"Impressions of Virginia" Opens in Fredericksburg
"Impressions of Virginia" is opening in Fredericksburg on February 11th, 2022 from 6pm-8pm at Frame Designs Gallery. The exhibit has been described as "one of the most impressive shows I have ever seen and really highlights the relative strengths and differences between photography and painting,” by Kathleen Moran, President of the Colonial Beach Artists Guild.
The artistic pairing is ecstatic of the response to the exhibit. “To our knowledge, “Impressions of Virginia” is one of the first to become a traveling exhibit for our area,” shares Dawn Whitmore, “We are delighted to share our artwork and impressions with our upcoming Opening Reception at Frame Designs and Gallery in February.”
The initial plan began in early 2021, for a duo exhibit. The two have shown their artwork together in the past. However for this exhibit they wanted to create something different.
The idea began as a simple one, two artists…ten sites.
Koons and Whitmore created a plan to experience their state of Virginia and to share their artwork and personal impressions of the areas explored. The exhibit entailed countless hours of planning, driving, creating and collaborating for the two artists. Each of the sites chosen was visited once by the duo together. In a few instances, to ensure the best use of time, more than one destination was seen in a day. The pair began their journey in June 2021 and visited their last site in October 2021.
"We believe the exhibit shows how photography and painting has artistic nuisances," explains Laural Koons, "There are pieces in the exhibit which work as paintings but not as photographs and vice versa....photographs which would not work as paintings."
The pair delight in how the written impressions of each site have been received. Koons shares, "During the opening night in Colonial Beach, people did exactly what we intended for the exhibit...the people read what we shared and interacted with us about our impressions."
We want to thank Cheryl Bosch and her assistant at Frame Designs Gallery for creating and sharing the following video:
