"Paint On" with Kristin Gibson and Mike Rooney

More than 30 new paintings by N.C. artists Kristin Gibson and Mike Rooney are being hung this weekend in preparation for next Wednesday's "Paint On" opening reception. Join us from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 12 for a painting demo by Kristin and Mike and a wine tasting courtesy of Finelli's Cafe. The artwork is currently for sale and can be previewed online.

Need a reason to visit the gallery? We've got 18.

Works by more than 18 alumni, faculty and graduate students of ECU are on display at the gallery now through May 9. Tony Breuer's Magnoliascape oil paintings, Terry Smith's woodwork and Jeff Kiefer's cast iron sculptures (all pictured here) are just a few examples of the show's diverse range of artists and mediums.

A large collection of photography, ceramics and jewelry are also on display.

Go Figure...

Join us for an opening night reception this Friday, March 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. The show features new works by Kim English (shown here), Valerie Lennon, Louis St. Lewis and Kate Long Stevenson.

Louis St. Lewis will be creating a collage during the event and will graciously donate a percentage of the sales from opening night to the Jarvis Unit, Boys and Girls Clubs of Pitt County.

Artist Q&A | Landscape in Art

To further introduce the people behind the paintings in our upcoming show Landscape in Art: The Continuum VII opening Friday, February 19, we posed the following question to the show's five nationally exhibiting landscape artists:

What draws you to paint a particular landscape?

Michael Knoch's response

"Landscape offers a painter 'variation on a theme;' a theme seasoned with color and compositions structured by location. I paint where I live... where the better part of one's spirit resides... a kingdom within, a wealth of lands..."

David Harlan's response

"It is always a visual response to a subject. The interesting composition and the way the light creates the desire to capture that particular scene. The difficulty is simplifying the subject because there is an overwhelming amount of information and our eyes see it all.

The challenge then is to capture the essence and state it in such a way that the viewer responds favorably to the image. The best way to paint a landscape is to be there on location- plein aire painting. Often the weather does not cooperate so the camera comes into play, but having been there, feeling the mood, remembering the moment helps when painting in the studio."

Karen Hagan's response

"Dreams of journeys to come...For me with this small painting it was all about my thoughts of adventures to come...I'm teaching a class at Lake Garda this September and this painting is a reaching out to new vistas as I study and learn about this area of Italy, loll over photos from our hosts who go there every year and savor the excitement of a new (to me) landscape. This particular scene had it all...water, mountains, distant boats and billowing clouds...it's the ultimate escape!"