the more mysterious elements of nature is truly what stimulates my creativity. Each of God’s creations has its own magical quality. I am so grateful for the gift of not only being able to feel that magic but for the ability to express it in a variety of ways. I hope I help others to also feel this magic.”

For more information and to see more of my work visit my website at www.rubydeesoriginals.net.

Tom Duke is a native of Virginia and resides in Richmond. Tom has a BFA degree from VCU and studied ancient and modern jewelry design throughout the US and Europe and has worked professionally as an artist for the past 19 years. "My jewelry is "Art to Wear" that reflects the spirit and cultures of our past and present. It is surprising how many ancient designs we see today in jewelry and many DukeAntics contemporary pieces reflect these elements."

Each one of my pieces is a limited edition or one of a kind creation. I work in many mediums including metals, glass, stone, and wood and often mix these to create unique pieces of jewelry that become conversation pieces. My jewelry creations include broaches, earrings, necklaces bracelets and cufflinks and customized sets are available by request.

Studio:
DukeAntics studio is located at 7630 Comanche Drive Richmond, VA 23225 Viewing is available by appointment or at a number of art shows in the region.

My website is www.dukeantics.com

I always said that when I get old and can’t do anything but sit around, that I wanted a lifetime of pictures to look at. I have to make sure my eyesight stays good! I’ve loved cameras and pictures since childhood. I used to make up realistic scenes with my model horses and photograph them, and then enter contests to see who had the best images. Unfortunately, my photography lay dormant through high school and college since growing up offers a lot of interests and little money. My senior year in vet school re-awakened my passion. I planned to visit a variety of cool places on rotations, so I finally bought my first camera, a Minolta point and shoot. As I photographed everything, I made so many images at Mystic Marinelife Aquarium in Connecticut over my 6 week rotation that the local camera store knew me by name.

Once I became a Veterinarian, I bought a better camera and took an adult education course to learn how to use it. While my camera was not the fanciest in the class I learned a lot. Then I heard about a weekend seminar by two prominent nature photographers. I was hooked. Their lifestyle and the amazing images they made entranced me. It would be many years before I could direct my life towards that end, but it was a fire that simmered deep down.

As life moved on and I pursued my veterinary career I was forever drawn to photography. I would make images on my time off and dream about traveling. The ugly reality that making a living as a nature photographer is daunting at best kept me at my day job. After marrying my wonderful man, I pursued a B&W darkroom printing class. Creating images with my new macro (close-up) lens and then printing them opened up a whole new world. I loved the abstract images I created from getting up close and personal to all kinds of flora. I lived for the moment when the image would materialize on the paper.

As life moved on, I was able to begin working for myself as a relief veterinarian. This allowed flexibility in my work schedule and happiness at being free from a boss. That along with my ever supportive husband allowed me to put more time into pursuing my goals. I now have the opportunity to travel and photograph a variety of wildlife and nature all over the country.

Our national park system is a wonder. The scenery our country has to offer is amazing and diverse, from jagged peaks, to prairie and plains to tidal zones and the great blue ocean, to forests of youth and old growth. It overwhelms the senses and gives flight to the imagination!

Then there’s the wildlife. Our country hosts a huge variety of wildlife. While some are harder to observe than others, it’s a real treat to see them in their natural habitat.

I have learned and experienced so much in the past 2 years. It’s been a whirlwind of new things. I can’t see it all, yet I wish there was more. I need to focus. Animals are a great love and I want to merge that with my art. There are many organizations and groups that can use my help; I need to find what fits me. I plan to concentrate on the nature and wildlife of Virginia in the upcoming years to find my focus. From there, who knows what I’ll discover.

Enjoy!

You may visit Victoria Dye's website at www.victoriasimages.com

I started in photography over 50 years ago where I found that what I enjoyed the most was working in a darkroom turning out prints that met my vision of the image that I had photographed. I have tried to utilize the skills developed in spending over 40 years in the computer industry to fully embrace and capitalize on the new digital age of photography. I tremendously enjoy the whole new digital environment as the digital darkroom lets me re-experience all of the joys that I had creating prints at the start of this journey without the messy chemicals and problems of the wet darkroom.

I spend a great amount of time traveling around the US for the sole purpose of finding locations that help me refine my photographic vision. These travels include numerous locations in my home state of Virginia, West Virginia, and along the east coast from Florida to Maine. I have also had the opportunity to spend time at Bosque Del Apache NWR near Albuquerque; Katmai National Park in Alaska; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Klamath NWR, California; Arches National Park, Utah; Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee; Oregon Coast; Texas Coast; Texas Highland Country; Lake Clark, Alaska and Anchorage, Alaska; and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming – the last one at least once a year for the past four years.

While my primary focus is on nature and wildlife you may also notice by looking at my prints, or by visiting my web site, that I am also very captivated by bright colors and mechanical “things”.

All of my work is printed on a variety of high quality paper using pigmented inks that have an archival rating in excess of a hundred years when matted, framed and under glass. I do all of my own printing work and am able to create any size up to 22” wide by as long as necessary to meet what I am trying to accomplish. Thus if you see a print that you like but would like it in a larger version, please let me know and I will be happy to do everything I can to meet your request. All of the matted and framed pieces that are on display were done in-house using archival quality materials. If you see a particular piece of work you like but would prefer to arrange for your own framing please let me know and I would be happy to provide just the print, or the print and matte if you so desire.

Many of my pieces are “Limited Edition” and it is worth defining what I mean by that term. The term “Limited Edition” to me means that it applies across all sizes. Thus, an edition of 30 means that it will be limited to 30 prints of that image in ALL sizes – 16 x20, 24 x 36, 30 x 40, etc. and not 30 of each size.

I hope that you like what you see. I know that I get a great deal of pleasure in capturing these images and then turning them into “something” that can be viewed by others.

I am an active member of the North America Nature Photography Association (NANPA) where I served as the Chair of the Membership Committee for 2003 and 2004, Nature Photographers Network, and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).

A number of my prints have been on display in Scottsville VA, Richmond VA, Chester, VA and Bar Harbor ME businesses.

Please come by and see my work and Crossroad Art Center and visit my web site at www.mdephoto.com

Thanks, Michael Early

William Fields was born and raised in Chilhowie, Virginia prior to, during, and after the Civil Rights Movement. His family home was located snuggly beside the Norfolk & Western Railway.

Those who lived there not only heard the sounds of the trains as they passed but also felt the vibrations. The vibrations continue on in the hearts and minds of those people, both white and black, who once lived in peace and harmony beside the tracks.

After graduation from Chilhowie High School, Fields attended the Virginia Art Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia.

His work is now available as prints.

www.appalachianspiritgallery.com/William/williamspage.htm

Please vist Vicki's website at www.foster-art.com.

For many years I had wanted to try painting with watercolors, but two young daughters kept me so busy. In 1996 with both girls in high school, I signed up for watercolor classes with Ellie Cox. I was hooked!

I think what excited me the most was all the possibilities with color, and I loved the transparency of watercolor. Color is so fundamentally important in everything I do.

The reason I love to paint flowers is the wonderful array of colors nature provides, and I love the shapes. I also enjoy painting the landscapes and cityscapes and find that most of the scenes I am attracted to often contain colorful flowers.

Sherwin Ghaphery’s travels inspire her to capture the people and places she visits. “I enjoy letting the paint flow over the canvas – giving life again to what I have experienced.”
Beginning drawing at the age of nine, she continued her formal education earning a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Sherwin is a resident of Richmond, Virginia, where she is a member of the Bon Air Artists Association and the University Painters. Her award-winning work can be seen at various exhibits throughout Richmond and at the Uptown Gallery.

I have been involved with art for as long as I have memory. My mother is a painter who taught classes in our basement and who helped me to teach my first pastel class to elementary students when I was in middle school. I hold BFA’s in both Art Education and Advertising Art. I have been an active member of Bon Air Artist Association since 1991 and exhibit in the Richmond and Wintergreen areas of Virginia.

Currently I work both abstractly in acrylics using vibrant colors and added texture, as well as doing more traditional oil landscapes. I find inspiration wherever my eye lands. My first abstract was inspired by the aging cracking polished cement floor of a local business. My latest landscapes, inspired by a convertible ride up the Pacific Coast Highway in California overlooking Big Sur. I am drawn to all facets of creative inspiration whether it is working in my flower garden or painting the essence of that flower. I am inspired by nature, its subtle and vibrant colors and how they affect my spirit and I use music to intensify my experience. I have spent the passing years exploring different mediums, working in something until I feel I have found “my style” within that medium and then moving on to the next. In each venture, color is of primary importance. I am continually exploring new ideas and growing as an artist, always looking for that next element that will inspire a change in my work. Hoping, of course, that each change has a positive effect.

For more information on purchase of original & commissioned works you can contact Laura at her Midlothian VA studio at (804) 379-8504.

STATEMENT

I love all things aquatic. I use the fluidity of enamel paint to explore real and imagined undersea worlds. The effect of thinning the viscosity of one color while leaving another with its full volume gives the paintings overlapping textural forms and an impression of depth. They can be appreciated from across the room for overall impact as well as at close hand for the detail.

PROFILE
Free-style Painter working with enamel paint on canvas, acrylic, and board. Small and large paintings. Some with a single image divided over multiple canvasses.

EDUCATION
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY, Richmond, VA
BFA, Communication Arts

GALLERIES and Shows
Art on the Half Shell
The Montpelier Center for Arts & Education
ArtSpace
Richmond Pottery
Handcraft Workshop
43th Street Festival of the Arts
Arts in the Park
Sledd/Winger
Holly Point
Crossroads Art Center

Ben Greenberg Photography
About the Photographer

Ben Greenberg is a lifelong resident of Virginia who grew up and lived in Richmond most of his life. In 2002 he moved to Charlottesville where he currently resides. He has photographed scenic vistas in Virginia, the mid-Atlantic area and many locations in the United States for more than thirty years, the last twenty-five as a freelance professional photographer. His carefully crafted images have won local and national awards and competitions and have been exhibited in numerous individual and group shows. They have been featured in diverse publications and purchased for scores of private collections. Ben’s photographs are currently featured in four galleries in Virginia.

Ben takes great pride in creating photographic images of the highest quality in color and black and white. He uses the best of traditional and cutting edge photographic technology, seeking to create and print his medium format photographs honestly to provide the discriminating viewer with an accurate rendition portraying the natural beauty of the subject. His photographic prints and all materials used in their presentation are prepared to meet the highest archival quality standards for maximum longevity (75-100 years and more) and a lifetime of enjoyment.

Ben’s primary subjects are the scenic landscapes including mountains, lakes, rivers and shorelines of Virginia and the nation. These locations include the University of Virginia and the surrounding areas of central Virginia, the James River flowing through Richmond, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tangier Island and the Eastern Shore, and North Carolina, including the Outer Banks and the southwestern portion of the state. He has also focused his cameras on national locations that include New York City and state, Washington, D.C., Maine, the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota, Florida, Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Ben’s images are available for purchase in many sizes alone, matted, matted and framed or on notecards. Contact Ben for more information:

Ben Greenberg, P.O. Box 1046, Charlottesville, VA 22902
Phone: 434-971-5700; Mobile Phone: 804-467-8212; E-mail: ben@bengreenberg.com
Web Site: www.BenGreenberg.com

I live in Chesterfield, Virginia and paint original watercolors. My favorite subjects include: landscapes, snow scenes, old barns and farms, seascapes and boats. I like my paintings to be expressive, atmospheric, colorful and to convey emotional content… humor does enter at times, too. “The Many Colors of Mother Nature” is a good expression for my work.

Retirement has given me time to discover that I love painting and I now look upon the world with better eyes. Please stop in to see my work and let me know how you feel about it. For when the paintings excite, sooth or inspire you, I have shared with you my feelings about “The Many Colors of Mother Nature.”

I have loved all forms of art since I was a child. In high school I was determined to be an artist (much to my parent’s dismay – “how will she support herself?”) I majored in graphic design in college and have been employed in the commercial art world for over 25 years. My career began as a designer with advertising agencies and then moved into marketing with fortune 500 companies. There I managed the creative process to produce video, packaging, sales and consumer promotion materials. In 2001, I started my own agency, Food for Thought where I help food manufacturers introduce their new products to market. My career continues to be very rewarding but one benefit of getting the kids on their own is that I can now dedicate time each day to express myself creatively. Working on a creative level feeds my soul like nothing else I can explain.

I believe in the power of art. “I believe in arts’ ability to engage, inspire and enrich the human spirit” and I hope others will become engaged with my art on a level that speaks to their personal experience and individuality.

I split my time between Richmond and our place on the Chesapeake Bay in Harborton, Virginia. Both are sources of inspiration for my paintings as well as painting trips taken each year to enjoy “plein air” painting on location. I have taken painting trips to the Tuscan region of Italy, Charleston SC, and most recently Bermuda.

A graphic background is evident in my work. I believe a solid foundation of good design is crucial. I rarely find the perfect composition in photos I have taken so I freely move elements around, change colors and textures to achieve the balance that speaks to me. A strong contrast between values and intense color is also a key component in my work. Often I create more intense lights and shadows than is real to enhance the play of light around the painting. I do not strive for exact representation of a subject. My best work captures the essence of the subject matter. If a painting stimulates senses other than mere sight we are getting somewhere. Can you hear the horns blaring in a New York cityscape? Feel the textures in a still life or the wind on your face in a landscape?

I hope my art can engage, inspire or enrich those that view it and would welcome dialogue concerning any of the paintings you may see in my gallery space at Crossroads.

Drop me a line if you have any questions or comments or if you would like to be added to an email list to notify you when new work is being shown. lharlow@comcast.net.

Ella Bryce Harris was not formally introduced to art until high school. There she fell in love with the creative process of developing and creating works of art using a variety of mediums. She took classes in graphic arts, and photography. She taught art and photography for five years. Even when she made a career change she continued to dabbled in art at home and where she could on her job, designing logos, posters, and projects for the school. In her spare time she would design and build book shelves, desks, cabinets, whatever her creative eye imagined. She also designed the addition to her house. In the spring of 2006, she took a class in Mixed Media and fell in love with her inner passion all over again, art. Since then she has produced many pieces using combinations of photography, digital imaging, paint, colored pencil and pen and ink. This summer, she sold several pieces in New York and is finally listening to her inner self. To see additional pieces of her work you can visit her website at www.creativeye.ifp3.com.

Personal Brief:

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, in the “pre air conditioning and TV era”, I developed a love for natural beauty early in my life. I learned to appreciate a beautiful sunset; the sparkle of light on water; the ocean, in its many moods; the vibrant colors, textures, and structures of flowers and wildlife. Though the natural world, I developed a strong bond with God and his glory. I attended college at Virginia Tech, majoring in Biology and minoring in Geology. I spent my undergraduate summers working at the University of Miami’s Rosensteil Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. After graduation, I taught high school for two years in Lawrenceville, VA. Although, I loved teaching, I gave it up for a position as a retail executive with Peebles Department Stores. After 24 years, I retired to pursue my passion for art.

Artist Brief:

I have always been fascinated with art and watching an artist demonstrate. I told myself that, when I had time, I would try my hand at painting. In 1996, my father died rather suddenly of heart failure. He had always been a true love and inspiration to me. After his death, my mother was going through some of his things and asked me if I would like to have his brushes and paints. What a shock! I never knew that he painted. She told me that he didn’t, he always wanted to learn, but never got around to it. I immediately thought about how much I would love to have a painting that he had created. This proved to be the “wake up call” that I needed. Within three weeks I found and enrolled in an oil painting class at Southside Virginia Community College. I was hooked the moment that I picked up a brush. I plunged into art with an appetite to learn as much as possible from the finest artists that I could find. I have traveled extensively and taken workshops with many nationally known artists including, Tom Lynch, Morgan Samuel Price, Dominic Vignola, Valerie Stewart, and Tom Edgerton.

Recently, I have discovered that my greatest painting pleasure is painting animal portrait commissions. I work in the style of the Old Masters known as Flemish realism. Working from photographic reference material, I am able to capture a pet’s likeness as well as its personality with amazing proficiency.

In the past three years, I have garnered eleven major awards, including “Best in Show”, “First”, several “Second” places, and the “Chamber’s Choice” award while competing in the professional category locally and nationally. I am currently represented by Crossroads Art Center, Richmond, VA, The Purple Parrot, Culpepper, VA, The Blue Piano, Lawrenceville, VA, Bracey Mercantile, Bracey VA, and Lake Living, Eatons Ferry, NC, and the Blackstone Art and Antique Mall in Blackstone, VA. I currently teach oil painting at the Southside Virginia Community College Advanced Learning Center in South Hill and give private instruction.

My art is an avenue to bring many of my passions - my love of nature and animals, my faith, my love of teaching – together with and my marketing and business skills.

Artist’s Vision:

Light, elusive, transient, and fleeting, is the source of all life and inspiration. It is the beginning and the end of every day and every human experience. Not surprisingly, it is a commonly used metaphor to describe God’s grace. Learning to see and understand the way light plays in this world is a lifelong pursuit. Adequately capturing light in any of its many personalities is my lifelong mission. If I can open a viewer’s eyes to light’s beauty, perhaps I can open his mind to life’s possibilities.

Please visit her website at www.artbykarolyn.com and her listing on www.artteachers.org.

I have always been interested in photography, especially digital photography is a great source of enjoyment for me. Through my lens I discover those beautiful scenes and objects and capture them in a good light. I started out with taking pictures of local historical places, like St. Johns Church, Edgar Allen Poe Museum, and many others. Moving on from my humble beginnings I started to travel, went out of town, on trips in search of those scenic areas to matte and frame. I want to share the beauty of this state as well as this country through my photographs at an affordable price.

Clinton Helms started drawing and painting at a very early age. He is currently pursuing a Master’s of Fine Arts (MFA) Degree in illustration at Marywood University in Scranton, PA under their “Get your Master’s with the Masters” program. Clinton attended Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of the Arts where he received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts (BFA) Degree in Illustration in 1999. During his senior year at VCU, Clinton got the opportunity to study abroad for a month and a half at the Lorenzo de Medici Art Institute of Florence in Italy on a summer study program offered by VCU.

In 2001, Clinton retired from the United States Army Reserves with an Honorable discharge after serving over twenty-one and a half years of service to continue pursuing his goals of becoming a successful artist and to support and care for his wife of twenty years, who lost her battle with Breast Cancer in 2005. He was born in South Hill, VA and currently resides in Richmond, VA.

When Clinton is not painting in his studio, he teaches drawing classes at VCU in the Art Foundation Program as an Adjunct Faculty Staff member.

Clinton strongly believes that he was born to be an artist and he is continuing to learn all that he can about his craft by studying the styles and techniques of some of the Old Masters and works of art from some of his favored artists like N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, and Norman Rockwell to name a few. Clinton believes that the basics for any artist at the on-set of their career is to have a strong sense of drawing from life and the ability to draw the human figure accurately. No matter what medium you ultimately master, be it conventional brush, airbrush, or computer, Clinton teaches his students that they must have a good and clear understanding of anatomy, perspective, color theory, and compositional design.

Clinton is a member of the Portrait Society of America, The Richmond Represents Illustration Club, and The Illustrators Club (IC) of Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Clinton has received a number of awards and recognitions for his work and has participated in both solo and group exhibition Art Shows in New York, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Clinton’s illustration markets of interest are Advertising, Book, Institutional, and Historical.

Please visit the artist's website at www.chelmsstudio.com.

My work in clay is clearly focused on interplay between form and texture. I use the empty and virgin vessel as a starting point and then manipulate the surface to enhance or create compelling tension. I have always found a precarious and grotesque beauty in the evolutionary armor that is present in nature (including man). Often I take the inspiration offered and my forms have an obvious and natural kinship with those in the natural world, the barnacled creatures of the sea, flora and fauna with tentacles, spikes, scabs, weathered and beaten skins, and other armor. The protections that evolve as a result of the overlapping of experiences have developed in my mind as “crusts”. In some of my work, these “crusts” appear on an exterior surface. Other work suggests an interior “crust“, organ-like forms bloating and blistering beneath a more pristine exterior. When making a vessel, I treat it as a character with its own idiosyncrasies. Some forms have impossibly craning necks and absurdly small openings, suggesting an interior without revealing it. The obsessive surface treatment in my work is a reflection of the idea that individuals (once empty and perfect as the vessel) pick up scars, tics, stutters, bumps and blemishes that make each one an extraordinary sight on the natural landscape. Some work takes on an industrial air, using tools ,metal bits, or mechanical forms in reference to more contemporary protections or armor. For me clay is natural material for this investigation as it accommodates manipulation and inspires with it response.

In the past four years my painting has taken me from the other side of the world to my own neighborhood. Ten years ago I began painting Persian miniatures with acrylics, then expanded to scenes taken from slides made while travelling. The last miniatures I worked on were in a series of very small “portraits” of Persian(esque) trees in 2004. After finishing this series, hunched over my work with special glasses, I began to feel life was passing me by. So, on the first warm day of spring I packed up an easel, oil paints, and headed outdoors. What an exhilarating experience! This helped me get back to a passion I have always had about trees. I began with small landscapes, and then explored the unique way leaves “sit” on the surface of trees. This fascination with pattern has expanded to capturing the movement of shadow and light, as well as atmospheric conditions and cyclical change. I have begun seeing how far I can push into the canvas with deep landscapes that beckon you into them. My works are always created in a series, always telling a story. I push myself to work larger, and then withdraw to intimate studies. I use oils for atmosphere, acrylics for boldness and then switch. It is a constant ebb and flow of contrasts as I celebrate what most people never notice in their own back yards.

My focus zooms in, then out, then in again. It is a constant search for pattern in light, shape, and life force. I always work in a series—sometimes a pair, sometime six, but always the last one IS the last one. The paintings tell me when the series is done. The best paintings paint themselves.

Matt is a 24 year old Virginia native who has had a lifelong interest in photography. His love and appreciation for nature and the outdoors brought him to Yellowstone National Park in the spring of 2005. While working for Xanterra, the park's concessionaire, he has enjoyed many great opportunities for photography and beyond. In the summer of 2007 he began working for the National Park Service and also started structure and wildfire training. Always on the move, Matt loves to fish, camp, hike, and travel. His camera never leaves his side.

Matt, a self-taught photographer, started out with a Nikon film body and eventually moved to a Canon film body. While he still enjoys film, his new Canon digital camera has proved to be an exceptional upgrade. His film work is untouched and he stays true to his digital images as well. Many of his pictures were taken in the park and the greater Yellowstone area. Matt has been invited to exhibit his work in galleries, photos contests, and in this year's Yellowstone Association calendar, which is sold to benefit the park.

The work of this young photographer captures natural world around us. In his three years of living in Yellowstone, the park has offered a wonderful view of animals, amazing vistas, and Mother Nature at her best. Matt hopes to travel and continue his adventurous journey of photography and wishes you to come along through his images.

The traditional way each photograph is created according to archival standards and all materials used are acid free. Only my hands touch the photographs from the actual taking of the picture, developing of the negative, mounting, matting, to the final inspection and framing.
The techniques I use in securing fine art photographs include using medium and large format cameras and Zeiss optics while practicing “The Zone System” developed by Ansel Adams. In my photographs I seek to capture solitude, desolation, drama and the sanctuary that only our children, if they are blessed, can understand. I hope that you will enjoy my work.
Please visit G.M.’s web site at www.gmhowerton.com.

I am a native of Virginia and reside in Midlothian, Virginia with my son, Zachary. I have just recently started painting and love the time that I spend with a brush in my hand. My artwork is a reflection of my love of color and the beauty I see in nature. I find great joy in painting and this emotion is clearly reflected in my work. I am an abstract freestyle painter and I predominately paint landscapes, utilizing vibrant color and multiple textures to portray the beauty of the scene. I work in oils because I love the manipulation of wet on wet and the surprise that awaits when the painting is complete. I have taken classes with Vicki Foster and Marti Fann and am a member of Bon Air Artists Association. I display my work at Crossroads Art Gallery and I hope you will enjoy my work as much as I enjoyed painting it!

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