The Stokes County Arts Council is pleased to announce the opening of an exhibit of original “Small Works of Art” by painters of the Carolina Painters’ Guild in the Apple Gallery. A meet and greet is scheduled for
Sunday, December 8 from 2:00-5:00pm during our Christmas in Danbury festivities in the Apple Gallery of the Stokes County Arts Council 500 Main Street Danbury, NC.

The Carolina Painters’ Guild (CPG) is a community of women artists residing in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Taking their cues from the ancient guilds of the old world, they provide members with opportunities for mentoring, collaboration, and shared art experiences. Formed in 2016, their membership includes emerging artists, along with award-winning artists whose artworks are featured in galleries and private collections. Their art spans across multiple media including paint, pastels, and mixed media. Their annual goals is group participation in art exhibits at regional art galleries. This goal is multifold: to share their female p(her)spective, to initiate conversations and constructive critique among their members, and to highlight and promote the value of women’s art.

This current exhibit has 15 artists participating in this collaborative show.

Anne Darrah of Anne Darrah Fine Art resides in Winston-Salem. She explained that her paintings capture the beauty of nature and the emotions of scenes that captivate her—places filled with light, color, majestic trees, mountains, and mysterious waters. She often starts with Plein Air painting, creating studies from life before refining them in the studio. Growing up in South Louisiana, Darrah is drawn to subtle color shifts, shadows, and reflections of water. Creating art on a blank canvas excites her as she seeks to visually express the beauty and emotion of a place. She works in water-mixable oils, focusing on landscapes, still-lifes, and figures. After earning a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and starting a career in Interior Design, she pursued her passion for painting. She has studied with renowned artists like David Leffel, Quang Ho, Carolyn Anderson, and Gregg Kreutz.

Arlene Daniel says her inspiration comes from the play of light effects and atmosphere to create different
moods in her work. She is a lifelong learner and continues to learn and grow as an artist. She is always striving for excellence in her work. Arlene’s award-winning work is created in oil, pastel and charcoal. Arlene creates her work in plein air and in a Contemporary Realist style in her studio in Winston Salem, NC.

Artist Barbara E. Fager is a painter inspired by gardens and the outdoors. She has been painting for 30 years. After a career painting hand-painted furniture and accessories, she now spends her time using acrylics and oils on canvas. She shared that she feels very fortunate to have this passion. She resides in Kernersville NC with her husband.

Barbara Boyce Howard of Advance, NC, a lifelong educator and learner, transitioned from her career as a
professor at Appalachian State University to pursue her passion for oil painting after retiring in 2021. Turning retirement into “re-wirement,” she immersed herself in art, joining a community of artists to sharpen her skills and expand her horizons. Studying with notable instructors Sharon Grubbs and Chris Groves profoundly influenced her approach to landscapes. Active in the Winston-Salem Associated Artists and the Carolina Painters Guild, Howard continues to grow within the local art scene. Her work has been exhibited at venues including the Spine Center in Winston-Salem, the Gallery of River Landing in Colfax, and several Associated Artists locations.

Beth Andrews of Yadkinville, a North Carolina native with family roots in the Northwestern NC mountains
dating back to the 1700s, discovered her love for art at age 10 during hospital stays, where she received an oil painting set. This early experience fostered a lifelong passion for the healing power of art and the arts for health movement. She earned a Fine Arts degree in Painting and Printmaking from UNC-Greensboro, with secondary focuses in pottery and design. Afterward, Andrews worked as a resident artist with the NC Arts Council’s “Third Century Artists” program, helping to build local arts initiatives, creating murals in schools, developing community pottery programs, and teaching art, culminating in a group exhibit at the NC Museum of Art. For over 40 years, Andrews balanced fine and commercial art as a graphic designer and illustrator. She now integrates elements from both, merging collage, painting, and abstraction to create dynamic mixed media work. In 2004, she relocated to the NC mountains to focus on painting and exhibiting. Since 2019, she has been painting, teaching, and maintaining open studio hours at the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center in Yadkinville, NC.

Christy Jarrett grew up in Stokes County and her work reflects the nature scenes that she is familiar with. While working as a School Counselor, taking painting classes during the summer months, this was a fun creative way to express her ideas. Painting soon became her passion, and since retirement she has devoted more time to painting. She paints in her home studio north of Winston-Salem, NC. She has taken various classes at Salem College, Forsyth Technical School, Sawtooth Center for Visual Art, Art of the Carolina workshops and with several artists in the area. She is a member of The Carolina Painters’ Guild and Art For Art’s Sake. She also enjoys painting weekly with artists in her community. She has exhibited in several juried shows including Red Dog Gallery, Associated Artists of Winston -Salem, the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center, and Stokes County’s Apple Gallery. Her paintings are currently displayed at the Red Dog Gallery, Frame It Gallery, Wake Medical Galleries and Art o Mat machines around the country.

Elizabeth Flynn, artist name Ibby, is a native of Davie County and a retired teacher. She lived in Charleston,
SC for a while, and it was there that her art journey began. She fell in love with the beautiful beaches and
captivating marshes. Ibby’s interests include tennis, gardening, reading, walking, and playing with the
grandkids. Her love of color is reflected in her paintings and life. She says, “Color is sunshine to the soul.”

Ellen Frances Reece is retired from a career as an engineer and educator. Engineering and art together? The two characteristics may seem incompatible, yet when she answers questionnaires to determine if she is left- brained or right-brained, i.e., analytical and mathematical or creative and emotional, the results say Ellen’s brain is evenly split. At least one of the masters had this combination, Leonardo DaVinci! Oil paintings which are classical in nature, impressionistic, painterly, and representational are her product. Aspects of this world are exceedingly beautiful to Ellen. The lovely patterns which exist in mathematics can also be seen in nature. Values, perspectives, and color mixing and intensity are just a few of the “analytical” aspects of art. Some of Ellen’s compositions incorporate the Golden Ratio, a highly mathematical scheme used for centuries by master artists. Even though she is enamored with classical oil paintings, occasionally the mathematician part of her brain insists on a creation of its own, and a tessellation or geometrical object is painted.

Emily Cassidy has always had a love and insight for animals (her formal degrees are in Animal Science and
Veterinary Technology); therefore, they are her primary muse. Inspired by an animals’ character – especially in the eyes – she captures the emotion and communicates it through her work. Through color, patterns, and light, she creates realistic, expressive portraits. Her creations allow the viewer to visually feel the animals’ personality. With little formal art training, Emily’s thirst for learning more about the mediums she uses and the techniques that go with them is voracious. She began seriously working in colored pencil in 2020, Pastel in 2021 and oil paint in 2022. It is her training in the sciences that allows her to grasp the techniques quickly and in depth. Her fascination with the details is the reason her style leans more toward photorealism. Emily’s artwork can be found in both public galleries and private collections across the United States.

Jan Curling of Walnut Cove said her motivation to paint is to capture the essence of what she sees and brings it to life as she infuses her experiences into her work so that her art shares a part of her essence. She is drawn to the interplay between subtle and intense hues as she translates their energies onto the canvas. The subtlety within the palette encourages contemplation, while the intensities provoke strong reactions. Each stroke, each color choice, adds another layer to the narrative unfolding on the canvas. It is within this delicate balance that her art finds its voice.

Laurie Basham is a pastel artist renowned for her ability to capture light and unique perspectives. Whether
painting landscapes, figures, or still-life, she strives to convey the essence of light in every piece. Inspired by her grandchildren, love of gardening, and travels, Laurie finds endless subject matter for her work. Her passion for pastels has earned her numerous awards and acceptances in local, national, and international exhibitions, along with recognition in prestigious plein-air competitions. Originally from Rockville, Maryland, Laurie earned her Art Education degree from the University of Maryland in 1985. After a successful career as an award-winning art educator, she retired in 2019 and moved to Clemmons, North Carolina in 2020, where she paints, teaches workshops, and exhibits her work. Laurie is a signature member of the Maryland, Degas, Piedmont, and North Carolina Pastel Societies. She is also an Associate Member of the Pastel Society of America. Locally, she is active with AFAS, Associated Artists of Winston-Salem, and the Carolina Painters’ Guild.

Lisa Reavis Drum is currently exploring animal mythology, as well as women’s issues, using multimedia that includes acrylic, collage, and aluminum cans. Her art studio is located at the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center, where she also teaches pet portraiture, and a variety of arts and crafts. She is a life-long resident of Yadkin County; graduate of UNC-Greensboro, with a BFA, cum laude; and curator of the Red Wall Gallery at the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center. Her first career was in Corporate Art and Consumer Marketing Management for a Fortune 500 company.

Madlon Glenn of Winston-Salem says her work uses colors to evoke emotion and memories. Specializing in figurative, still lifes and portraits, I rely on color to convey the essence of my subjects. In this way, emotion and memories are often experienced by the viewer.

Nanette Long of King, NC explained that as a child, she loved to create, but it wasn’t until her family was raised that hes picked up a paint brush. Her primary medium is oil, but she also works in acrylics. She enjoys all types of subjects, however, she found a love for painting people when she attended a workshop by Linda Weaver in her hometown of Winston-Salem, NC. She loves to capture small moments in time and share them with the viewer. Though she does not have a degree in art, she continually seeks improvement and learning and has been inspired as she has studied under Scott Burdick, Susan Lyon, Patty Bailey-Sheets and other notable artists.

Randi Honeycutt said: “I think of myself as an “art maker ” because I have never focused on just one form of art but have enjoyed exploring …lampworking, basketry, Weaving, etc. My current focus is painting….I find it relaxing, very challenging, and rewarding..”

Sharon Grubbs explained that her passion for painting began early, but it was during her first year at
commercial art school that she realized her true path lay beyond structured guidelines. After discovering a love for portraiture, she apprenticed with a portrait artist, where she not only honed her skills but also learned the intricacies of running a studio and the business side of it. Learning under a master portrait artist, followed by years of workshops and intensive study with various individual artists, has allowed her to develop a unique style that reflects both her technical foundation and personal creative vision. As an award-winning artist, she had the privilege of participating in numerous invitational, juried, and group exhibitions on both national and local levels, along with several solo shows that showcase her evolving body of work. When she’s not painting, she finds joy in cooking, hiking, spending time with her grandchildren, and exploring new places with her husband, all of which inspire and enrich her artistic practice.

This exhibit will be on display from November 16-December 31, 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.