THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702070197
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 89 lines
Last Saturday was old home night at Glenn Eure's Ghost Fleet Gallery in Nags Head, the site of the 19th annual Frank Stick Memorial Art Show.
Dare County Arts Council members, show supporters and exhibiting artists mingled among works of art that ranged from hard core social statements to delicately painted watercolor petals. Viewers soaked in a massive body of work numbering close to 140 pieces. Showcased in the center of the gallery was a collection of three dimensional works: carved birds, hand thrown pottery and metal, wood and mixed media sculpture - some of the finest works seen in this annual event. The masterfully crafted and highly personal sculptures are show stoppers.
Two Eastern North Carolina judges: Carl Billingsley, a Greenville sculptor and East Carolina University associate art professor, and Frederick Jones, a painter and commercial art and advertising design instructor at Guilford Technical Community College in High Point, gave out 32 awards for excellence, merit and honorable mention.
Visitors to the show's two receptions - the invitation-only affair on Saturday and the public opening on Sunday - cast ballots for the People's Choice Award. Nags Head artist Rick Tupper took that award as well as an excellence award for his mixed media painting, ``Storm Warning.''
Check out the sentimental ``Memory Jar'' by Genna Miles. The Manteo artist tips the scales with her decorative dive down memory lane. John Silver blasts audiences with a bigger than life watercolor-sweating horn player. And photographer J. Aaron Trotman produced a velvety reclining nude that demands viewers sit up and take notice.
The ``Untitled Nightscape Acrylic'' by Winston Culpepper combines stylized leafless trees, a glowing moon and two jet streams to create G1STICK Culpepper a moody work not to be overlooked. This guy is never a judge's pick. But he may very well be one of our most visionary artists. Ask him to explain his work, and you'll find he's a piece of work himself. I'd kill to see an entire exhibition of Culpepper's paintings.
Speaking of visionary, spend some time in front of Linda Crassons' ``Trees, Mountains, Moon.'' This quiet colored pencil rendering is a work to be studied. On first glance, it appears flat because of the even and meticulous application of colors. But a closer look draws you into a spiritual landscape filed with subtle nuances and shapes.
Make the effort to see this exhibition. It showcases a body of work that I'd classify as the ``best in show'' in 19 years. The exhibition closes to the public on Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Culpepper
Graphic
AT A GLANCE
Who: The Dare County Arts Council
What: The 19th Annual Frank Stick Memorial Art Show
Where: Glenn Eure's Ghost Fleet Gallery, Driftwood St., Nags Head
When: Through Feb. 22, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5
p.m., Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m.
ART SHOW WINNERS
People's Choice Award: Rick Tupper ``Storm Warning,'' mixed
media.
Honorable Mentions: Joan Hammer ``The Stray,'' watercolor;
Michael Halminski ``Doctor's Creek,'' photograph; Denise Gaskins
``Standing Watch,'' watercolor; Larry McCarter ``Cape Moon,''
pastel; Peggy Brinkley ``Edenton Marina,'' watercolor; Nancy and
Chris Nolan ``Frisco Woods Reconnoiter,'' wood/acrylic.
Merit Awards: Chris Haltigan ``Coastal Morning,'' watercolor;
Genevieve Miles ``Memory Jar,'' mixed media; Hanna Jubran
``Composition 14,'' bronze, soapstone/marble; Mary Crutchfield
``Warmest Memories Within,'' watercolor; Wendy Schwartz ``Once Upon
A Time,'' mixed media; Susan Wells Vaughan ``Duck,'' acrylic; Carmen
Melito ``Untitled,'' sculpture; Pat Williams ``Solitude,'' acrylic;
Russell Blackwood ``Untitled,'' photograph; Gretchen Kreitler
``Still Life,'' pen/ink; Linda Crassons ``Trees, Mountains, Moon,''
colored pencil; Margene Brink ``Joys Garden,'' watercolor; Ila M.
Smith ``The Owl & The Pussy Cat,'' acrylic; Donna Robinson ``Vanity
of Vanities,'' oil; Donna Jawrunner ``Awe,'' bronze.
Excellence Awards: Rick Tupper ``Storm Warning,'' mixed media;
William Fruit ``Little Blue,'' wood; Fred Vallade ``Fire Escape,''
etching/aqua-tint; John de la Vega ``La Source de Sargent,'' oil;
Kyle Van Lusk ``Void Earth,'' bronze/steel; Ann Melanie ``You Make a
Better Door,'' iron/clay; Robin Sams ``Walk on the Beach,'' oil;
Michael Davis ``Mask,'' mixed media; Donald Bryan ``And Autumn
Came,'' oil; Russell Yerkes ``In and Out and All About,''
watercolor; Jodi Hallnagel ``Views from Estonia,'' clay/wood.