THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 14, 1995 TAG: 9505120252
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
When artist Constance Fahey labeled a bird in a watercolor she had painted as a chickadee although the creature was actually a Carolina wren, she was embarrassed for making such a mistake.
``I knew what it was,'' said the director of The Artists at Work Cooperative. ``I don't know why I called it a chickadee.''
It never occurred to her to think of the mis-identification as a marketing ploy. But it was.
The painting was the first to sell on the opening night of ``Feathers,'' an exhibit and sale of ornithological paintings at the cooperative's Artists' Gallery, 2407 Pacific Ave. Since the exhibit focus is birds, the artists are donating 25 percent of their sales to the Virginia Beach Audubon Society.
As a result, many Audubon members were among those attending the opening reception two weeks ago. Among such bird experts, a Carolina wren labeled as a chickadee caused quite a stir, Fahey noted.
``I saw all the Audubon people gathered around it for so long,'' she said.
Eventually one Auduboner purchased the picture for his wife who loves wrens. He commented that no matter what the title of the painting was, he knew it was a wren and not a chickadee, Fahey related.
``Then we all started thinking, we should have misnamed all the birds and gotten them to identify them for us,'' Fahey added. ``We probably would have sold more!''
Fahey's chickadee/wren was one of two paintings she entered in the exhibit. Although the misnamed watercolor has gone home with its new owner, Fahey's other work, a correctly named watercolor of the endangered Florida scrub jay, is still hanging.
An exhibit of art for the birds to benefit the Audubon society, was conceived by Audubon president Don Perry, husband of another gallery artist, Judy Perry. The gallery sponsors an annual exhibition of feline art called ``The Cat's Meow,'' Judy Perry said.
``He came to the cat show and asked if we couldn't do it for the birds, too,'' she said.
And the artists did. More than 50 acrylics, watercolors, photographs and ceramic, wire and metal sculptures by artists both from the cooperative and from the community at large are in the exhibition. Artistic styles range from whimsical ceramic bird houses to huge realistic metal bird sculptures, from anatomically correct birds to birds straight from the imagination.
``Dream House'' is the title of one of Perry's fanciful watercolors. A bird sits in a nest built of twigs, leaves and pastel streamers that look like airy cellophane confetti.
Nearby are handsome metal sculptures by Eastern Shore sculptor William H. Turner. One is a bald eagle sitting on a branch grasping a freshly caught speckled trout in its talons.
In the upstairs gallery, ``Pekin Ducks Gathering'' is a delightful photo by Gloria A. Ferguson. The white ducks, all three of them, are captured with a slightly startled look. They might as well be in motion, the ducks are so close to moving off in unison.
Artist Edward Carson has two renderings that depict nature at its most realistic. One, a black and white oil painting entitled ``Flight Over,'' is of a dead bird stilled by a string wrapped around its leg.
``You have to realize artists find beauty in dead birds, too,'' Perry said.
Auduboners are sure to like the tiny pottery bird feeders by Teresa Nelson. She also makes bird houses with fanciful flowering vines that wrap around the entry hole. Auduboners have their own hand-crafted bluebird houses on sale at the gallery too.
Feathers is on view through May 27. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call 425-6671.
AN UPDATE on projects sponsored by the Virginia Beach Audubon Society at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge is the topic of the group's meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Westminster-Canterbury. Acting Refuge Manager Joe McCauley will speak. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
This pelican acrylic by Jasmine Tritten is among the works in the
``Feathers'' exhibit at Artists at Work Gallery on Pacific Avenue.
by CNB