Lynn Abbott || www.lynnabbottstudios.com
Light and water take center stage in nearly every Lynn Abbott composition.
Actually that isn't surprising.
As the only daughter of an oceanographer, Abbott lived in coastal and sunny communities for most of her growing up years. But her connection to sun and sea reaches much deeper than that.
She explains, "As a cancer survivor, I find myself drawn to compositions that feature both water and light because each reflects hope and abundant life. For me, both celebrate the power to overcome life's shadows. And all of us certainly encounter darkness and shadow in this world. Yet, even in the midst of difficulty, illness, pain or grief, I have often observed the truth of C.S. Lewis’ words, ‘The shadow proves the sunshine.’ In fact, I believe that light overcomes darkness and streams can flow in the desert. And I am passionate about sharing that hope through my art.”
Both an award-winning artist and freelance writer/journalist, Abbott has an international background; she has worked in both the United States and Great Britain. Her art can be found in international, national and regional venues.
Abbott is a member of Brush Strokes Gallery in Fredericksburg, Virginia; the 810 Weekend Gallery also in Fredericksburg, Virginia; the Professional Artists-Artisans Association of Stafford (PAAAS) and the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts
Ben Childers || Ben’s Glass Studio, King George Virginia
I have always been interested in art in all of its forms and started with oil painting in high school in the mid 1960s and was briefly an art major at the U of Texas at Arlington before military service. After the service, my professional life was spent in various medical fields before I changed careers in the mid 1990’s and received my Doctorate in Economics. I now work as an economist in DC.
Throughout the years, I continued to paint and when my younger son was about 10, we attended a stained glass class in Columbia Missouri, our home at that time, where I set up a studio and enjoyed learning all the techniques of making stained glass. I had to sell the studio when I moved to Virginia and my new creative needs were then satisfied when I attended a fused glass course – the natural next step from stained glass. Fused glass is the melting, mixing and forming of semi-liquid glass. This technique allows me to develop more abstract and a freer form of work than stained glass allows.
My wife, Ann, and I live on a wooded hillside in King George County. My large workshop enables me to explore many aspects of fused glass, such as glass “boiling,” glass sculpture castings as well as creating with glass powders and ground glass frit.
All my work is individual and unique - many are by commission. I am in the enviable position of being able to pursue my art through the many and varied techniques of melted glass. Most recently I am exploring the specific technique of melting glass powers.
Beverly C. Coates
“Love of flower still charges my imagination. My imagination, with or without a fresh bouquet in view, then I use watercolor pigments and brushes in hand “to design the flower bouquets.” Likewise using rich, deep jewel tones, I also delight to capture the essence of local scenes.”
Graduate of King George High School and Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia.
Teacher of home economics in Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties.
Member of Kappa Omicron Phi, Honorary Home Economics National Fraternity.
Inspired by local artist Johnny P. Johnson and Janet Walsh of New York and Pennsylvania.
Lives in Ferry Farm area and in King George, VA.
Retired as owner-designer of Weddings of Fredericksburg.
Among Awards received are recognition from Capitol Orchid Society; University of Mary Washington Community Centennial’s “One Hundred Years Together Art Show.”
Artist member of Brush Strokes Gallery which also shows art at Mary Washington Hospital, and owner-artist of 810 Weekend Gallery, both on Caroline Street.
Sarah Flinn || [email protected]
I always wanted to be an artist, but never had the time while running a household and raising three daughters. We moved from Maryland to Albany, Oregon in 1987 and I enrolled in the Linn Benton Community College and started drawing and watercolor classes. We lived in Oregon for 1 ½ years before my husband was transferred to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
I wanted to try oils so I studied with Barbara Chaney, a well-known artist in that city. As a member of the Alabama Art Association for 8 years, I exhibited every year at their show. I participated in various workshops the 8 years that we lived there. My paintings were also displayed at the Louisa Pinion Wilson Gallery in Tuscaloosa, at the arts Council of Tuscaloosa Juried Show in 1993, and the new County Building at Tuscaloosa. Also I held a one-person show of fifteen paintings at DCH Regional Medical Hospital in 1992.
We moved to Salem, Oregon in 1995 and I continued classes in oil. I was a member of the Salem Art Association and exhibited at the Bush Barn Art Center in that city.
My husband retired from the Government in1998 and we moved to Fredericksburg to be near our three daughters and their families (seven grandchildren). I have continued to paint and this September will have been with the Brush Strokes Gallery for ten years. I have shown paintings at the Fredericksburg Fine Arts Exhibit and currently have paintings on display at several locations in Fredericksburg.
My husband Dave and I live in South Lee’s Hill.
Stacy Gaglio || [email protected]
My favorite subjects to draw and paint are buildings, homes, and old signage. Recently I started my own custom house portrait business. I love things that were once beautiful and now are old and forgotten. My passion is to go around and search for the right building, photograph it, and paint it. The process of bringing a subject back to life through art is inspiring. Primarily I work in acrylics, but love pen and ink because of the simplicity of black and white.
Artist Biography—I was born in New York and spent most of my life there. I have also lived in Montreal, working as a professional artist. About five years ago I relocated to Fredericksburg from Saratoga Springs, New York. My studio is located in my home. I studied at and have a degree in Interior Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. I have designed high-end residential homes for the past 20 plus years. Drawing architecture and interiors has not only been a professional endeavor, but a personal one as well.
Carol Haynes
As a child, drawing life-size images on the wall was a favorite pastime…and may have something to do with the size of my drawings today. There is a certain amount of freedom in letting an image grow right before one’s eyes. The medium that I am currently involved with is an oldie but goodie: charcoal. I have on purpose limited my palette to that of pure black and pure white charcoal (except on the few occasions when a dog’s tongue…or cat’s nose…called for a touch of pastel to be used instead). Creating a gray scale then becomes the challenge to me, as an artist, especially when rendering such features as a dog’s coat…a cat’s fur…wet noses on a horse…not to mention a donkey’s mane. Using the very basics in any artist’s tool bag (the use of line, shape, form, shadow and light) I push myself to see just how far I can push the medium. And so far, I am glad to say, the end is nowhere in sight.
If you are wondering from where I draw my inspiration, I can say without hesitation: “From the animals themselves”. Each portrait that I draw is unique. Just as there are no two people alike in this world, the same can be said of the animal kingdom. Each is an individual…created by God...for God’s unique purpose. In each one’s eyes, I find myself searching for the presence of the Creator…and to this end, I have not been disappointed.
When asked what has been my favorite moment, thus far in my artistic endeavors…I can fathom only one answer. When I was able to capture a beloved pet on paper…the same way my heart felt…then I knew I had found my purpose as an artist. It brought tears of joy to my eyes. Old dogs…gray cats…miniature horses…and white donkeys…each one has made me look twice. And in that moment, it is what “I see” with my heart…that the artist in me has tried to capture. My prayer is that you will discover for yourself…that four legs and a tail...are all one needs to create a work of art.
Karen Julihn
Originally, I am from upstate New York, but for the last ten years, I have resided in Fredericksburg, Virginia where I have redefined myself as an emerging artist. Through my associations, classes and showings, I have been blessed with so much joy from my shared experiences, that I now see art as part of my life long journey. Generally I work in acrylic and water based mediums, although I occasionally dapple in oils, pastels and collage. My work at FCCA in June is a small collection of paintings in acrylic that derive from a photographic image. Some are enhanced with paper collage to give a more textured appearance and others were created with acrylic paint to create an expanded painting from the photograph.
My subject matter inspiration often comes from outdoor experiences but my technique stems from some post graduate art courses that I took through VCU. After teaching at elementary school, I turned my interest to developing art skills. My Master’s degree in education from George Mason University was the beginning of a new direction that really took root when I enrolled in Community College art classes and continued with workshops sponsored by local artists, and at Art in the Carolinas in Raleigh. Currently I am immersed in collage and acrylic textured work and look forward to creating larger pieces.
I have received recognition for my work at various art shows. Currently, I am an active member of Brush Strokes Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg. I also exhibit at Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts and show work at Crossroads Art Center and ArtWorks in Richmond, Virginia.
Penny Parrish
After careers in journalism and law enforcement, Penny A Parrish enjoys the solitude of working alone with a camera. She is inspired by simple scenes: the colors of our seasons, snowfall before foot prints, and the lines and angles of buildings. Recent trips to Cuba and France have provided fascinating material for her photography. Penny also does her best to “repurpose” old frames, giving them a second life with many of her photos.
Liana Pivirotto
I have always been an artist. “Creativity is my breath.” I have taken art courses from the 7th grade to College, with various classes added. My careers were as a Graphic Artist (pre-computers) and Kitchen and Bath Designer, I am now retired. I paint, craft and stipple pen and ink with pastels and watercolor. But, I am now creating necklaces from the odd shapes and varied materials of ancient artifacts and vintage artifacts to minerals, fossils and semi precious stones. The challenge is to encrust them with beautiful glass beads and crystals, sculpting around the odd shapes. I hold the piece and sew each bead and crystal one at a time, creating “something beautiful out of something ugly”. The average times to create these works are 3 hours to 3 weeks.
I have been honored to have shown and sold these works of art in various galleries, and am grateful to have won honors in Fine Art venues.
Beverly Toves
Color is in everything, or the lack there of. It can be subtle, or it can be bold. It can trigger melancholy or evoke joy.
To excite the viewer, I prefer creating in bold strokes and luscious, energizing, vibrant colors.
I desire for them is to feel alive, in so creating a need to return again and again for a time of refreshing.
Carol Waite
I have always loved the beauty and peacefulness of nature, especially flowers and birds. Growing up in Japan, I appreciated their respect of nature. During school years, I was always drawing or doodling. My major in college was Fine Art, keeping with my interest. After working in oils for many years, I discovered joy in working with Sumi ink on rice paper, working with strong brush strokes to depict the forces of nature. The delicate style of work on rice paper brought me back to my heritage of growing up in Japan.
George Werbacher
George Werbacher's childhood interest in drawing has matured into a love of oil painting. Exposure to the National Gallery of Art has been a wonderful influence and directed the course of his career early on. In the works of such masters as Rembrandt and Vermeer George saw the “importance of representing light and form while carefully observing and researching these techniques used for desired effects.”
A self-taught artist who has a passion and obsession for research and practicing the techniques found in the works of the past masters. The technique of using the old styles of underpainting, dead layers, glazing, and scumbling and combining with a modern abstract is opening some new doors of creativity. The technique itself is long and labor intensive and pushes the techniques being learned to the next level for each piece.
George is currently exploring working with his own style of Abstracts and composition using his own techniques.
Peggy Wickham
If we look at art through the ages, from pictographs on cave walls to what we see in our living rooms, we see that art must have a redeeming value to the viewer. It must make sense, or have been done for the reason of communicating a thought, an image of a person or event. For me, often times that representation is a celebration of the natural world.
“The Natural World” to me includes everything from flowers and trees to land & seascapes to microscopic mysteries remembered from my years as a medical technician. I find movement itself is interesting to portray, so dance, wind, fire and wave action enter into the mix of inspiring natural subjects. Emotions such as joy are also part of nature, so to me, that makes them good subjects for representation. As such, my work sometimes includes abstracts that convey my sense of a particular emotion or natural scene or event. The intention is to bring a sense of visual satisfaction to the viewer in a way that strikes a chord of recognition on some level.
Kathleen Willingham || www.kathleenwillingham.com
Kathleen Willingham enjoys the personal satisfaction that comes from working in a variety of media, exploring diverse avenues of expression and allowing those differences to mingle from one painting to another. Her first love has always been painting abstractly with a variety of intent and media. Her abstractions deal with color relationships, textures and movement in acrylic and mixed media. Her landscape paintings, which may be in oil, pastel or acrylic, capture the subtle and often dramatic effects of light and shadow. Most of her landscapes are local scenes and places with which she is familiar and are done on site. Most of her work reflects her rural background and love of its natural elements. As she moves back and forth between these artistic endeavors, she is finding that realistic elements show up in the abstractions and abstract elements show up in realistic efforts – crossing over. Kathleen will often create paintings with a similar theme, style or concept to create a body of work that explores and pushes the edges of the series.
Kathleen is and has always been a Fauquier County resident. She is currently a member of the Blue Ridge Art Leaguein Culpeper, Va., a member of Brush Strokes Gallery, Fredericksburg, Va. and Middle Street Gallery in Sperryville, Va., the Fredericksburg Plein air Artist and is a member of The Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts. Her work may also be seen at Orange Center for the Arts, Orange, Va., The Loft Gallery, Culpeper, VA., Village Frame and Gallery, Culpeper, Va. She has had several solo exhibits in the past several years and has been in a number of group shows and ongoing juried exhibits receiving awards and honorable mentions. She is also a member of the Mid Atlantic Pastel Society and has been jurored into the Pastel Society of America as an associate member.
She most recently has been jurored into shows at Gallery Flux, Ashland, Va., Allure Art Center, Whitestone, Va, and Art Speaks on the Bay at the Bay School, Matthews, VA. She was also a participant in the Artist in Action program at Annemarie Sculpture Gardens in Solomons, Md.
Norma McGehee Woodward || www.nmwimages.com
I have loved photography since receiving my first camera as a pre-teen. Our world is a smorgasbord of photographic opportunities. I have been lucky enough to travel our country and internationally; however, many of my most successful images have been taken nearby in my quest to capture the intrinsic beauty of common things as well as those which are exotic. I hope you enjoy my work !
