Craig Richards & Margaret Larson in The Apple Gallery

The Stokes County Arts Council presents a joint exhibit with artists Craig Richards and Margaret Larson in The Apple Gallery, 500 Main Street, Danbury. An opening reception and artist meet and greet is being held Saturday, August 10th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Craig Richards is the founding member of Triad Outdoor Painters and one of two artists in residence at The Arts Place of Stokes. His paintings are in oils reflecting a style influenced by French and American Impressionists like Monet and Frederick Church.  His subjects are often mountain views, streams, and landscapes though he also works with portraits.

Richards partnered with the Stokes County Historical Society to paint “Back In the Day,” a portrait of model Ellen Wallis wearing an ornate green velvet gown circa 1910-1920 donated to the SCHS in 2006 by Michael Joyce. Using the museum and period furnishings, including a circa mid 1800’s settee from the Wilson Fulton House, he has beautifully captured the beginning of a time of dramatic change for women in the early 1900’s. This portrait is on display in the exhibit and a portion of the proceeds from the sales of the portrait and prints will go directly to the Stokes County Historical Society.

Joining Richards for this exhibit is ceramic artist Margaret Larson, whose work was recently featured at the Guilford College Art Department’s senior thesis exhibition. She creates large hand-built ceramic pots with local North Carolina clay and uses painting and carving techniques to add enlarged floral imagery to the surfaces. She cites the ideas of femininity, strength, and taking up space as inspiration for her art, while commenting on the intersection of fine arts and craft and how women are viewed in the art world.  “I make this work as a tribute to my own and other women’s creation of craft, and to their, and my own strength and delicacy, “ Larson said.

Visit the Apple Gallery at 500 Main Street to view this exhibit, on display until the end of August. Meet Richards and Larson at the opening reception on Saturday, August 10th beginning at 6:00 p.m. For more about each of the artists, visit their websites at www.artistcraigrichards.com and www.margaretlarsonpottery.weebly.com.