Oak Hill is privileged to host wonderful artwork from a collection of Western North Carolina's most prominent artists. Their incredible work not only adds a special warmth, but captures charming, magnificent settings from our area and invites you to explore its beauty. As you tour Oak Hill, you will be drawn to the gentle cascade of waterfalls or to quaint woodland scenes and its inhabitants. Perhaps you will encounter those very places while visiting us.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy the artwork and invite you to purchase anything you are particularly drawn to. Due to the intimate setting, the artwork is priced much more affordably than if purchased from a gallery. Take home a special gift or a memento of your visit, or simply enjoy while here!
Even in her childhood, Jo knew she wanted to paint. Raised on a dairy farm in Randolph County, NC, she delighted in roaming the woods and streams around the farm. It was there she first developed an appreciation of nature's beauty and a desire to capture it with art. Since then, Jo uses her talent designing wildlife and nature designs for the screen-printing business she started with her husband, Ed, a fine photographer in his own right. Her work is included in corporate collections in North and South Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. Her original works are enjoyed by many private collectors in the U.S. and abroad.
Jo paints in watercolor and oils, both "en plein air" and in her studio. The act of painting is somewhat mystical, for even as Jo controls the flow of pigment, the final result remains a mystery until the paint dries. Many of her paintings depict views from the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains. Some of her landscapes are composites of various scenes and gardens. Much of her art comes from her imagination, stimulated by her observation of the Applachians' changing moods. She has a deep passion for painting the mountains as God's Creation, untouched by man, often including her favorite subjects, wispy mountain mists and soothing sunsets.
Her serene mountain images, both originals and fine art prints, can be found in a number of establishments in Downtown Waynesville and neighboring Frog Level, a must see while perusing the fine shops and galleries. Visit her website at www.JoKelley.com or contact her directly at 828-456-3003.
Susan has been photographing since 1983, but it was not until 2002 when she made the move to WNC that it became a career choice. Since then, her work has appeared in venues across the region including the Biltmore Estate, Grove Arcade, National Parks Conservation Association and countless private galleries and arts councils. Her images frequently appear in Our State Magazine, The Laurel of Asheville, The Laurel Magazine, Bold Life Magazine and the Citizen-Times to name but a few.
As an artist, Susan takes time to court her subjects – to discover the subtle nuances that reveal themselves only after developing a relationship with it. She might visit the same location numerous times at different times of day or various seasons waiting for the lighting and mood to be just right. She feels that her subjects have a story to tell and it's her job to "get the story right".
"I strive to record the textures, the feeling...the sensual elements of the scene. If I can place the viewer at the scene not only visually, but emotionally and spiritually as well, then I have taken a good photograph. Yes, there are moments of serendipity when the elements are aligned for that perfect photo, but sharing those magical intimate details of my subjects is what my photography is all about."
To see an extensive collection of Susan's images, please visit her website at www.SusanStanton.com. Stanton Photography can be reached at 828-808-1414 or via email at Sales@SusanStanton.com.
Miniature 8"X12" versions of Susan's work are now available at Oak Hill for $60 each or three for $150.
A full time resident of Waynesville, Bill Smith was born in Atlanta, GA and graduated from Duke University with a degree in history. Vitally involved in photography for over 50 years, he has devoted his efforts primarily to large and medium format fine art black and white photography for the past 20 years. Bill's work is included in private and corporate collections throughout the country, most recently at Credit Suisse, and he is currently represented by The Collectors Gallery in Raleigh, NC, and Bluewood Gallery in Brevard, NC. He is an exhibiting member of The Southern Appalachian Photographers Guild, and is currently an exhibiting member at The Mainstreet Artists Co-op in Waynesville. Smith has instructed at the University of North Carolina, Asheville at the Reuter Center, and has lectured widely to groups throughout North Carolina.
Artist's Statement: At its most elementary level, photography is a literal, recording process. The infusion of certain elements into the process can elevate photography from a mere recording to an art form. What are those elements? The photographer's interpretation of the scene, that is how he wants the scene to appear in the print, which in turn evokes the emotions in the viewer that moved the artist to photograph the scene in the first place. The arrangement of the elements in the scene, by utilizing various focal length lenses, changing position of the camera, and the use of filters to change value relationships. The judgment exercised in the darkroom, employing a broad spectrum of controls to further shape the image as originally visualized by the photographer at the time film was exposed, is critical. Photography, as an art form, is first an emotional experience for the photographer. He then, through visualizing the final image, arranges the elements in the scene, and finally creates the print from the negative in the darkroom utilizing all of the controls at his disposal.
Bill's work can be found in The Mainstreet Artists Co-op here in downtown Waynesville, or he can be contacted directly at 828-926-2043. Visit his web site at www.wasmithphotography.com.
George Dixon is a nationally recognized photographer of the natural world. For over 35 years he has documented and preserved the fragile and changing environment of the Great Smoky Mountains and Southern Appalachians. A native of Western North Carolina, he makes his home in Waynesville.
Artist's Statement: "I hope to convey to the viewer some small part of the awe and wonder the peaks of the southern Appalachians, especially the Smokies, have always aroused in me. The mountains are places of constant change and renewal. No two days or even moments are ever quite the same. It is this constant stirring and reawakening that I seek to capture in my images. I look for atmospheres similar to those found in the paintings of J.M.W. Turner."
View more of George's work at www.lightfantasticphoto.com, or at The Mainstreet Artists Co-op in downtown Waynesville. For further information, call 828-452-3573.