August 2023 First Friday: “The Dog Days of Summer” featuring Rebecca West, Victoria Watson, Stacey Posner, Harriet McGee, Theresa Wells Stifel, and Robert J. Schuler
Friday, August 4th
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Thank you, Lori & Mike Dershowitz, for being our First Friday Sponsors!
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!
Currently residing in Gloucester County, Virginia, Theresa Wells Stifel was raised in a military/NASA family. Frequent global moves and wide-ranging duty stations gave her a wide range of life experiences and influences that fed her creative life.
Activities at Arts on Main are partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
