Prince George Gallery Art and Frame in Williamsburg, VA has an exhibition of gallery artists called, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." When the gallery owner, Fred Miller, suggested the show, I was excited. After all, we had a crazy summer schedule that included five weeks on the road with a variety of destinations. I had a lot of resource materials, but most of my work is in photographs, not completed paintings.
I have dozens of photos taken in Key West, in the Mid-West, and in Wisconsin. They will make excellent resources for future paintings and provide background for more articles and even a book. Perhaps a Gothic novel will arise from the ghost tour we took in Key West. I have lots of photos taken along the way during that dark and spooky night event.
Although I completed some art work to include in the show, I am envious of
Edwin Green who paints en plein air. His oil paintings from a trip to Maine are glorious and tell the story of days spent midst luscious seascapes along the coast of that picturesque state.
William Crute has a new series of paintings very different from the landscapes I've come to recognize. His lively foliage paintings in this show are remindful of Rousseau's jungle scenes. One painting with a shadowy garden figure hovering in the background especially intrigues me.
And who wouldn't envy Fred Miller who spent two weeks in France--one of them in Paris? All the artists have a story to tell about each painting or photograph in the show.
In all, there are eleven artists in the "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" show. It's a fun show to visit and imagine what the artists saw and thought as they painted or took photographs. This exhibition that stirs the imagination runs until November 27.
