EXHIBITS

“Walk on the Wild Side”

“Walk on the Wild Side” features work in a variety of mediums that depict the beauty of wildlife throughout the region and the world. Artists work in woodcarving in traditional and modern forms, painting, sculpture, and mixed media. Participating artists are from throughout Virginia.

‘Walk on the Wild Side’ Featured Artists:
• Painter: Guy Crittenden – Guy began drawing and painting at a very early age, and exhibited in his first art show at age 13. Growing up in the rural county of Gloucester, Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay, he found his passion in the natural wonders of the world around him. Hunting, fishing and crabbing were just a way of life for the young man who was a self-described “river rat”. His connection to wildlife began almost as soon as he could walk as a child. When he was 5 years old, his grandfather would wake him an hour before sunrise to go fishing in secret spots on the Ware River. As Guy grew older, he embraced his curiosity of nature. With an academic approach to his observations, he began to draw and paint the world to which he was so connected. An osprey with a fish in his talons. A blue heron taking flight. A Canvasback duck preening on the water. Today, his work still grounded in the influence of those early years, Guy prefers to work in oils and his subjects are best described as Landscapes, Wildlife and Sporting scenes. He is a seven-time winner of the Virginia Duck Stamp. He has won duck stamp competitions in 12 other states as well. Guy is a signature member of the Outdoor Painters Society and works mainly on commissions and large originals for private and corporate clients. Learn more at: https://crittendenstudiostore.com 

• Decoy Carver: Captain John A. Leonard, the Mayor of Chincoteague, VA, is a widely known and well-respected decoy carver, and was even invited to carve on the National Mall for the Smithsonian Institute (twice!) He’s been passionate about decoys for most of his life, and has learned from many Chincoteague carving “greats” including Reggie Birch and the legendary Cigar Daisey. Though most of the carvings he does these days are donated to fundraisers for local causes, he’s often said the he’d keep making decoys whether he could sell them or not– it’s a passion, not a profession.

• Wood Carvers : Mark McNair and Ian McNair, Bird In Hand Decoys, Father and Son. Mark McNair (b. 1950) has been carving and making decoys for a half a century. After leaving his alma mater, Rhode Island School of Design, in the 1970s, McNair worked with antiques and carved wooden signs in his native Connecticut. During this time he was introduced to antique decoys by the Voorhees family and quickly took to the craft. He and his wife now live and carve on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, between the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.

Son Ian  McNair carves in Exmore,Virginia and is a partner in High ‘N Dry, a company specializing in industrial grade chest waders. Mark McNair specializes in waterfowl and shorebird decoys, weathervanes, and related folk art. His work is held in numerous prominent decoy collections both public and private, including the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, the deWitt Cottage in Virginia Beach, and The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury, MD. Learn more at: www.mcnairart.com

Blackwater Artist League: “On the Cusp of Change”

The  Blackwater Artist’s League is an organization of artists of all media who get together each week to paint and sketch.  The only requirement is an interest in art. Our members come from throughout the area; Windsor, Suffolk, Franklin and North Carolina. There are usually eight to twelve members who meet in Courtland at the art house, next to Rawls Museum. Established in 1984, the artists were primarily watercolorists, we have evolved, now working not only in watercolor but also in oil and cold wax, acrylic, mixed media and pastel.  On occasion we work en plein air at various locations.  We collect dues, which go to support youth art and charities