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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.

The Art of Beverley Jane

As a mother of an active preschooler, I paint images that are peaceful and tranquil. My paintings are colorful detailed images that focus on the sunlight and shadows upon front entrances, porches, and facades of homes. They are stolen moments of quiet walks and welcoming doorways. I especially enjoy the color change of the seasons, Spring’s new blossoms or Autumn’s changing foliage. Although some of my images are based on the historical neighborhoods of Richmond, I hope they remind you of anyplace where the sun is warm, the shadows are comforting, and the porch is welcoming.

After working exclusively in watercolors for over fifteen years, I have decided to challenge myself with oil painting. I first studied oils with a private teacher while in high school. I am now painting with a double primary palette. Using a warm and cool version of the three primary colors, red, blue and yellow, along with white, I mix a variety of colors to create my art.

I grew up in western New York, studied at Columbus College of Art and Design and have a Bachelor of Science in Medical Illustration from the Ohio State University. Richmond, VA has been my home for over twenty years. I am a signature member of the Virginia Watercolor Society and was the only president of the Metropolitan Artists Association who served for two full terms. I paint almost every day in my home studio, which also doubles as a playroom for my son. My paintings can always be found at Crossroads Art Center (2016 Staples Mill Road, Richmond).

I also do collaborations and commission paintings of your favorite place. Please contact me, Beverley Jane at (804) 674-8219 for more information or visit my website at www.beverleyjane.com

I am a ceramic artist that creates functional pottery using stoneware clay. My primary ambition is to create objects that will bring someone beauty and joy when used in everyday life. A superior pot should function well and elevate the daily routine of eating and drinking to an artful and enjoyable experience. I get great satisfaction out of drinking coffee from a handcrafted mug, or eating ice cream out of a unique one-of-a-kind bowl. I love other people to enjoy this same pleasure.

Most of my work begins on the potter's wheel and starts as a cylindrical form. After being thrown, much of my work is altered or assembled together to form a new shape. Although, I have traditionally worked at the wheel, I've recently started experimenting with slabs and fun textures from around the house, such as leaves from the garden, or plastic floormats. I much prefer the look, texture and magic of pots that come out of a wood-fired kiln, so I participate in wood firings every chance I get. But when working in my own studio, I fire to a temperature of 2200 in an electric kiln. I've been experimenting with combinations of cone 6 glazes that will produce a wood-fired look, but it's just not the same!

I appreciate the form, function and elegant ritual that is associated with Japanese Pottery. In addition to the traditional masters of Japanese pottery, I am inspired by the modern day works of Warren MacKenzie, Jack Troy, Kevin Crowe and Jim Dugan.

Although I am a software engineer by trade, my true passion is spending time in my studio. I take classes and workshops whenever I'm able and have studied ceramics at Richmond Pottery, The Bowman House and Touchstone Center for Crafts.

You may visit her website at www.DancingDolphinStudios.com

I have always loved to draw and paint. Ilove to smell the paint, see colors emerge as they are mixed together and watch it take form as it is spread on paper or canvas. I especially like the acrylics and watercolors using them to create landscapes,flowers, and architecture of places I have been to and seen. Inspiration has come from Plein Aire workshops taken in Italy, France, Mexico, and The Florida Keys. Also, in areas close to home in and around Virginia and most rrecently New Mexico. I hope you will enjoy viewing my work as much as I have enjoyed creating it.

Bonnie Jordan is a native of Virginia where she resides today. She has spent most of her working life as a technology professional. At the age of 40, she developed an overwhelming desire to paint. For the next ten years Bonnie divided her time between a career and her art. She recently began pursuing her artistic dreams full time.

The range of Bonnie’s work includes landscapes, florals, and still life. Bonnie has trained at Scottsdale Artists’ School, Hands Work Shop, Virginia community colleges, and Alexandria Art League School. She has studied with other noted artists in the United States and France.

“I am inspired by nature, the beautiful colors of flowers and the light found in morning sunrise,” Bonnie says. “I prefer oil as my medium because I can achieve bold rich colors and textures. I have a passion for flowers and prefer to work in the tradition of realism. Painting has brought me untold joy and changed the way I look at the world. I hope to share that joy and move others with the beauty of nature.”

Please visit Bonnie's web site at www.bjordanart.com.

Betsy studied art at the Art League School in Old Town Alexandria, and has since been exhibiting her work in commercial galleries and juried national and international shows throughout the country from NY to California. She has received numerous awards and has Signature Memberships in Pastel Society of America, Southeastern Pastel Society and Pastel Society of the West Coast where she is also a Distinguished Pastelist. Her works are in private and corporate collections throughout the country.
Visit her personal web site to view her gallery of landscape, still life and pet portraits in pastel and oil. View a step-by-step demonstration of her methods. Also a complete biography and resume are available, as well as information on her current exhibitions and galleries.
Betsy will be offering art classes in drawing, pastel and oil at the Crossroads Art Center beginning in the summer of 2002. Contact her at (804) 897-0449 or at the Crossroads Art Center at (804)ART-8950 for more information.
Please visit Betsy's web site at www.betsykellum.com.

ABOUT MOSAICS
Tile has been used for thousands of years to decorate walls and floors. Modern materials and methods now make it possible for anyone to transform a simple table, sidewalk, wall, fireplace, or garden accessory into durable,colorful and charming work of art. The inherent beauty, affordability, diversity and durability of mosaics lends itself to all styles of decor.
There is something so intriguing, so "contagious" about mosaics that I kept doing more and more and more... and learning more and more and more. I found it impossible to be bored with mosaics. I find it to be relaxing, therapeutic, functional and fun! Anyone can do it!

As children we draw scenes of home, Mommy and Daddy, brothers and sisters. From those early moments to today, I have continued painting scenes around me. My style has evolved to be post-impressionistic and spontaneous. Painting challenges me to explore the endless possibilities of expression in oils, pastels, acrylics, and watercolor.

I am an award-winning artist and a member of several art organizations. I exhibit my work in local and regional galleries, businesses, and private collections. I am currently exhibiting at Hollyhocks Art Gallery located in Pinehurst, North Carolina, at the Morings Crafts and Gallery in Asheboro, North Carolina, and at Crossroads Art Center in Richmond Virginia. My 2008 juried shows include 2008 Art League of Hilton Head National Juried Exhibition, 18th Annual Mid-Atlantic Juried Art Exhibit, Smithtown Township Arts Council exhibit "Circling The Globe Through Women's Lives", and the Randolph Arts Guild 26th Annual Juried Art Show.

My art career began early with Crayola drawings on the pages of the Chicago Tribune.

However, my formal education was not in art. I have a BS, MBA and have spent 30 years working for major corporations in a variety of marketing positions management positions. I painted throughout my corporate career taking classes and workshops to build my skills. Early retirement has opened the door to full time dedication to my art.

But why in the world would I become an artist? Because I Love to Paint! The creative process makes me feel great. Color fuels my spirit and nothing is better than painting on location near my home, through out the US, or across Europe.

I work in variety of media; however, Watercolor and Oil are my major emphasis. While size and media may vary, the landscape is the dominant subject. My paintings reflect how I feel about the subject. One can visually enter the work and not need to see every brick, flower or blade of grass. So enjoy the view.

My true love is color. I am drawn to colorful subjects and love to experiment with new techniques and styles. I especially like to play with different combinations of colors and observe how they react to light.

My path to painting was anything but straight - along the way was nursing school, work, and, most significantly, raising a family. But creative pursuits were always an intricate part of my life and approximately 10 years ago I discovered my real creative passion is oil painting. Although I have studied with various teachers, I am primarily self taught - letting my pure love and respect of the art form guide my way.

I consider the ability to create any type of art as a gift from God - to capture just a small piece of the beauty of His color and His creations gives me great pleasure. Painting is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done, second only to raising my children.

My work has been exhibited at Arts Around the Lake at the University of Richmond, Artworks, and Crossroads Art Gallery in Richmond, VA. I am also an exhibiting member of Bon Air Artist Association and exhibit at various locations around town throughout the year.

People very often tell me my paintings are 'happy' or make them 'feel good' -- to that I say Thank You!

As a Fine Art photographer the challenge is to recognize the moment, to isolate the image from the entirety of your view, and then to capture that image in a way that retains it’s essence and conveys the visual emotion and beauty of the moment. The pleasure of accepting that challenge, the process of mastering the techniques that make it all work and the enjoyment of later witnessing the results of those efforts are what drive me as a photographer and as an artist. To create a lasting image of interest and beauty with a universal appeal that can be viewed and enjoyed by others is the goal I strive for.

David Leahy Photography offers an array of Fine Art images that catch your eye and capture your imagination. I look forward to the opportunity to talk with you about each and any of my photographs that may interest you. Please visit his website at www.davidleahyphotography.com.

Lynn Limon is an award-winning, fine art photographer who is represented by the 12 12 Gallery in the Manchester district of Richmond and is an artist-in-residence at the Crossroads Art Center, also in Richmond. Lynn enjoys capturing images of broad, dramatic landscapes, of intimate flower and garden scenes, and of architectural details in both new and well-worn buildings. Photographs from recent visits to Europe offer examples of the diversity of Lynn’s work, including work from a Western Ireland walking tour with marvelous examples of stone in the architecture and landscapes. The warmth and allure of Italy are represented in the uniqueness of Venice and the hill towns of Tuscany of Umbria. Most recently, from a first-time visit to Paris, a black and white interpretation with a suggestion of color contrasts the curves of the older structures with the angularity of newer designs.

Lynn is well known for her annual Richmond color calendar, offering a wide spectrum of iconic images from this diverse city. One of these is Main Street Station which was captured in the early evening on a very windy day, with dark clouds flying through the sky.

Please visit Lynn's web site at www.ftogrfyinc.com.

Tom Lowe has been woodcarving for 24 years, starting with Sign Carving on Martha’s Vineyard Island. He has a passion for creating unique one of a kind pieces. He started carving bowls upon his arrival in Virginia. The first few bowls he made were not food safe but odd shapes, upon displaying a few items, people starting asking if he could create food safe bowls. He then started with small peanut bowls, and continued creating larger and different items. Some of the many different pieces he produces, include Salad Bowls with Tongs, Salt Cellars, Cheese and Cracker Platters, Spoons, even ones for left handed people. The woods he uses come mostly from Virginia and range from Oak, Maple,Walnut, Cherry and Sweet Gum.
See Tom's carvings at www.carvedwoodbowls.com & www.wildwoodcarver.com

Mary Ann Lynch grew up in the panhandle of West Virginia, in a town with coal mines that dotted the outlying areas. She can remember as a child watching the miners coming home at the end of the day and how the whites of their eyes seemed to float against the layers of soot on their faces. Even though she dreamed of being an artist as a child, her main objective was to discover a different life outside of her hometown. It was instilled in her early on that a vocation other than art would be necessary if she were going to leave home as an independent woman.

After receiving a BSN degree in 1960, Mary Ann practiced nursing through the mid-1980’s. Around that time she began taking art courses that soon confirmed she had the skill and determination to follow her passion and pursue a degree in art. She entered the Massachusetts College of Art in 1995 and graduated with distinction in 1998 with a BA in both Painting and Art History. The years spent in art school changed her life’s course and from that point forward, she has been painting her abstract and interpretive expressions.

Mary Ann’s approach to the canvas is intuitive. Her art has evolved over the past twenty years into an eclectic portfolio of non-representational work. She prefers painting with oils but has also created striking artistic works in charcoal, watercolor and acrylics. When asked to reflect on her inspirations, she recognizes that there is a natural draw toward using more muddy tones. She muses that it might reach back to days when she was able to find beauty in the grim surroundings and coal darkened faces of her childhood, but, that is as reflective as she can get about her creative process. To Mary Ann, painting is for her today as it has always been: an escape where she gets lost in the work at hand and paints from deep within her heart. Nothing intellectual; purely intuitive.

Mary Ann Lynch currently resides in Jacksonville, FL and paints from a home studio. Artist Representation:

Mark Adams
CL: (804) 400-1967 - markadams3000@comcast.net

In this world of war and confusion we need some serenity, which I try to express in my paintings. Color is my thing and I use a lot of it. My fondness for interacting with people is reflected in my work.
 

I discovered my artistic side about twenty years ago. When I could not find a style of clothing I liked, I designed my own. I would do a reverse tye dye or paint on a basic outfit that I had bought. People on the street would stop me and ask who was the designer. This was self-gratifying, but I felt a greater satisfaction in knowing I had created something people liked. Soon after, I was designing and making clothing, earrings, and pendants at people's request. My success came from the abstract uniqueness, no duplication, and the assurance that women would not see another woman in the same outfit they had just purchased. Later, my designs were selling in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Gatlinburg apparel markets.

With a full time job, helping my son through college, and a marriage that was filled with physical abuse, I was forced to end my love of creating and producing apparel. For self-therapy, I began painting on canvas----but with no color. I guess this reflected my life at the time. The domestic violence in my marriage elevated to the point that I had to divorce because of fear for my life. My painting stopped for several years until I met my now husband who has helped me see "color" in life. After we took a trip to San Francisco where I visited several art galleries, I was reminded how much I missed painting. To my surprise, I came home one day to find that my husband had bought an easel, canvas, brushes, and paint. I wholeheartedly plunged back into painting.

I love abstract because you can be spontaneous and you are only limited by your own creativity. I love to watch people's reaction and hear about what they see in my paintings. The beauty of abstract is that five people can look at a painting and all will see something different.

BUNNY McCAFFREY
Fine Oils and Drawings



Bunny developed a deep appreciation of painting while growing up in Virginia. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University and also studied at the Studio School of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bunny was employed by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for many years. She maintains a studio at her home in Richmond VA which she shares with her husband and their two dogs.

She visits each of the scenes that she paints a number of times during different seasons. “I travel to each of the sites on several occasions for photographic and painting purposes. The weather and the time of day really do change the colors. I visit places that I have seen during my life, and that I think that others would enjoy seeing represented in paintings. Historic sites and college scenes are subjects that speak to me. I enjoy capturing their energy ~ and sharing it with others.”

Bunny’s paintings are displayed in homes, offices, churches, and public buildings. Her oils and drawings are works that make exceptional and discriminating gifts for special occasions: birthdays, housewarmings, weddings, or as a remembrance of one’s favorite college or historic site.

mccaffreystudio@comcast.net

About the Artist
“I want to vivify, to paint worlds one would want to enter. Living in various cultures has increased my love of the exotic and mysterious.”

Carol Anna Meese

Carol Anna Meese has traveled, lived, studied and worked in Mexico, Italy, The West Indies, Nepal and Bangladesh. Her paintings and photographs have progressed through many exhibitions and competitions throughout the United States and abroad. In 1990, she exhibited at The Studio Arts Center International, Florence, Italy. In 1993, she had duo exhibitions at L’Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, Bangladesh and at The Third Eye, Katmandu, Nepal. For the 1994 season, her art was the program cover for The Richmond Symphony. In 1998 Meese was awarded “Best in Show” at The Montpelier Center for the Arts, Virginia. She has won numerous awards for her mixed media paintings of photography and oil paint on canvas. Carols work has been described as Oriental flavored, pre-Raphaelite gone modern, cosmopolitan, sensual, and a fruity drink.

Her art is currently included in the collections of L’Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, The University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dartmouth College, a Norwegian film producer, and Michael Ondaatje, Author of The English Patient.

Carol is a resident of Chesterfield, Virginia, and The Outer Banks, North Carolina. A retired school psychologist in Richmond Public Schools, she holds a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology and has postgraduate training in fine art, creative writing, and art therapy at Virginia Commonwealth University, The George Washington University, and The Studio Arts Center International, Florence, Italy. She maintains a studio/gallery in the recently restored Nathaniel Friend House, Petersburg, Virginia.

“I have long been fascinated by the power of gesture, scene setting, and obsessions.”

Carol Meese Studio/Gallery: Bollingbrook at Cockade Alley, Petersburg, VA
Website: www.carolmeese.com    Tele: 804 796 1549    Email: Carol@carolmeese.com

Walter Messick, Craftsman
Fine Handcrafted Musical Instruments
Walter Messick pastored Lutheran churches in Konnarock and Whitetop, Virginia. He learned instrument making under the expert guidance of one of his parishioners, the late Albert Hash, a well known fiddler and instrument maker, and his talented daughter, Audrey Hash Ham. He has been making these fine instruments since 1981. His craftsmanship has won numerous awards and his instruments have been recognized around the world.

Visit his website at www.cabincreekmusic.com

   Metal Quilts and Mirrors   

Marianne Metzger freely admits that the influence of European designs found in antique Meissen and Royal Copenhagen’s “Flora Danica” show in her fanciful creations. Evidence of these influences are especially found in the vines, leaves, branches and flowers that lavishly embellish most surfaces.

Each piece is hand built of whiteware and involves extensive use of color washes with underglazes, glazes and subsequent detailing with china paint.
 

I have never spoken in a complex manner concerning my art. I am one of those individuals who does not believe that the power of complexity is greater than the power of simplicity. It is my aim to produce images that are of things I observe that hold my interest. In mixing, moving and applying the oil paint that is my chosen medium, I hope to express something that goes beyond simple representation and moves toward a new language of the image that is constructed in terms of color, form and texture.

It has been said that only through painting can we truly touch the soul of another. Through experimentation, the journey never ends in discovering new approaches to a subject and capturing its essence. If there is anything at all that I want my paintings to achieve, it would be the touching of another's soul by means of a new way of seeing the world. I find fulfillment by applying paint to the canvas similar to how a poet strings words together on a page.

I work in a 1,500 square foot studio in Maidens, Virginia.

William Ward Moseley is recognized throughout the United States for his bold and brilliant paintings. He has received more than 100 awards for his artwork. Participating in juried exhibitions for the last ten years, his landscape paintings have been on exhibit in group shows throughout the East Coast. In creating works in a realistic, impressionist style, Moseley is inspired by scenes throughout the US and Canada. Moseley's landscape paintings are included in corporate and private collections throughout the United States. He is represented by several galleries in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.

I came to painting in mid-life after a very long, demanding, and structured graduate program in counseling psychology. It was good medicine for restoring my soul. I paint intuitively rather than planning out the details in advance. I enjoy the spontaneity and interactive nature of watercolor, where what happens on the paper with each brushstroke speaks to me about where to go next. I also work with oil pastels and find the direct contact of holding those creamy sticks and firmly pressing color onto the paper to be quite satisfying. Most recently, my interest has turned to experimental watermedia--using acrylics, watercolor, and the vast array of gels and mediums to explore texture and intuitive expression in new ways.

Painting allows me to move beyond the confines of my individual sense of self, to a place of connectedness with the Source of all creation. It’s a freeing, healing, and spiritual process for me, and I hope that viewers of my work will have some sense of that within themselves.

It has been said that a painting should entertain the eye while it speaks to the soul of the viewer. That is Barbara’s reason for creating her art.

Having traveled throughout the United States and parts of Europe, the views that are provided by nature has always held a fascination for Barbara. Whether it be the view from a mountain top in California or the rolling of the waves as they break over the sands on the East Coast, the quiet solitude one can find in these beautiful places is what she tries to capture in her paintings.

One does not have to go far to find tranquillity if one is a gardener. Flowers and the ever-changing garden scene have been the subject matter for many of her paintings. The gardenscapes, which have evolved over the years, are a combination of flowers and landscape.

Originally from New Jersey, where she went to school, Barbara and her family lived for many years in Connecticut. Art entered the picture as a release from the everyday duties of raising a family. Over the years there have been many classes and workshops to gain knowledge and experience. Workshops have also provided an opportunity to paint outdoors and work with nature first hand.

Barbara is an active member of the Bon Air Artist Association and past president of the Salisbury Garden Club. She exhibits with the Bon Air Artists, Powhatan Plein Air Painters and Crossroads Art Center.

I have always wanted to draw and paint from the time I was old enough to hold a paint brush. I always dreamed of being an Artist when I grew up even though my Dad always told me you couldn’t make a living at art. Life led me down a different path and my becoming an Artist was put on hold until after my retirement.

I decided then, it was time for me, so I started signing up for drawing, pottery and photography classes. During the last 4 years I have taken as many Watercolor classes and workshops as possible. This allowed me to work with many talented teachers and artists. I discovered I love learning and experimentation, it gets me excited and I feel like a kid again. There are so many possibilities, whether it is oil, acrylic, pottery, mixed media, it is just impossible to do all I would like to do. I am so grateful for the many wonderful and talented friends art has brought my way; I can hardly wait to meet with them on Mondays so we can paint together and share all that we have learned.

I can only hope my Art brings as much pleasure to the viewer as I receive in creating it.

Susan Oknefski-Hamway studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Nimrod Art Workshops. Her work is included in numerous corporate and private collections and has been displayed in many gallery and museum exhibitions.

Susan's work is a celebration of the everyday and the fantastic, still-lifes and portraits are colorful and filled with vibrant light, reminiscent of 17th century Ducth painters. Objects appear suspended in time and filled with hidden meaning.

"My vision is to create a moment in time that could be, but isn't-where the viewer finds refuge in another world."

Oil paintings are on birchwood or masonite panels, commission portraits and limited edition giclees available.

My years as an Artist have been full of enjoying the color of everyday life. As someone who is so emotionally influenced by my surroundings, color is a basic necessity.

The imagination that flows within me is transferred to my paper. The love that I find in my craft gives me peace that I wish to share with others.

We all observe the moon, the sun, the rustle of the leaves,the ocean crashing on the shore. Some of us see them colored in a different hue. One that I hope you will enjoy.

Joan Irwin Osmalov

"Find your bliss and follow it" was the sage advice of American professor and author Joseph Campbell. Art is Bev's bliss and she has been following its amazing path for over twenty years.

Bev is a native of Salisbury, Maryland. She now lives on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay near Richmond, Virginia. Her artwork had been exhibited in and won numerous awards in many regional, national and international competitions. Recognitions include being awarded "Best In Show" in several prestigious shows such as the Southern Watercolor Society, The Virginia Watercolor Society and the Central Virginia Watercolor Society. Bev has been published nationally in Artist Magazine and American Artist Watercolor Magazine where she was acknowledged as "one of the country's rising watercolor stars". She is a signature member in four prestigious watercolor societies.

Bev begins her creative process by looking for shapes within a subject and the effects of atmospheric lighting to create a mood within the painting. Many of her landscape paintings are painted on location ("en plein air"). These settings include Italy, France, New Mexico, Anguilla in the British West Indies, Monhegan & Grand Manan Islands, the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Chesapeake Bay area. When painting on location, Bev believes that the correct path to creative expression is to stop looking at the subject matter after the first half hour because at that point the painting will begin to take on its own character and the end result will be a more creative perspective.

Bev's paintings are included in many private and corporate collections such as Media General, The University of Virginia, Lynchburg College, Philip Morris, Allied Signal and Bank of America.

You may visit her web site at BeverlyPerdue.com

G P DESIGNS by Gail Perry
Bio:

My jewelry and fused glass studio is located in Richmond, Va. In 1998 I began taking metalwork classes with a focus on designing, soddering, and texturizing, working primarily with silver. From that beginning, I added jewelry with gemstones, Swarovski crystals and pearls, PMC pure silver, and vintage buttons. I started a business called G P Designs and did some shows locally.

In about 2004 I took some classes in glass fusing, also known as kiln-firing, which is a centuries-old process made popular again. This became my new focus. I especially enjoyed working with the magic of Dichroic glass. Soon after, I bought a kiln, and from that time on, I could be found in my studio making fused glass creations and jewelry. My fused glass work includes plates, bowls, vases, and home accents such as picture frames, wine bottle stoppers, eyeglass holders, nightlights, etc. The tableware is meant be to displayed as art when not in use to serve food.

My jewelry includes Dichroic pendants, earrings, and bracelets, plus Dichroic cabochons set in PMC silver. My “other jewelry” includes necklaces and bracelets with gemstones, Swarovski crystals and pearls, as well as beaded earrings.

I use a lot of color in my fused glass creations, and my designs range from geometric to abstract. My work involves a lot of trial and error, and as I work on a piece, it often changes and evolves from my original plan, depending on where it takes me. When I open the kiln after the 12 to 14 hour process of firing and cool down, sometimes I am disappointed, but usually the results are breathtaking and mesmerizing.

Please visit my website at www.jewelryandfusedglass.com. Contact me at gailwperry@hotmail.com or (804 216-3777) with suggestions or questions. Sometimes I take on custom orders, depending upon the request. Thanks for looking.

I'm drawn to color.

The painting process is for me largely and intuitive one: usually an abstract concept the takes form out of its own energy. That energy, rather than the concept or method, is the real power, the real inspiration, behind my work. I trust it, paint to its rhythm.

Trusting that energy, of course, means being challenged by the moment - a mood shift, the spark of an idea. My intention is to react to that moment through my fascination with light and color, creating new relationships between them by layering or by juxtaposition. My hope is that these relationships, born out of the moment, provoke in the observer the same shapes of thought, of feeling, that I had while painting.

I aim to recreate the close harmonies I discover in open fields, marshes, rivers, and skies; to reveal the dialog between a tree line and the sky, a lone cedar and passing clouds, a man-made structure and its natural setting. I am successful not when I reconstruct the landscape but when I represent the spirit of that moment I became connected with it.

Visit Nathan Pope's website at www.nkpope.com.

A Brief Bio
Terrie Powers, a Virginia native, has known since at least age five that she would always be drawing, painting and creating. Ever since graduating from the University of Richmond in 1977 she has been employed in some type of art-related profession, from sign design and illustration to scenic crew at the Santa Fe Opera. When her other childhood career plan—to be a cowgirl—didn’t work out, she went to work designing and painting sets for Theatre IV and Barksdale Theatre and has done so for 26 years. Her sets have entertained millions of children as they traveled with Theatre IV around the country to schools and larger facilities. Terrie has also designed for the Family Playhouse season at Theatre IV’s Empire Theatre.

Now also a homemaker with two children, she continues to turn out paintings and set designs in her home studio amid the woods of Bon Air. The natural setting continues to lend a defining spiritual essence to her themes in painting.

Terrie’s paintings have been exhibited from Palm Beach to New York City and many reside in private and corporate collections. She is also a self-employed muralist with a growing number of customers in the Richmond area, she designs and paints installations for conferences and fund raising events, and is an active volunteer for art programs at church and her children’s schools.

Terrence received his art training at the Corcoran School of Art and Design in Washington, D.C. He credits Annette Polan of the Corcoran School for developing his interest and early skill in portraiture. While well-known internationally for his writing in computer science, he is, as they say, “young at art”. He has been a full-time artist only since 1999. The Laughing Lion Gallery, which he owned and operated in Charlottesville, Virginia from 2004-06, was his first commercial venture into the art world. He currently resides in Charlottesville.

About his artistic interests and influences, he says: “Portraiture and the human figure have been my central interests since the beginning of my art training. Capturing the energy of people, especially their spiritual and physical energy, is what most engages my artistic sense.”

Favorite subjects include portraits of dancers, children, and family groups. Recently he has begun a series of landscapes. His work has a regional focus. He loves the Central Virginia area, its rivers and mountains and the people in it, and he likes to bring that connection into his work.

Terrence holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and had a successful 35-year career as an author, research scientist, and teacher in the field of computer science. He served on the University of Virginia faculty from 1977-92 and held a senior research position at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center from 1992-99. He was listed in Who’s Who in America from 1979-1994.

Michael Preston
www.prestonart.com
I grew up in Pennsylvania, and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Penn State University in 1994. Before moving to Richmond in 2000, I worked as a graphic artist in San Francisco, California, and also as an illustrator in San Diego. It was in San Diego that I had an opportunity to experiment with oil pastels and came to appreciate the painterly qualities they offered, such as color, texture, and ease of manipulation.

After moving to Richmond in 2000, and spending the last ten years focused on my graphic/web design career, I began to feel artistically hungry to create with traditional art mediums. It was here that I made the decision to work with oil pastels instead of oil paints. I made the change primarily because I did not have the studio space to work in oil paint, and I was not about to let anything more stand in my way of creating. So, in 2003, I began with small, simple drawings so I could finish pieces, and not have them interfere with my professional career. As I continued to use pastels I fell in love with the brilliant colors, texture, and the rapid nature in which I was able to complete drawings… unlike the time needed to complete oil paintings.

About the art
The compositions I chose in my early works were that of people in situations that “to me”, captured the classically romantic side of Richmond; wine, dancing, horses, and cigars.

Since 2003, I have expanded my subjects to incorporate much more impressionistic and cubist works, as in “Tuscany Abstract”, and “Opening Night”. I’ve also learned to use layering and stroke work to help increase the depth and texture of my work. The texture helps draw the viewer into each scene, and help them become intimate with the moment captured in the composition.

The main goal of my work is to capture a scene that invites the viewer into a moment between two people or an individual in a state of reflection. My artistic influences are Picasso, Degas, Monet, and Cézanne, and Van Gogh.

All original pieces are drawn on acid-free drawing paper with pencil, and brushed in with black oil pastel and turpentine, before oil pastels are applied.

Todd Price is an artist in both fine and commercial arts who creates in Elk Creek, Virginia. A graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Todd draws on over thirty-five years of professional art experience to bring a high level of quality and maturity to his work.

The son of a professional artist and art educator, Todd’s interest in the arts has been life-long.

“I have enjoyed watching Todd create over our 34 years together; it’s been an awesome ride. He developed a children’s exhibit at the Akron Museum of Modern Art in Ohio that is still being used, complete with a puppet theater. The kids and I made field trips to the billboards he painted for Patrick Media Group while living in Rochester, NY. Now I know that we watched a master at work as he painted massive pieces so life-like, either off a swing stage next to a busy highway or in a converted trolley car /billboard building. They were all done in the old style, with oil paints and brushes. He’s my Michelangelo,” writes Gloria.

He operates Signs Work, a custom sign company in Elk Creek. Todd paints in oils, finding inspiration from the bucolic surroundings of rural Virginia. Landscapes and skies of vibrant color and texture create a fluid conversation that describes the “humble beginnings” of life in the valley. In addition, he’s an Eagle Scout. He can be reached at (276) 655-4047; signswork@ls.net

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