Wildlife Art Exhibition Gallery Opening at LAAL October ArtShare

Center, TX – Sept. 29, 2009 – The gallery opening for the collective Wildlife Art Exhibition will be held at the Lakes Area Arts League monthly ArtShare meeting on Tues., Oct., 13 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the LAAL Art Center located at 305 Nacogdoches Street.

Featured Texas wildlife artists for the collective art exhibition include Tommy Humphrey, Malcolm Calvin Carter, Jordan Jones, all Jasper residents, and Albert C. Faggard, Jr. from Beaumont. Gallery dates include Sat., Oct.17 – Sun. Oct. 18; Sat. Oct. 24 – Sun., Oct. 25 and Sat., Oct. 30 with Saturday hours 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Guest artist and exhibitor Tommy Humphrey will present a scratchboard technique demonstration at the ArtShare meeting with a reception immediately following the demonstration. The public is invited to attend the ArtShare meeting and the Wildlife Art Exhibition.

Being one of those who discovered early in life that art was the only thing he could ever do well, Tommy Humphrey’s career choice was predetermined. His career as an art educator left him time to experiment and discover the scratchboard medium. It fit the concept of visual blends that had captured his attention while doing some graphic art assignments. The work of the post-impressionist George Seurat also caught his attention. Seurat developed pointillism, working with dots rather than strokes. The technique employs a visual blend and creates a softening effect to the work. Humphrey would create a black and white drawing on the scratchboard, grey was a result of the visual blend of black and white. These drawings were of animals synonymous with the East Texas region. Then, using a pen point and transparent watercolors he would color most of the white areas with one to five hues. White areas were left uncolored. The combination gave his work a very identifiable look. The works that were achieved over the next 10-15 years allowed him to attend some of the most prestigious wildlife shows in the country.

By the late 1990s, Ampersand developed Clayboard, scratchboard on masonite not mat board. Humphrey visited their factory in Austin, Texas and left with some samples. He discovered that acrylic glazes worked well on this new surface. He began combining his scratchboard technique with acrylic glazing. Presently his work might include one or both depending on the initial mental concept.

Humphrey is a native East Texan. Born in Jasper and raised in Orange, he earned a BS in graphic arts and a Masters in Education. He taught art for 33 years in the West Orange-Cove school district and retired in 2001. He and his artist wife, Jean, live north of Jasper on the banks of the Angelina River.

Malcolm Calvin Carter, a secondary art school teacher at West Sabine Independent School District in Pineland, Texas has competed in both area and regional Texas art shows, including at the Southeast Texas Art Museum, Beaumont and one man and group art exhibitions at the East Texas Art League, Jasper. He will participate in a collection of artists show at the Texas Art Museum Society in Port Arthur to be held in November and December 2009. Currently, a Jasper resident, Carter received his BFA from Lamar University in 2000 and is a 1994 Hempstead High School graduate.

Jordan Jones, a 2010 high school senior at West Sabine Independent School District in Pineland, Texas, has competed in Texas events at both the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo since 2005 and the Congressional Art Center in Tyler. Jones has received the Best of Show at the Jasper West Sabine Student Art Show held in Jasper, Texas in January 2009.

Born in Beaumont Texas and raised on the Gulf Coast, Albert C. Faggard, Jr. was exposed from an early age to the beauties of southeast Texas. His love of nature and its inhabitants were the inspiration of his early work in the 1970s. Faggard attended Lamar University and then obtained his BFA from the University of Houston’s Fine Art Department. In 1999, after retiring from a successful career in the wine industry, Faggard returned to pursue his lifelong passion of painting and earned his Master of Arts degree from Lamar University in 2003.

An avid lover of the outdoors, Faggard has raised cattle, horses and both native and exotic wildlife. His love and understanding of the subjects that he portrays is evident in each piece. According to Faggard, truth in anatomy, environment, and habitat are abundant throughout the artistic representation in his work. Although realism is represented in each piece, the artist chooses to use elements of color, form, composition, and brushwork to emphasize the importance of the subject matter in each piece.

Faggard’s recent exhibitions include works at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, the Dishman Museum at Lamar University, the Texas Wild Bunch, Coastal Conservation Association, Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club International, Bolivar Peninsula Cultural Foundation, Texas Artist Museum and the Federal Wildlife Refuge in Anahuac, Texas.

Faggard’s work is represented in several galleries across the country and may be contacted at his studio, Half Moon Bay, for commissions or private lessons at P.O. Box 5301, Beaumont, Texas 77726-530, phone (409) 350-1048 or via email studio@camtel.net.

ArtShare was organized by the Lakes Area Arts League to encourage participation and create interest in the arts through presentations and demonstrations by artists exchanging ideas, networking and sharing creative talents and exploring various art techniques. ArtShare hosts monthly art demonstrations and presentations on second Tuesday evenings, September though May.

Details for participating in the ArtShare 2009-2010 program by giving an art demonstration or sharing your artistic talents can be obtained by contacting LAAL ArtShare Coordinators, Delbert Beckham, 936.598.7859 or Tresa Konderla, 936.590.9968.

The Lakes Area Arts League is a non-profit organization established to promote interest and knowledge of all areas of the visual and performing fine arts through education and appreciation while enhancing the culture and tourism of the community and surrounding areas.

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