Fields, Gardens, Elephants and Abstracts at the Middle St. Gallery

(Press Release)

From May 16 to June 22 the Middle Street Gallery in Sperryville will show scenes of the Virginia outdoors by member artist Kathleen Willingham. Her exhibition, “Land, Sky, Water,” captures “the enjoyment and sense of peacefulness that I feel while on-site or remembering the place at a later time,” she says. Willingham, a former art teacher who has lived in Fauquier County all her life, offers paintings of Virginia places from the mountains to the Chesapeake Bay.  Many of her works are “plein air,” or painted on location.

“I enjoy painting near water, fields, gardens, and wooded areas within sight of mountains when possible,” she says. “I use the medium of soft pastel, and I enjoy the richness and purity of color that come from the strong pigments. Manipulation of the pastel to creates textures and visual expressions that happen with this medium is just fun.”

Five members of the non-profit artists cooperative will show smaller collections. Nancy Brittle presents a suite of paintings from her gardens. “As the farmer's daughter, digging in the earth is part of me,” she says. “After the work is done, I love to sit in the garden in all seasons to read, reflect, and paint.” One of her paintings shows her two 10-year-old cousins helping her in the squash patch.

Rosabel Goodman-Everard's three pieces are based on contour drawings of her left hand, “with the hand representing the mind.” Thomas Spande will show four framed pencil drawings of zoo elephants, rendered with confident and energetic lines. Photograher Jo Levine will show moody architectural scenes and semi-abstract images, while Gary Anthes will show a suite of four photographs of the identical farm scene in Rappahannock County, each in different seasons and types of weather.

The gallery will hold an opening reception for the artists and the public from 3pm until 5pm on Sat., May 17.

Located at Rappahannock Central at 3 River lane in Sperryville, the gallery is open Fri., Sat. and Sun. from 10 AM until 5 PM. For more information, please visit http://www.middlestreetgallery.org/ or call 540-987-9330.

Submitted by Gary Anthes