Paint the Piedmont 2011

“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 event raised over $2,400 to help continue the work of protecting the natural beauty of these areas.  Sherry Buttrick said “on behalf of VOF, we are delighted by the interest and support that this event received and how wonderfully the artists portrayed these precious landscapes.”

    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 12^th in a new iteration again at DuCard Vineyards in Etlan, VA.  The event will feature plein-air painting by member artists of the Artists’ Circle as well as other area artists and will provide an opportunity to engage in important conservation dialogue. The winery is set in spectacular landscapes which will both enrich the art and help enable it to inspire protection of the views.  Interested artists and parties should contact Trish Crowe at 540-948-5444 or via email at  TheLegacyoftheLand@gmail.com.  More details will be forthcoming on the event blog www.PaintthePiedmont.blogspot.com.