Terry Barnes
My love is the outdoors and to photograph nature's scenery as I am so blessed to witness. I strive to capture the beauty of this wold and to reproduce it in a print, as my eye saw it in that moment. After visiting the North Carolina mountains for most of my life and having close relatives in Highlands, I had always dreamed of living in this area and pursuing my passion for photography. I reside, now, in Franklin, NC and will be forever striving to capture the beauty of this surrounding area through my images.
Art has always been an important part of my life. My favorite classes in school were art related, and a great deal of my free time was spent drawing and painting. I do not have impressive credentials, nor any formal training. What I do have is a great love for the vastness of our Father's creation. I am very thankful that He has placed within my being a desire to re-create on canvas the astounding beauty we see all around us!
I am excited to e painting full time now! Now as I am entering m mid-life, the artistic side of me is clamoring for a turn. My desire is that my artwork will bring a moment of peace and refreshment into the lives of those who view it.
Patti Best
Art has always been an important part of my life. My favorite classes in school were art related, and a great deal of my free time was spent drawing and painting. I do not have impressive credentials, nor any formal training. What I do have is a great love for the vastness of our Father's creation. I am very thankful that He has placed within my being a desire to re-create on canvas the astounding beauty we see all around us!
I am excited to e painting full time now! Now as I am entering m mid-life, the artistic side of me is clamoring for a turn. My desire is that my artwork will bring a moment of peace and refreshment into the lives of those who view it.
Raymond M. Byram
Although Byram has worked in a variety of genres, styles and medias from abstract to surreal to neo-realism, it is his landscapes in oil with palette knife and his subsequent serigraphy that is his primary love. He calls his style a tight impressionism, employing impressionistic theories and approach, yet ending to be more on the realistic side of that spectrum.
To do his serigraphs, Byram tediously hand-separates each color directly from the painting. The images are then hand-pulled. This involved process takes 4 to 5 months to complete an entire edition.
Sandra Costantini
Enjoying the beauty and excitement of God's creation, is to live in Western North Carolina.
Appreciating nature's ever changing moods is to capture the uniqueness of nature's frailty. To experience the velvet textures of mossy rocks alongside flowing mountain streams that culminate in wildly cascading waterfalls . . . is to view the art work of Sandra Costantini. Her oil paintings convey the spirit, light, and glory of the pristine world nature is meant to be.
Raymond M. Byram
Although Byram has worked in a variety of genres, styles and medias from abstract to surreal to neo-realism, it is his landscapes in oil with palette knife and his subsequent serigraphy that is his primary love. He calls his style a tight impressionism, employing impressionistic theories and approach, yet ending to be more on the realistic side of that spectrum.
To do his serigraphs, Byram tediously hand-separates each color directly from the painting. The images are then hand-pulled. This involved process takes 4 to 5 months to complete an entire edition.
Sandra Costantini
Enjoying the beauty and excitement of God's creation, is to live in Western North Carolina.
Appreciating nature's ever changing moods is to capture the uniqueness of nature's frailty. To experience the velvet textures of mossy rocks alongside flowing mountain streams that culminate in wildly cascading waterfalls . . . is to view the art work of Sandra Costantini. Her oil paintings convey the spirit, light, and glory of the pristine world nature is meant to be.
Elise Gammon Dunham
Elise spent her childhood in Florida, then moved to New York to pursue an art career, but was offered a modeling contract. After moving back to Florida, she began pursuing her love of painting. Now she spends her time, equally, between North Carolina and Florida, painting landscapes, bears and mountain scenes.
Elise spent her childhood in Florida, then moved to New York to pursue an art career, but was offered a modeling contract. After moving back to Florida, she began pursuing her love of painting. Now she spends her time, equally, between North Carolina and Florida, painting landscapes, bears and mountain scenes.
Ed Kelley
Ed Kelley still lives near his birthplace in the North Carolina Mountains, and loves exploring the Southern Appalachians. In developing a knowledge of their nature and an appreciation of their intense beauty, he turned to photography as both a way to learn and a way to teach about them. After many years of pursuing other artistic ventures, he has come full circle. He has worked hard to hone his photographic skills both in the field and in the digital darkroom. Each of his images is created by a melding of his creative drive with an understanding of technology, nature, art and light.Jo Ridge Kelley
"I have only a desire to paint what is my own - wholly and completely from within - along with the offerings of the earth and her little miracles of light and color. I try and remind myself daily to appreciate, for when I appreciate I feel good, and when I feel good . . I can paint. My ultimate goal is to create powerful, moving works of art. They may be bold and energetic, striking in composition and rich in textural quality or subtle and peaceful. The play of mist and light over the mountain along with trees, wildflowers and various objects from nature, are a constant source of inspiration."
Robert Ludlow
My primary artistic goal is to render my impressions of the richness, the beauty, and also the quirky humor of visual experience in ways that resonate for discriminating viewers. In pursuit of that goal, the subjects of my photographs - what my images seem to be about - are often not of prime importance. I consciously divert my attention from the obvious in order to capture the abstract qualities - colors, shapes and textures, shadows and highlights, angles, arrangements, juxtapositions. The goal is to take best advantage of the interplay among those elements. Everything is important. My true subject is the entire image.
Jim Michielsen
Jim Michielsen's work reflects a meticulous attention to detail, a balanced, coherent composition, and a refined sensitivity to color. During the 1980's his realism brought him to national prominence as a wildlife artist noted for his ability to attract the eye to the essential character of the wildlife against a subtle, yet evocative backdrop. His paintings convey a compelling sense of depth and light.
Joseph Meigs
Joseph Meigs, Professor of English, was born in Atlanta, GA and raised in Berkeley, CA and Jacksonville, FL. He has taught at Western Carolina University from 1970 to the present. He is a watercolor painter and photographer. Also, he authored three books: "Tenure Track", "Death without Dignity" and "The Calling".
Dawn Plifka
I have always had a passion for art. My interests also went to creating jewelry with my husband Bill.After many years of jewelry making and raising a family, I retired along with my husband and now love spending time in Waynesville, NC. After I retired I went back to my first love of oil painting. Although not formally trained, I have mastered my painting skills through my passion for art.
Michael M. Rogers
"I no longer desire to build and live in a castle, for I have walked through the grandest cathedral of all: these precious mountains are my home.
As I journey through these peaceful mountains in search of subjects to paint, I am constantly amazed by their sheer magnitude, unlimited beauty, and endless variety of color. It seems that each time I venture out something extraordinary happens. But, I am not the catalyst. The beauty is there if we would just choose to see it. My purpose is to share this beauty with you and encourage you to seek it for yourself."
