Arts Center Gears Up for Art Crawl, Acrylic Painting Class, and a Special Concert

It’s the time of the year for celebrations and giving. We kick it off by joining the Little River Arts Council and other businesses for the annual Art Crawl on Saturday, Dec. 13. We will have featured art and artists, refreshments, and extended hours. Please check out our Facebook page for more details.

We have two events after the first of the year that you can consider for yourself or as a gift to that special someone. First up is a two-day painting class by returning artist/instructor Lucy Thomas. The Feb. 21-22 acrylic painting class is titled, “The Art of Loose Landscape” and will focus on trees, clouds, and fields.

Landscape by Lucy Thomas

“My favorite kind of landscape to paint is the type of scenery you see while driving down a state highway or country road,” Thomas said. “There are fields with yellows and purples and greens. Clouds are heavy in the sky, and not too far in the distance is a tree line made of many types of foliage. All the action takes place on a serene horizon line. That’s what I will show you how to do in this class. I’ll show you how I paint trees and shrubs, how to give depth and distance to land, and we will paint skies and clouds together in multiple ways. My favorite way to paint is using the negative space technique. So there will be a heavy dose of that as well.”

Thomas added that this is not a realistic painting class, and drawing skills are not necessary. Tuition for the class is $195, and the class is limited to 10 students. Thomas started painting at 47 after a discouraging medical diagnosis. Before long, art became her full-time job. Since then, her work has been in galleries across the Southeast. She teaches at the Huntsville Museum of Art, Revelry Fine Arts in Nashville, and online through her website. She lives in the Nashville area with her husband, Garner, their dogs and cats, and a tortoise named Steve.

Guitarist/composer Hiroya Tsukamoto

On Friday, Feb. 27, we will welcome back guitarist/composer Hiroya Tsukamoto to the Arts Center. Tsukamoto is a Japanese composer, guitarist, and singer-songwriter who blends folk, jazz, and world music into his performances. Born in Kyoto, he moved to the U.S. in 2000 on a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music. Tsukamoto is known for his innovative fingerstyle technique and his ability to fuse instrumental compositions with storytelling. Look for updates/details on registration for the class and ticket purchases in the month of December on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/mentoneartscenter.org.