Fall Art Tour Artists’ Reflections on Inspiration and Community

By Heather Wicke

Year after year, many County residents have enjoyed participating in RAAC’s Fall Art Tour. But have you ever wondered why Rappahannock County has the great fortune of such a remarkable event with so many exceptional artists? Surely it is a combination of factors, including the beauty and inspiration of the mountains and rural landscape and the support of the community.

Who better to answer this question than nine local artists who have participated in the event for many years? Below they share their thoughts about sources of inspiration and the community where they create their art.

In Their Own Words

Ray Boc is a photographer who has participated on the Tour for 18 years. A “chance loan” of an infrared camera in 2010 radically altered his work, and he now finds his infrared work most challenging and rewarding.

“While I photograph when I travel, I find myself more successful in our Rappahannock County landscape. The light, the sky and clouds, and the scenic variety give me great opportunities. My favorite example is the Estes Mill in Sperryville. I have photographed it many times but could never get a good image. Using infrared…I was able to produce a monochrome image that truly reflected the mill’s age and place in our historic community.”

“As anticipation for the Art Tour builds, our arts community comes together in mutual support. We are energized, and I believe it shows our visitors how much we enjoy creating and displaying our work. The Art Tour makes this happen.”

Boc will welcome Tour visitors at the Middle Street Gallery, 311 Gay St. (lower level facing Main Street), Washington.

Hans Gerhard is an abstract painter and a metal sculptor. He joined the Tour in 2006 and has stayed with it because he enjoys the interaction “with an ever increasing number of interested Tour visitors.”

“I came to the county primarily with the goal to rehabilitate the abandoned farm I had purchased. As that work progressed, it also informed the way I was painting for the joy of it, and soon this newfound artistic energy spilled over into my working with found objects and scrap metal to make sometimes whimsical, wry, and ironic abstract sculptures.”

“The Art Tour has entailed an incentive to clarify my own style of artwork, as it brought visitors often fresh from seeing what other artists on the Tour were doing. Many of my visitors express great joy at experiencing the beautiful local landscape all around the county.”

Gerhard will welcome Tour visitors to his farm and studio in Sperryville.

Ray Boc

Hans Gerhard

Joyce Harman

Nancy Keyser

Joyce Harman is a photographer who has “played” with many processing techniques and subjects over the many years she has participated on the Tour. She is well known for her dramatic “dark sky” images which she often prints on metal to accentuate their other-worldliness.

“I am primarily a nature photographer, since my favorite times are spent in Shenandoah National Park, as well as in my backyard with all the wildflowers. I love to spend time under the night sky, photographing it as well as enjoying it. By going out in the county at night, I connect to the county in a different way.”

“RAAC – and the art culture they have helped create in the county – is a huge reason to participate. They help bring folks out here to see the beauty of the county and what our community has to offer.”

Harman will welcome Tour visitors at the Middle Street Gallery, 311 Gay St. (lower level facing Main Street), Washington.

Nancy Keyser is a landscape painter, working in watercolor and pastels. She is the only Tour artist who has participated continuously since the first Fall Art Tour in 2005.

All the natural aspects of the local landscape have been subjects of Keyser’s prolific painting over the years. It is clear what moves and inspires her artwork. “The natural beauty of our county and changes in atmosphere are so awesome.”

As the longest participating studio member of the Tour, she identifies a key driver, “Having a deadline with the Art Tour is a great reminder to get my work finished!”

Keyser will again welcome Tour visitors to her home studio in Washington.

Phyllis Northup is a watercolor artist who joined the Tour in 2014. She returned to the area a year earlier with her husband, Jim, the former Superintendent of Shenandoah National Park. She loves “the creative problem-solving” required by the challenging medium of watercolor and “the beauty of layer after layer of transparent color.” She also works with mixed media, adding graphite or pen and ink, and creates jewelry, cards, and books.

“My work is always ALL about nature. In fact, my tagline is ‘Art Inspired by Nature!'” She enjoys capturing the larger landscape as well as the “intimate landscape,” coming in for a very close-up look at “lovely, small wonders in nature.”

“I am filled with gratitude to be a part of the thriving arts community in Rappahannock, and I do think that visitors enjoy the sense of community that they experience when they come out to enjoy all that the Tour has to offer.”

Since her studio is currently under renovation, Northup will welcome Tour visitors this year as a guest artist at Mullany Art Studios, 714 Zachary Taylor Hwy, Flint Hill.

Pam Pittinger, a participant in the first 2005 Tour, is an abstract artist using acrylics and multimedia. She and her husband, Lynn, a fine furniture maker, welcomed visitors to their new barn studios in 2013.

“In my abstracts, my inspiration comes mostly from within. I put random marks on the canvas and that leads me on until the work tells me it is done. However, this year I was deeply moved by nature. It’s led me to a series of nature-inspired paintings that convey that beauty, but are still abstract.”

“I LOVE that Rappahannock has become such an arts center. It seems like every year there are new artists and creative people moving here. We love having people come here to look at our work and the spaces we’re in. Another reason to participate is the guest artists that join us here. They round out the show, and we get to have quality time with them.”

The Pittingers will welcome Tour visitors to their barn studios in Amissville.

Phyllis Northup

Pam Pittinger

Margaret Rogers

Francie Schroeder

Margaret Rogers is an illustrator and printmaker who joined the Tour in 2015. Her studio adjoins the family’s Central Coffee Roasters In Sperryville.

Her favorite methods of printmaking are monotype and intaglio, using a technique practiced since the 13th century. Since having a stroke 2-½ years ago that compromised the movement of her right hand, she uses her left hand to do her printmaking. Her fine and detailed prints reflect the fact that she has overcome this significant challenge.

“Creative inspiration has always been outside, places that I go. The historic places and things are of particular interest to me.”

“Between the Art Tour …and many other events here in the county, I believe RAAC has helped shine a light on the diversity and creativity here in the county. I enjoy participating.”

Rogers will welcome Tour visitors to her studio at 11836 Lee Hwy, Sperryville.

Francie Schroeder is a photographer who joined the Tour more than 10 years ago. Her first art show was at the Middle Street Gallery in the 1980s. Since that time, she has improved her digital photography skills and appreciates the “endless possibilities of her medium.”

“A lot of the photo work … derives from the landscape and from nature. I do some of this and especially love photographing both trees and birds. I also gravitate toward back road and small town street photography, images with a sociological subcontext.”

“I think the visitors love returning year after year because of the welcoming nature of the community, along with the amazing surroundings they get to explore while on the Tour.”

Schroeder will welcome Tour visitors at the Middle Street Gallery, 311 Gay St. (lower level facing Main Street), Washington.

Martin Woodard is a landscape painter, working in oil, who joined the Tour in its first year and, except for a short hiatus, has participated ever since.

“The county’s landscape and natural environment IS my artistic expression. I try to interpret the natural landscape in interesting and expressive ways, adding my own insights to create romanticized images of my surrounding environment.”

“I think the Art Tour is the best event in Rappahannock County, and I enjoy participating. Not only is it very rewarding to have lots of people view my work, it concentrates many art enthusiasts, thereby minimizing the amount of effort I have to put into marketing my work. It also provides a deadline motivation which is helpful to me.:

Woodard will welcome Tour visitors at the Thornton River Art Studio and Gallery, 37C Main St, Sperryville.

Martin Woodard

The 19th annual Fall Art Tour is November 2 – 3, 10 am – 5 pm both days. Admission is free.

Please join us this year to see ALL the extraordinary artists on the Tour, in 24 studios and 9 galleries!

Mark your calendars – next year’s Tour – our 20th! – is November 1 – 2, 2025!