Community Arts Center in Gloucester, Virginia
Join watercolor artist Jan Finn-Duffy for a fun class of mixing paint and water to create an original piece of art! No skills are necessary when you arrive, but don’t be surprised if you have a few watercolor skills when you leave! All supplies are provided by the instructor. Just come to experience the joy and fun of painting!
Cost is $40 per person.
Registration deadline is Saturday, July 22 by 5pm.
During the month of August, Arts on Main will be hosting a group show featuring Rebecca West, Robert J. Schuler, Victoria Watson, Stacey Posner, Harriet McGee, and Theresa Wells Stifel. The show will open on Friday, August 4th at our First Friday event and will run through August 26th. Arts on Main will be partnering with the Gloucester Humane Society to help raise money and awareness for their summer fundraiser, Dog Days of Summer. The Gloucester Humane Society will be at the First Friday opening with dogs from the shelter. They will also have paintings made by the animals that will be available for purchase by donation!
About the Artists:
Robert J. Schuler
Robert J. Schuler – “My paintings primarily reflect regional splendors and rural landscapes. I especially enjoy painting Watermen and their old workboats, Skipjacks in particular. The Watermen’s environment and their work are very inspiring to me.
I also really like to capture animals, such as pets and horses in my paintings. Especially pets as I focus on their eyes and expressions to capture their personality.
Armed with my camera, I take countless photographs of what I find, composing paintings in the viewfinder of my camera.
I find great pleasure in establishing an interaction with the viewers of my art. If someone recognizes a place or thing in my painting, I enjoy hearing about memories of the subject or area to fill in any details that makes the piece even more interesting.
In high school I took several mechanical drafting courses and really liked the detail and accuracy of each assignment. I believe that is why my paintings are realistic and detailed. I didn’t actually begin painting until 1974 when I was in the U.S. Navy. After the Navy, I attended Tidewater Community College, in Virginia Beach VA, where I studied Studio Painting, Drawing, and Design. I have been painting for over 45 years and have used Acrylics, Oils, and watercolors.
I am inspired by many Art Masters; however, I am primarily inspired by American Artist, Winslow Homer. I have enjoyed memberships in many Art Leagues/Guilds over the years and now, after relocating to Virginia, I am a Co-Op Artist with Arts on Main in Gloucester, RAL Art Center in Kilmarnock and a member of the Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center. My studio is in Providence Forge, Virginia where I live with my wife, Wini and our Springer Spaniel, Darcy.”
Stacey Posner
Stacey Posner – “Pottery has been a balancing force in my life for over 25 years.
I love the feel of clay, the creativity of it, the ability to reproduce the natural beauty that surrounds us, particularly in Virginia. I like to focus on nature; beautiful plants, birds, animals that I can incorporate into pottery with carving, painting or texture. I also like to make pottery that is strong and functional. My pottery is meant to be used and enjoyed every day. Most of my pottery is food safe, oven safe, cook safe unless stated otherwise. Using a beautiful serving dish also makes cooking more fun, or holding a mug that feels good makes the coffee even better!
Over the years, I have participated in many juried art shows and galleries in the Richmond area, displayed my art work by invitation at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 2006 as well as displayed my work at the Virginia State Capitol during the General Assembly/Legislative Session 2013. I currently have my work in Gloucester Arts on Main and Nuttalls Country Store in Ware Neck.
I retired from VCU Health System as a clinical pharmacist and as Assistant Professor in the School of Pharmacy, so pottery was and is a great balance to this part of my life.
I reside in Richmond and Gloucester with my two beloved German Shorthair Pointers named Rocket and Cody.”
Theresa Wells Stifel
Theresa Wells Stifel – “Perhaps it’s because as a kid I had a one box allowance when dad got transferred, I have certainly made up for lost time in the accumulation department since then. Becoming a mixed media artist only made my stash bigger, so big, in fact that I own an online and pop up vintage shop and art gallery.
I revere the craftsmanship, intricacy, and beauty of bygone fabric, fashion and notions. Being able to integrate them into my work so they take a new function as art (rather than end up in a land fill) makes me happy.
I am primarily self-taught as an artist. My mother was my instructor of all the “old fashioned” arts: the embroidery and needlework I enjoy integrating into my work. Incorporating waste and vintage ephemera papers, especially in my abstract work, is also something I find fulfilling.
My mission is to create a piece bold enough to stand on it’s own when viewing across a wide room but that is intricate enough to make you want to walk up close and marvel at the bits that make up the whole.”
Rebecca West
Rebecca West – “I have been an artist since birth. Mostly I paint, but sometimes I sculpt. I believe life is art. Creation is art. Most of my adult life has been lived in the sky as a professional pilot. I have drawn inspiration from the ever-changing skyscape and many visits to breathtaking landscapes. I paint to create something new that wasn’t there before. I sculpt to give form to my ideas which could or could not have a basis in reality.
Victoria Watson
Victoria Watson is native to and currently resides in Newport News, Virginia. Her early artistic interests were in the realistic portrayal of horses, which set the foundation for understanding the structural anatomy of other animals. She immersed and dedicated herself in art-related studies through the years and explored aspects of impressionism, surrealism, and representational realism. Victoria’s primary interest is rendering detailed portraits of people and animals, investigating the subtle nuances of character that personify each one. In the past 10 years, most of her work comes from commissioned portraits. Victoria’s preferred media are graphite, Prisma color pencils, mixed media, and oils. Medium: Multi Media
Harriet McGee
Harriet McGee says “Inspiration is everywhere and it ends up as an expression of what I experience.” She currently lives in the Tidewater area and travels extensively. Her works reflect her interest in different cultures, their art, and folklore. She has worked in multiple mediums: watercolors, papier-mache, acrylics, and polymer clay. Currently, she creates designs using a repoussé technique using lightweight metal. The design is made by pushing the metal from the back, giving it depth. Color or texture is then added to the front. One of her works hangs in the permanent collection of The Hurn Museum of Contemporary Folk Art. Medium: Mixed
Live music will be provided by Jerry Sowers.
Jerry Sowers is an acoustic singer-songwriter from Newport News, VA. Singing and playing music from the age of 14, he continues to sing traditional as well as original folk music. Audiences enjoy not only his music, but his ability in keeping them both engaged and entertained with song subjects that range from humorous to serious social concerns.
Throughout his career, Jerry has performed in coffee house venues as well as larger auditoriums in several states up and down the East Coast, Ohio and in Michigan. His first CD, ‘Simple and Free’, was recorded and published in 2009 with a balanced mix of original songs and covers.
Jerry’s full-time occupation is teaching music in the Hampton City Schools system, where he has worked with children of all ages to inspire music and creativity in our youth. He also leads the music program in a local Methodist Church in Hampton, VA. Jerry’s two sons and three grandchildren are the pride and joy in his life.
First Friday will be held on Friday, August 4th from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Beer and wine will be available for purchase.
Thank you, Lori & Mike Dershowitz, for being our First Friday Sponsors!
Join Hanah Hailey for a Paint & Sip night! Create an acrylic pour painting while enjoying a drink- perfect for a date night/night out with your friends!
Beer, wine, and all art supplies will be provided. Each participant will receive one drink of choice. This class is beginner-friendly and open to all levels!
Hanah teaches roughly 2 classes a month and rotates between different techniques of acrylic pouring in each class. In this class, she will be teaching the “Open Cup” method.
Note: You might get messy! Wear something that you wouldn’t mind possibly getting paint on.
Cost per student is $45.
About the Artist:
Hanah Hailey resides on Gwynns Island and finds inspiration through the water and nature. Her artwork focuses on healing anxiety and depression; Hanah believes art can be used to cope with life’s struggles. She creates acrylic pour paintings because the process of creating them calms her and relieves her anxiety. Hanah believes that art is for everyone and no one should be scared to create.
During the month of March, Arts on Main will host a collaborative exhibit, “Between Layers,” featuring artwork by grandmother and granddaughter duo, Rose Nygaard & Aprille Zammit. The opening of the exhibit will take place at our First Friday event on Friday, March 3rd from 6:00pm-8:00pm. The show will run from March 3rd thru April 2nd.
Between Layers
The potent smell of acrylics and oils swirls together in a light-drenched studio, scattered with all colours imaginable…… Mexican music envelopes the room creating the lightness of a dance floor……… A space where it felt possible to create anything your imagination dreamt up…… Every summer Aprille got to step into that space of endless possibilities with her grandmother Rose.
“Between Layers” is the first time the two artists are showing a collection of work together. Rose is an abstract expressionist painter and printmaker. Inspired by colour, she builds layers upon layers of it in her paintings, monoprints, and collages. Rose graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from The American University in Washington, DC. Aprille is a multidisciplinary creative, with her two main mediums being film photography and screen printing. Inspired by nature, with reverence to the sea and capturing unnoticed moments of light. Aprille graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.
For this collaboration, Aprille travelled from her studio in Malta, Europe, to Gloucester, Virginia in 2022 to spend three weeks creating work together with Rose. “Between Layers” is a body of work in which the two artists played off each other’s different styles and backgrounds of working. Rose begins with colour, and Aprille begins with composition. Both artists layer the two to make their work. Rose and Aprille hope the work will ignite joy and lightness in the viewer.
Rose Nygaard
“I always begin my work with one colour which I then react to with the next colour and continue in this way. I have been using Acrylic paints for the last thirty years. I use Golden and Liquitex most of the time. I love the Transparent colors. Mixing some of these colors make very beautiful unusual colors, adding black or white will make the colors opaque.
I began my work without preparation; not knowing the outcome. It becomes a challenge to make it become a painting that I have not seen before. It is a challenge that I love. Creating a piece of Art, for me, is a way open for self-expression, and learning more about my likes and dislikes. It gives me visual language.”
Aprille Zammit
“The collaboration is the result of a bond created throughout the past 25 years. From a young age, I have always been an observer in my grandmother’s studio. Through film photography I began capturing moments in her process of making, watching her getting lost in a world of colour. This inspired me to do the same. Together with my grandmother we would critique her works, highlight areas that worked and others that didn’t. Pieces were cropped from within the painting to create other compositions, which at times required starting afresh over a “clean canvas” and often resulting in a multi-layered application. In this collaboration, I layered my work on top of her paintings to represent a continuum of her approach. I extracted elements forming the composition or the landscape of Rose’s art pieces and formed a symbiotic expression by layering the extractions in the form of lines and shapes onto the original art piece. Acrylic pens as well as the screen printing process were utilized to produce the work.”
Live music will be provided by Something Different Duo (Brad Sindle & Ashley Wenner). This father/daughter duo who have been performing together since 2013 at public and private events. Check out their website to learn more about them: Somethingdifferntduo.com
First Friday is on March 3rd from 6:00pm-8:00pm. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. Beer and wine will be available for purchase.
Join artist and instructor, Tenley Raithel, for ARTLabs for kids! There will be a class taught in September, October, and November for 3 different age groups.
All supplies will be provided by the instructor. Classes will be held from 2-4pm.
Cost is $25 per student, per class.
These sessions will focus on a variety of methods used by Great Artist’s.
September Class: Powerful Pigment Portraits
In this session, students will learn about Da Vinci and his famous painting of Mona Lisa. In contrast, the bright colors and strong brushwork of painters such as Matisse will then be used as a basis to explore painting portraits. Students will choose from a variety of materials to paint a portrait of their choice.
These classes will focus on the Principles of Design. Students will have the opportunity to apply a variety of design principles within artwork created in monthly sessions.
September Class: Positive Negative Drawing
During this session, students will create a design using a detailed drawing and reversing positive and negative space. Organic and geometric shapes will add contrast to the finished piece of art. Examples will be demonstrated, but students will use their own creative thinking, incorporating the techniques from the demonstration. A mixture of materials and media will be provided to choose from, allowing students to analyze which best meets their artistic goal.
Join artist and instructor, Tenley Raithel, for ARTLabs for kids! There will be a class taught in September, October, and November for 3 different age groups.
All supplies will be provided by the instructor. Classes will be held from 2-4pm.
Cost is $25 per student, per class.
These sessions will focus on a variety of methods used by Great Artist’s.
September Class: Powerful Pigment Portraits
In this session, students will learn about Da Vinci and his famous painting of Mona Lisa. In contrast, the bright colors and strong brushwork of painters such as Matisse will then be used as a basis to explore painting portraits. Students will choose from a variety of materials to paint a portrait of their choice.
These classes will focus on the Principles of Design. Students will have the opportunity to apply a variety of design principles within artwork created in monthly sessions.
September Class: Positive Negative Drawing
During this session, students will create a design using a detailed drawing and reversing positive and negative space. Organic and geometric shapes will add contrast to the finished piece of art. Examples will be demonstrated, but students will use their own creative thinking, incorporating the techniques from the demonstration. A mixture of materials and media will be provided to choose from, allowing students to analyze which best meets their artistic goal.
Activities at Arts on Main are partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
