Cathy Suiter, Davette Leonard, and Nina Shepardson

August 8 – October 4, 2026
Artist Reception: August 8, 2026, 4:00 – 6:00 pm

337 Gay Street
Washington, VA 22747
540-227-5100

Hours: Friday – Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm or by appointment 540-316-8898

Gay Street Gallery is also happy to help you by phone 540-227-5100 or email office@gaystreetgallery.com.

Gay Street Gallery presents the work of select, award-winning artists from Virginia and around the country. With a focus on representational landscape and figurative paintings, the Gallery also shows sculpture, pottery, woodwork and glasswork, and also hosts exhibitions of contemporary work in various media. In addition, the gallery continues to display work from the archives of the late Kevin H. Adams, the Gallery’s beloved and much-missed co-founder and resident artist.

This exhibit features the works of new work by Cathy Suiter, Davette Leonard, and Nina Shepardson. The gallery also features work from other local and national artists, works from the archives of Kevin H. Adams, and selected works from the Gallery Owner’s Collection.

Cathy Suiter is a fine artist who lives in Warrenton, Virginia, and works weekends at Gay Street Gallery. For over 20 years she worked in the fast-paced corporate world in the DC metro area, yearning for the time she could spend her days painting in her studio and being involved in the arts. Her work has been exhibited in numerous exhibitions and galleries in the northwestern areas of Virginia. Many of the paintings in this exhibition are of scenes in and around Little Washington and Rappahannock County.

Davette Leonard formerly lived and worked in Rappahannock County but now calls Wisconsin home. As she explains: “The exacting realism in my still life paintings expresses the beauty, mystery and sensuality that I find in the ordinary. What interests me most is the challenge of capturing the ephemeral properties of natural objects. Observing the deteriorating transformation of those objects as they react to light, heat and time, and then incorporating those changes as I work is an important element in the outcome of the painting. It is the reason that I work entirely from live observation as opposed to working from photographs. My paintings follow a tradition likened to Northern European Renaissance and Spanish Baroque still life, using layers of translucent color glazes, acute observation, dramatic lighting and exacting draftsmanship. With the representation of natural forms and color, I hope to offer the solace nature has always provided in times of human difficulties.”

Nina Shephardson, who lives and works in nearby Flint Hill, has been fascinated with decorating eggs for more than 30 years. She started with (comparatively crude) Faberge-style eggs — with oval openings, little scenes inside, and lots of glitter and gold ribbon trim. At the request of a friend, she (rather unwillingly) agreed to learn Pysanky, the ancient Ukrainian batik style of egg decorating, and was immediately hooked on the process. For the last 15+ years she’s been learning, experimenting and perfecting her Pysanky skills. She’s worked on all different types of eggs, from tiny, fragile quail eggs to ostrich eggs, but her favorite canvases are turkey eggs, both because of their size and the way they so willingly take the dyes. Nina finds plentiful inspiration for her designs from the nature that surrounds this beautiful area of Virginia.

Images (top to bottom):

Cathy Suiter
Davette Leonard
Nina Shephardson

Wayne Paige: “CREPUSECULAR”

August 14 – September 20, 2026
Artist Reception: August 15, 2026 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm

311 Gay Street, Lower Level, facing Main Street & across from Ballard’s Gallery
Washington, VA 22747
540-227-5066

Hours: Friday – Sunday, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Middle Street Gallery is a non-profit artist co-operative with over 40 years’ history in Rappahannock County. The 19 members embrace a variety of subjects, styles, and media. The backgrounds of the artists are equally varied, from members with advanced degrees in the fine arts to those who are completely self-taught. Exhibits change every 6 weeks, sometimes featuring a single member or two complementary members and sometimes presenting a group show.

Wayne describes his new show: “The drawings in CREPUSCULAR serve as both reflections and interpretations of a convoluted voice in a likewise convoluted world. Using pen and paper, reality and perception are synthesized through the creative process, incorporating imagination, observation, and nostalgia. Each drawing takes place in an otherworldly landscape where animals and forest creatures, along with spirits and lost souls, gather.  Where a celestial armada of comets fills the skies, tree stumps and woodlands fill the grounds, and waterways envelop the landscape. All are elements of my earlier drawings that are still evident.

“By integrating varied styles and subject matter, I examine concepts of duality, transformation, and the bizarre. Encounters prevail in many forms. Often, they are created by tapping into strange or peculiar thoughts or memories. Eventually, they are transformed and reassembled into entirely new forms and images, and at times, never intended.  All occurs during twilight gatherings.

“As a former resident of Flint Hill and member of Middle Street Gallery since 2004, I have shown my art both locally and nationally ever since. My career as an artist extends back to the early 1970s and includes thirty duo/solo gallery exhibitions along with solos in New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Regionally, my artwork has been included in four exhibitions at the Katzen Center: “Remember Marc and Komei”, 2006; the “Elisabeth French Collection”, 2010; “Washington Art Matters ll – 1940s – 1980, 2014;” “Communicating Vessels”, (curated and cataloged by Claudia Rousseau) 2019. Collectors include American University, George Washington University, Marymount University, George Mason University, the Elisabeth French Collection, the Gudelsky Collection, Radio One, and Prudential.

“Education includes a BFA from The University of Illinois (Painting) and an MFA from The George Washington University (Painting). I also studied at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (TICA). Currently, I teach drawing at Laurel Ridge Community College and reside in Washington, DC.

Group Show with Rosabel Goodman, Ruth Anna Stolk, and Frances Meadows

August 18 – August 30, 2026
Artist Reception: August 21, 2026, 6:00 pm

Espace 2jol Gallery
Place de l’Hopital
Castelnau de Montmiral (81)

A group exhibit of three women, Rosabel Goodman of Rappahannock County, Ruth Anna Stolk, formerly of Rappahannock County, and Irish Brit Frances Meadows, who met as legal staff at the Iran-US Claims Tribunal 45 years ago. Now, in their retirement, each has a house in Castelnau de Montmiral in the south of France and have become artists. Frances Meadows paints landscapes and makes botanical drawings, Rosabel paints abstract and realistic trees, and Ruth Anna Stolk paints watercolors. On the poster are images of Frances’ artichoke, Rosabel’s trees, and the view from Ruth Anna’s Castelnau terrace.

Geneva Welch

June 14 – August 2, 2026
Opening Reception: June 14, 2026, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

37C Main Street
Sperryville, VA 22740
540-547-7845

Hours: Friday – Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm

Thornton River Art is Sperryville’s Gallery of Local Art. The gallery is a collaboration of three Rappahannock artists, Martin Woodard, Patricia Brennan and Heidi Morf, and features an eclectic collection of art from 28+ local artists including fine art, stained glass, fused glass, mosaics, pottery, weaving, jewelry, metal art, felted art, woodworking, and more.

Thornton River Art is proud to present the artwork of Geneva Welch, one of Rappahannock’s most renowned artists. Her luminous watercolors and full bodied oils capture the quiet spirit of animals and life in Rappahannock County. Influenced by Dutch and Flemish masters, her layered glazes and misty landscapes create serene, contemplative scenes. Thornton River Art will feature Geneva’s original paintings, limited‑edition prints, notecards, and hand‑crafted gifts.

Martin Woodard, Aster da Fonseca and Maureen Storey

May 16 – August 2, 2026

337 Gay Street
Washington, VA 22747
540-227-5100

Hours: Friday – Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm or by appointment 540-316-8898

Gay Street Gallery is also happy to help you by phone 540-227-5100 or email office@gaystreetgallery.com.

Gay Street Gallery presents the work of select, award-winning artists from Virginia and around the country. With a focus on representational landscape and figurative paintings, the Gallery also shows sculpture, pottery, woodwork and glasswork, and also hosts exhibitions of contemporary work in various media. In addition, the gallery continues to display work from the archives of the late Kevin H. Adams, the Gallery’s beloved and much-missed co-founder and resident artist.

This exhibit features the works of Martin Woodard, Aster da Fonseca, and Maureen Storey. The gallery also features work from other local and national artists, works from the archives of Kevin H. Adams, and selected works from the Gallery Owner’s Collection.

Images (top to bottom):

Martin Woodard
Aster da Fonseca
Maureen Storey

Francie Schroeder: “Spaces”

July 3 – August 9, 2026
Artist Reception: Saturday, July 11, 2026 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm

311 Gay Street, Lower Level, facing Main Street & across from Ballard’s Gallery
Washington, VA 22747
540-227-5066

Hours: Friday – Sunday, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Middle Street Gallery is a non-profit artist co-operative with over 40 years’ history in Rappahannock County. The 19 members embrace a variety of subjects, styles, and media. The backgrounds of the artists are equally varied, from members with advanced degrees in the fine arts to those who are completely self-taught. Exhibits change every 6 weeks, sometimes featuring a single member or two complementary members and sometimes presenting a group show.

Francie describes her new show: “Flat blank spaces are a challenge, a dare, an answer to a need, an opportunity. I collected images of these spaces attracted by their humor, their beauty, their messages or simply by their visual presence.”