WHAT’S HAPPENING IN JUNE WITH FALL ART TOUR VENUES AND ARTISTS!
Come out for the arts and enjoy early summertime and all that Rappahannock has to offer!
This month we have a new exhibition and several continuing exhibitions in local galleries. Of course, all of our galleries are open and filled with amazing work from local and national artists. Why not come out to Rappahannock for a beautiful weekend in June for a gallery tour and indulge in our local restaurants, wineries, breweries, farm stands brimming with local produce, and more!
There are so many options to indulge yourself in Rapaphannock! Incredible art and local shops, of course, but did you know we have many spas offering all kinds of wonderful services, too? Plus hiking in the Shenandoah National Park, wineries and micro-breweries, amazing restaurants, and overnight accomodations provide all the makings of a wonderful get-away from the city!
Here’s what’s happening this month:
Click all images to open them in lightbox.
THORNTON RIVER ART
Davette Leonard’s Masterful Still Lifes
June 8, 2025 – June 30, 2025
Opening Reception June 8, 2025 from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
37 Main Street
SperryvilLe, VA 22740
(540) 547-7845
thorntonriverart@gmail.com
Hours: Friday – Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm
Davette’s life-like oil paintings use precise realism and enchanting symbology to tell timeless stories. Meet the artist during the Opening Reception on June 8.
MIDDLE STREET GALLERY
Nedra Smith
“Plein-Air Rappahannock”
June 20, 2025 – July 27, 2025
311 Gay Street, Lower Level,
facing Main Street & across from Ballard’s
Washington, VA 22747
(540) 227-5066
Hours: Friday – Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm
Nedra Smith says:
“I’m happiest outdoors with a brush in hand”
I grew up on my family’s farm in Nebraska which I tribute to my lifelong love of the outdoors. My early education was in a one room country school house where Fridays were dedicated to art, undoubtedly my favorite day of the week, and it instilled that the world of creativity was for me.
I was classically trained in art at George Washington University. At the time GW was one of the few schools teaching a classical approach: studying with live models, working in materials and techniques used by the old masters, this was the basis of GW’s curriculum.
After college I worked as a graphic artist and art director but my desire to paint full time never faded. I finally had an opportunity to go to Chengdu China and study figure painting with a friend and master painter, He Gong, who taught at Sichuan University. This was a turning point.
Back in the states I was introduced to plein-air painting while studying with Kevin McPherson. With my love of the outdoors and introduction to plein-air painting I had found the perfect match.
Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to study and travel with some of the top painters in the US; Scott Christensen, Daniel Gerhartz, Roger Dale Brown and Carolyn Anderson to name a few. I will always be a student as there is still so much to learn.
My husband and I make our home in Rappahannock Virginia where any direction you look is a painting possibility . . . how perfect is that?
This show at Middle Street Gallery features framed paintings ranging from 12″ x 10″ to 12″ x 16″.
CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
MIDDLE STREET GALLERY
Wayne Paige “Wild”
Recent Drawings
May 9, 2025 – June 15, 2025
Opening Reception, Saturday, May 17, 2025 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm
311 Gay Street, Lower Level,
facing Main Street & across from Ballard’s
Washington, VA 22747
(540) 227-5066
Hours: Friday – Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm
Animal Kingdom was a pet shop a short walk from where I lived as a child in the Logan Square section of Chicago. At the time, it provided a wealth of insight to an eight-year- old who enjoyed drawing real and imaginary animals. Initially, it opened as a conventional pet shop selling puppies, kittens, and tropical fish. Over several years, the shop expanded, and more non-traditional and exotic animals were added—Monkeys, tigers, bats, and exotic birds joined Dogs, cats, and goldfish. During this period, they were confined to cages and other restricted forms of captivity. This eventually ended with an outcry from an enlightened public. Nevertheless, I imagined them in the wild, uncaged, untamed, and drew them as such.
Since then, I moved to and around the DMV region, living in urban, suburban, and small-town locations. Eventually, I moved to Flint Hill, Virginia, where much time was spent observing the rural nature of Rappahannock County. The land, the creatures, and the overall environment stoked my imagination, and much time was spent capturing this wild essence in my drawings and paintings.
After a seventy-plus-year hiatus and unforeseen events, the animals of my youth have returned and appear under moonlit skies of imaginary comets, mountains, waterways, and woodlands. They have become untold stories populated by bipedal beings, spiritual entities, squirrels, bears, and a host of other creatures interacting with each other.
By tapping into this childhood memory, the content of my art has expanded and remained consistent with the overall focus of my previous work, which is creating art that embraces conflict, dreams, and humor. Currently, I am employed as an adjunct professor teaching Drawing and 2D Design at Laurel Ridge Community College in Warrenton, Virginia, and living and working in Washington, DC. From 2000 to 2008, I resided in Flint Hill, VA, and have been a member of Middle Street Gallery since 2004.
GAY STREET GALLERY
Cathy Suiter and Maureen Storey
May 24 – August 6, 2025
Opening Reception: May 24, 2025, 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.
Featuring new work from Cathy Suiter, who lives in Warrenton, VA, and glass artist Maureen Storey. In addition, the gallery will be showing new items from the Owners’ Collection and continues to show works from the archives of Kevin H. Adams.
Top Image: Cathy Suiter
Bottom Image: Maureen Storey
SPERRYVILLE ARTIST COOPERATIVE & SPAC GALLERY
Charles Tompkins Exhibit
through June 30, 2025
Outside the SPAC Gallery
Sperryville Marketplace
3 River Lane
Sperryville, VA 22740
SPAC Gallery has a new gallery wall outside their space, featuring a rotating exhibit of work from local artists.
All of our galleries are open and are full of amazing local art, crafts and gifts – be sure to visit Artful Friends and Sperryville ARTist Cooperative and Gallery at the Sperryville Marketplace, R.H. Ballard Gallery & Shop, Gay Street Gallery, Haley Fine Art, Middle Street Gallery, and Thornton River Art.