 Wilmington, NC Hosts Paint Wilmington 2011 Sponsored by Walls Fine Art GalleryPaint Wilmington is a painting invitational that brings ten well-known painters from around the US to Wilmington, North Carolina for a week of predominantly plein-air painting.
By: Nancy Marshall 
MorningSmallTown12x16 Wilmington is an old Southern city on the banks of the Cape Fear River and minutes away from the Atlantic Ocean. It is a city with a long ship-building history and is now home to one of the major state ports. The genteel pace of the South has not been lost and is much appreciated by the continuing flow of visitors and newcomers from all around the world. Those attracted to Wilmington are here to raise their kids in a tranquil small city that also provides an international airport or to retire near the white sand beaches and top-notch golf courses in a warm climate - that still has four seasons. Nearby attractions include the battlefield of the first victory of the Revolutionary War, the palace of the first governor of North Carolina, and the award-winning North Carolina Aquarium. Perry Austin, who has been coming to paint in Wilmington for more than ten years from his home in Alabama has pledged to record the 'disappearing South'. He paints farms and small towns and the beautiful unknown landscapes that have been allowed to be replaced by a homogenized modern architecture Jerry Smith is coming from Indiana where he is known for his subtle farmscapes of the American Midwest. He is just as comfortable working in watercolor as in oil and has produced books on both media. John Poon, from Utah, is a recognized and gifted painter and teacher with collectors and students from coast to coast. John approaches painting with a decided simplicity that comes from gleaning the pithy elements of painting from his own experience, that of fellow artists, and from artists of the past. Gavin Brooks combines the techniques of painting from the Northern European School of still-life and portrait with those of contemporary plein air landscape painting to achieve luminous imagery that illustrates the glory of a moment in time. Robert Isley, a native of Savannah, GA, paints jewels of paintings often focusing on the buildings of downtown, and having participated in Paint Wilmington for years, Robert has recorded the march of time as buildings decline and disappear and have new ones rise in their place, succumbing to the life of a city that breathes, grows, and changes. Steve Songer, also from Utah, brings a calm that maybe only a former high school art teacher can possess. Steve has the ability to see good paintings and with simple guidance make a quiet suggestion that leads to great paintings. His ability is even more remarkable in that he applies it with as much ease to his own work as to that of others. Cindy Baron is perhaps best known for her paintings of the grand American West. The stunning mountains, streams, and waterfalls that the Santa Fe Railroad hired artists to record in the 1800's still take our breath away. As a part-time teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design, Cindy also applies her talent and vision to the Eastern landscape and coast. Tim Bell is a Chesapeake Bay painter. Natives credit him as being among the few to "get it right" when it comes to the light and color of the Bay. Tim is a studious artist with an intense pursuit of painting knowledge from his fellows and from art history, which he then applies to his world of painting with unfailing devotion. Robert Hagberg is a longtime photographer who takes what he has learned in that field about choice of subject, composition, and framing the subject and applies it to painting. Predominantly a studio painter, the opportunity to be released in nature to paint directly is always a welcome joy. Ken DeWaard hales from the hills, dales, rivers, caves and rivulets of western Wisconsin where he lives on a farm with his wife and kids. As a devoted plein air painter, Ken can be found knee deep in snow or in the midst of a summer art fair doing a demonstration in the heat of the day. Ken is often sited for his kind and affable spirit as well as the bull's-eye targeting of his painting. The image you see here is Ken's! All are fine painters, recognized in national magazine articles and by numerous awards and prestigious association memberships. All are also impactful teachers who are prepared to impart nuggets of painting wisdom and practice during their time in Wilmington. Two midday hours are reserved for teaching in whatever manner each artist sees fit - whether lecture, demonstration, film, or discussion. It promises to be entertaining, thought-provoking, and full of the slow magic that is painting. The Paint Wilmington week ends Saturday with an invitation-only evening for collectors, known as "First Look", followed by the opening of the exhibition to the public on Sunday, May 1. A week's worth of new paintings of the area and a few samples of larger work brought along by each of the artists hints of around 80 new paintings to be on display for the month of May. But don't wait for the exhibition! Enjoy the company of these painters, who are invited based on the consistent level of quality in their work as well as their warm personalities and their willingness to share what they've spent so many years to learn. All presentations and the month-long exhibition take place at Walls Fine Art Gallery. Walls hosted the Oil Painters of America 2010 Eastern Regional and has provided a stage for fine art and art education in Wilmington for over 25 years. # # # Truly fine original paintings, bronzes. The broadest selection of entirely custom hand-carved gilded picture frames. Art Conservation specializing in paintings. Painting Workshops and Lectures Photo: https://www.prlog.org/ End
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