ROCK SPRINGS — The sixteenth community exhibit at the Community Fine Arts Center focuses on “Pet Portraits” with a large variety of styles in 25 works of art.
“Each year we select a theme for this exhibit based on recent interests or something currently going on, such as when we celebrated the CFAC’s 50th anniversary, each piece of artwork had to have the color gold,” said Debora Soulé, CFAC director. “Through the years a variety of themes have included portraits, postcard-sized art, landscapes, trains, and squares. We leave it up to the artists’ interpretation of the theme and it has given artists inspiration to create work specifically for the community exhibit.
Soule added that this year we asked for everyone to have fun inserting their pet into an old master’s painting. All pet portraits would be accepted but hoped that the work would be in public domain which means that there is no longer copyright protection on the older work.
Artists participating this year include painters Peggy Applequist, John E. Anderson II, Angelina Q. Bennett, Brenda Faler, Kaylee Moore, Gwendolyn Quitberg, Amanda Romero, Debora Soulé, and Joel Tankersley. Traditional mediums such as oils and watercolor, also acrylic and colored inks were used.
Photography was a popular medium for this exhibit as well. Chad Banks, Leslie Davis Caudle, Marni Christensen, David Gutierrez, and David Metz started with traditional photographs then editing on a computer using software such as Photoshop to combine images, apply filters and bring the images together to be one.
One relief carving is also in the exhibit, “Golden Retriever” by Joel Tankersley. He has painted the landscape and then covered the dog in gold leaf.
“We have already selected next year’s theme – Wyoming’s state flower, the Indian Paintbrush,” said Soulé. “All mediums are accepted and we are excited to see how our local artists capture this colorful subject.”
The CFAC also displays the majority of the art collection which was started by the Rock Springs High School students in the fall of 1939. It hung in the school until the CFAC was opened in 1966 for the public to enjoy the hundreds of pieces of art collected over the years.
“Sweetwater County School District #1 along with the city of Rock Springs and Sweetwater County Library System have a wonderful, longstanding collaboration,” said Soulé, “By working together the community has an impressive treasure of art for its citizens and visitors alike.”
The public is invited to see this exhibit through November 10 as well as the permanent collections on display.
