Painter Marsha Heatwole’s newest body of work, “Wild,” will be featured for the month of April at Artists in Cahoots in Lexington.
From crows to zebras, and even a possum, a wild array of North American and African wild animal paintings will help gallery visitors celebrate the coming spring with a wild ride into the beauty and whimsy of these creatures. The public is invited to the opening reception on Friday, April 3, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Heatwole is well known for her passion for studying and painting a wide variety of animals and birds. . “In all of my work,” says the artist, “I’ve portrayed my friends with an eye to respect their beauty while being wild-atheart with the handling of the paint.”
Her distinctive images can help remind viewers the place of importance wildlife has to the health and well-being of our natural and man-made environments.
“The animals I encounter are a never-ending source of amusement and fascination for me,” says Heatwole. “Taking my own photographs for reference is an important part of the learning process. I am then able to enjoy interpreting the power and whimsy of these creatures by bringing strong abstract visual elements together with an understanding of their anatomy and behavior.”
Born just up the Valley in Waynesboro, Marsha has lived in the Lexington area for 38 years. Receiving a bachelor of fine arts in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University was only the start of her lifelong learning; including 40 years of street art fairs, travel, study and, says Heatwole, “the caretaking of oh so many pets.”
