pastels (2)

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"Close to Home"

Born in Illinois, Beth has lived in Colorado, California, Maryland, New York, Mexico, East Africa and India before settling in West Virginia in 1977. Art school and a passion for drawing were bedrocks in her life. Selling images of mermaids to classmates in grade school, pencil portraits in Larimer Square in Denver for $5, being a courtroom sketch artist for CBS TV and then spending 15 years doing portraits from life as a member of the Artists Touring Association, traveling to shows in malls throughout the mid-Atlantic region prepared her well for her years on the road traveling to the nation's art fairs. It Beth Crowderalso developed her skills and her eye for catching the moment and the fleeting light.  

 

In 1990 Beth left portraiture behind and now focuses on rural landscapes and animals, sheep and more sheep. She says, "portraits are all about expression and people react to my sheep as adorable, without being cartoonish. In a small booth, rather than showing up with Noah's ark, I decided to be the sheep-lady. The public, for some reason love sheep, and they were the perfect counterpart to my haystacks. The shape, the skinny legs.
 
hey.jpgI always love my latest piece the most! Sheep or landscapes,  its the practice of applying the contrasting colors, like a tapestry or embroidery. Edgar Degas was my greatest influence, for his bold outlines and draftsmanship."

 

Upcoming shows:  

May 13-15  Artisphere in Greenville, S. C.,  

May 20-22  Artsplosure in Raleigh, N.C.    

Learn more about Beth and her find work: www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/featured-artist 

 

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When Michael Wommack graduated from art school over 30 years ago there was a recession, no teaching jobs available, but he took his skills to the streets -- painting murals, race cars, vans, using an airbrush on anything that would hold paint. His friends were horrified, but he was able to extend his education, admittedly in a way that the nation's art schools would never have taught him.
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His skills with the airbrush led him to be contacted by the Postmodern architect Robert Venturi and a 25 year collaboration with his firm ensued that included several exceptional commissions. Michael continued doing his own work, which was sold through galleries and art representatives.

As times changed he became frustrated with the gallery owners who sometimes didn't want his new work. Watching his wife, Nina, taking her work to the street, he decided it was time for him to give art fairs a try, intrigued with the idea of interacting directly with potential collectors and removing the filter of the galleries.

Always inspired by a sense of the light, the increasing suburban landscape and his childhood upbringing in Levittown, several glowing dreams made him pull out his soft pastels and he began drawing from memory. He says, "the colors in my dreams were incredibly vivid, and it turned out pastel was a perfect medium due to the pure pigment used in making them."

You are going to enjoy Michael's interesting story: www.ArtFairCalendar.com/featured artist

Meet him and view his work:
October 9 & 10 - Bayou City Art Festival - Houston, TX
October 16 & 17 - Bethesda Row Arts Festival - Bethesda, MD



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