“Paint the Piedmont ” Benefit Art Show and Auction Raises Over $2,400 for local land conservation activities.
Over several weekends in December, the Firnew Farm Artists’ Circle sponsored an art show and auction to benefit the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) and the Blue Ridge Foothills Conservancy (BRFC). Held at DuCard Vineyards in Etlan , VA and the River District Arts Collective in Sperryville , VA the event featured paintings of land which has been permanently protected through conservation easements, both in Madison and Greene Counties and elsewhere in Virginia
The show highlights undeveloped areas of the region in different mediums such as watercolor, mixed media, sculpture, acrylic and oil painting. Area artists included Noah Bradley, Armand Cabrera, Trish Crowe, Bonnie Dixon, Lou Messa, Michelle Powell, Chee Ricketts, Janice Rosenberg, Fran Wohlfelder, Richard Young and Sharon Zarambo. Though many of the group’s shows have related to the idea of ‘place,’ this is the first one specifically to highlight easement areas.
“We ought to be able to see the unspoiled landscape in the future,” said Trish Crowe, founder of the art group and President of BRFC, said about why the group chose to depict easement land. “Once it’s paved over, you can’t get it back.”
Special thanks go to the donating artists, Scott Elliff of DuCard Vineyards and Jerome Niessen of River District Arts for donating wine and venues, Chef Sebastian Carosi for his beautiful local foods, and John Mitchell Photography for documenting the event.
The next “Paint the Piedmont” will be held June 12th in a new iteration again at DuCard Vineyards in
