The Stokes County Arts Council is pleased to announce the opening of an exhibit of original art by Kitty Ray Brown and Patty Young in the Apple Gallery. A reception is scheduled for Saturday, July 13 from 3:30pm – 5:00pm in the Apple Gallery of the Stokes County Arts Council 500 Main Street Danbury, NC.

Brown shared that her French Impressionist style of landscape painting began when the Stokes County Arts Council offered a painting class with Artist Craig Richards. Richards has been guiding her artistic painting journey since 2015. Most of her working career was spent as a jewelry store owner and designer, working with diamonds, precious metals, and colored gemstones. As an adolescent, she began capturing images on film with a Brownie camera. At the present, her goal is to have an artist brush or a camera in her hand every day. Using her photo images from beautiful Stokes County, she creates images on canvas and rocks with oil paint. Presently, she is the Board Secretary for the Stokes County Arts Council where she is surrounded by other artists on their creative journey.

You may contact Brown at [email protected]. She signs her work K-Ray.

After a long career in the computer industry, Young retired in 2019 and began her “second act” as a nature photographer. During 2020, she worked tirelessly to improve her skills. Although she had been behind a camera since middle school, she explained that she had never spent the hours needed to perfect her technique. She took pictures almost daily during 2020 on her property in Stokes County.

In 2024, Young is still “focused on nature”. She continues to work on perfecting her photography skills with each image captured. She spends countless hours outside in nature and even had the rare opportunity to take images of a new fawn and a young bear on her property. “A field covered in red clover and another filled with Sunflowers brought me joy as I spent time capturing the beauty of blooms, birds and butterflies,” Young share. Her goal for each photograph is to capture not only the beauty but also the emotion of the moment.

In addition to photographing nature, Young also captures images during concerts at The Arts Place and at events throughout Stokes County including events at Hanging Rock State Park. Young was one of the artists selected for the 2024 Novant Art Catalog. Her work is displayed in homes across the United States. Her images have also been published in the local newspaper and used by several performing artists as well as various county publications.

Young grew up in Garner, N.C. She attended both UNC Chapel Hill and NCSU. She finished her degree in
1985 and went on to a long and successful career in the computer industry. During her 33-year tenure, she worked for various companies, however most of her career was spent working for Dell as both a Senior Systems Engineer and an Enterprise Technologist. She travelled often throughout her career – both within the United States as well as internationally.

Young currently lives on 53 acres in Stokes County with her husband Randy and their Gordon Setter, Grits.
You may contact Young at [email protected]

This exhibit will be on display July 1-August 15, 2024 in the Apple Gallery. The Stokes County Arts Council is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9:00am-6:00pm, Saturday, 10:00a.m.-6:00p.m. and Sunday
12:00pm-6:00pm. For additional information about the exhibit, please contact the Stokes County Arts Council at (336) 593-8159.