Published: November 22, 2008 07:24 pm         

Wabash Valley Art Guild members’ artwork on exhibit at library

TERRE HAUTE — Featured artists this month are Julie Bricker, Phyllis Ling, Larry Poole, Christine Knoblock and Karen Page. These Wabash Valley Art Guild members have artwork on exhibit at the Vigo County Library at Seventh and Poplar streets.

Bricker was raised in the Southwest living in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and California before moving to Indiana in 2000 and the Wabash Valley in 2004. She always has loved to draw, preferring faces over all other subject matter. Her grade-school and high-school notebooks had margins full of her sketches of teachers, students and movie stars.

She entered her first art show at age 16 and over the years has won more than 20 awards (including numerous Best of Show) in state fairs, festivals and juried shows. Her work has been in galleries in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Terre Haute. While residing in Arizona, she was a member of the “Arizona Cowboy and Indian Artist Association.”

She is an associate member of the Covered Bridge Art Association. In May 2008, Bricker won Best of Show in the Wabash Valley Art Guild’s 31st Annual Spring Show. She also took second place in the painting category.

“It is always a challenge to do portraits,” Bricker states. “It is not enough just to draw or paint the features correctly. The portrait has to have life and that requires not only having knowledge of the physical features, but also capturing the personality of the subject.”

“If I am doing a portrait of a movie star, for example, I look at many pictures of the person from various angles and try to watch them in a film or on TV to determine how they smile, move and talk. Is the person shy or outgoing? Do they dress in a casual style or bright colors? Do they smile often or are they more reserved? The answers will determine the pose I use, what clothes I’ll have them wear and their general mood. I never tire of the challenge of drawing people!”

The two featured works for the library are “River Phoenix” and “The Story Teller.”

Bricker prefers working in watercolor, but also does work in pastel, pencil, ink and oil. Over the years, she has rendered over 100 Indians of various tribes. Her portraits of movie stars have been sold all over the world.

To check out more of Julie’s work, visit her Web site at www.julie-bricker.com.

Phyllis Ling has always loved to draw but she really became involved in art in junior high school, where she was encouraged by a wonderful teacher. She even spent one semester doing a mural in the school auditorium.

Growing up in Michigan, Ling spent much of her time in the woods, and a nearby park that had a wonderful zoo. “That’s where I fell in love with animals and nature,” Ling states. A few years ago, she began following her passion and drawing animals for the first time. She occasionally does other subjects but always returns to her first love, wildlife. She prefers to work in her medium of choice, pastels, because they give the soft look she wants on fur and feathers.

About five years ago, Ling joined the Wabash Valley Art Guild and the artists there encouraged her to do much more. Since then, she has exhibited at The Raven Gallery in Terre Haute, The Palestine Gallery in Illinois, Community Theatre of Terre Haute, W.V.A.G.-featured Art Shows, The Coffee Grounds, Indiana State Fair and City Hall.

Larry Hamilton Poole was born and raised in southwestern New York, in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, which led to his intense appreciation for nature and the love of landscape painting. Growing up, he spent many hours as a boy out fishing and hunting with his dad, Clarence Poole, and ultimately Clarence had a large role in Larry’s obsession with nature and the recreation thereof. After graduating from high school, Poole went off to college (Slippery Rock State College), where he met his wife-to-be, Donna Mozes. They eventually married and moved to Indiana, after college, where they have been ever since. Their four boys were born and raised in Indiana and now their ninth grandchild is on the way.

Poole has worked in the respiratory therapy field in the Terre Haute area since 1972, and is still going strong today. The last few years he has been able to pursue his painting interests with the encouragement of his wife and his mother. With the tutelage of Jannie Fetter, he has been able to overcome some vision issues, learn some of the finer points of oil painting, and really enjoy the time being able to spend doing so.

“As time marches along, we all become painfully aware of how short life really is and how important it is for people to participate in things that they really enjoy. This adds to the fulfillment of their life and the legacy that they leave behind,” Larry states.

“Everyone has a certain amount of artistic ability in one form or another and the lucky ones are the ones that are able to participate in and fulfill those desires. I have been one of the lucky ones and art accompanied by my enjoyment of genealogy have certainly fulfilled my life along with the most important part of my life, my family!”

Larry continues, “Art is not just what is on a canvas or done by the hands of a sculptor — it is what one does that leads to one’s serenity, pride and sense of accomplishment. I guess I’m a bit of a philosopher as well!”

These artists and more are on display in the library and around the Wabash Valley. To learn more about the Wabash Valley Art Guild and the artists, visit www.wabashvalleyartguild.org.