"Vicoli Italy, Boats in the Harbor, Naples, Lemon Tree, Italy" by Luciano D'Aria. His photography of Italy and the Outer Banks has been very popular at Visual Art Studio. Please visit the gallery to see more of his work.

LUCIANO D'ARIA - Artist Statement
In this great and yet complicated world we live in, we are surrounded by many beautiful and colorful things which very often go unnoticed. Not for lack of interest or care, but because they are shadowed by our busy daily life. We spend most of our precious time indoors, seeing the world through our computer screen and, when we walk outdoors, we hardly glance at things around us or notice the miracles happening above us like the display of colors found in a Midlothian sunset; a tree that bends with the weight of the first snowfall; a Canadian Geese sliding on a frozen pond; ocean waves racing to shore. Life is a constant process of changes. Some of them just come and go in a blink of an eye. Luciano D'Aria strives to be there to capture these changes through his camera’s lens and to display them for everyone to enjoy. The end result makes the efforts worthwhile. It is satisfying and rewarding for him to know that a simple ripple caused by a rock when it hits the water or the motionless reflection of pine trees in a nearby lake at early morning will not go unnoticed. BIOGRAPHY Luciano D'Aria was born in Naples, Italy. At the age of 21 he moved to the United States where he lived in Queens, New York. Photography had always been a passion of D'Aria's while growing up in Italy, but unfortunately, because of the busy life style in New York, he had to put it aside for awhile. In 1986, D'Aria, his lovely wife and three children relocated to Midlothian, Virginia. He has not stopped taking pictures. Particularly during his various trips abroad, D'Aria has always found the time to use his camera. D'Aria plans to keep exhibiting and sharing his work so perhaps some day soon, he will be able to further pursue his photography on a full time basis.

F.I.N.E. : FIBER IN NEARLY EVERYTHING
Northern Virginia artists Ann Liddle, Julia Booth, Anne Buchal, Maria Simonsson & Ann Citron formed their 5 member group in 1999 with their mutual support and strength in their bond of fiber. Fiber is their primary means of expression and the human figure is a common denominator. Although presented in different styles, the medium of fiber makes the connection and holds their various interpretations of the figure together. The term "bound" refers to the way some of them create by binding strips of cloth around an armature to form their sculptural works. Wire, paint, beads, paper mache' and other materials and diverse influences like those of the geometric weavings of ancient Peru and appliqued molas of the Kuna Indians are used in the creation of their art. Their traveling fiber arts show, "Defying Gravity" was well received in the D.C. area including Maryland then it traveled to Tennessee. The members exhibited in "All Dolled Up Again!" last year at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Hampton Roads and The Cultural Art Center in Glen Allen, VA. Julie Booth's block printed, appliqued, stitched and beaded "Joie de Vivre #1" was featured on the cover of "Elan" magazine celebrating the good life in Northern Virginia. The group closed an exhibit at Shepherd University's Frank Center for the Creative Arts Gallery before coming to the Visual Art Studio in Richmond, VA.
____________________________________________
FEBRUARY - MARCH 2007  OLIVERIO CORRALES
"Andean Traditions in Ecuador"
The central theme of my paintings is the human being and I always seek the way to reflect his positive side. In this Andean theme I have placed special emphasis on showing what for me is the essence of the Indigenous Ecuadorian. Its millenary culture, its roots inherited from generation to generation, its wisdom, its sublime respect for the Mother Land ( Pacha Mama ), its spiritual richness and nobility have inspired me to present through my paintings this entity with dignity and possessor of a ancestral pride. To achieve this objective, I started from the real world, transferred this entity to the Magical Realism or Surrealism - tendencies with which my work has been identified and allows me to give free rein to my imagination, without distortion of the true essence of the human being, while offering an aesthetic alternative which is different an original."
___________________________________
JUNE 2006
'20 Painter's Problems', Oil on Canvas by Kurt Treeby of Buffalo, New York opened June 2 through June 30, 2006. The inspiration for this body of work is a book entitled 'The Painter's Problem Book: 20 Problem Subjects and How to Paint Them.' Published in the 1970's, it is a 'how to' book that leads the reader to believe that by following along step-by-step, all manner of tricky paint situations can be conquered. Though Treeby discarded the instructional aspects of the book to focus on the objects identified as 'problems' his instinct, experience and training brought to extreme conclusion make each object come alive with stunning reality.

Treeby has exhibited nationwide. His work has appeared in venues across New York State, as well as at shows in California, Georgia, and Louisiana. In addition to mailing art, he is an instructor of studio art and art appreciation at the State University of New York, College at Brockport. He lives and works in Buffalo.
____________________________________
MAY 2006
Both Mattox and Lipscomb have concerns with the juxtaposition of physical versus mental spaces and encourage their audience to Enter their world. Mattox uses color shapes and hard edge lines, with botanical references, to define her paintings. Her places, whether of the mind or body, are intense, energetic and mysterious. Lipscomb's surfaces are constructed by merging color layers against individual marks. She strives to create a visual environment ... like a door, enticing the viewer to enter and experience.
_________________________________
FEB. 3 - MARCH 10, 2006: Necessary Dreams, Mixed media, Dry Pastel and Colored Pencil Drawings by D.C artist, Vera Blagev. Line, Color, Life, Oil Pastels by Michael Preston. Colors and Miracles which Surround Us, Photography by Luciano D'Aria and It is What it Is… Glass & Mixed Media by Mary Johnson moved from Sledd/Winger Glassworks.

VERA BLAGEV - Artist Statement
Artist Vera Blagev is showcasing her recent drawings in this exhibition "Necessary Dreams" which features colorful and contemporary mixed media works that combine colored pencil and dry pastel. Blagev's work focuses on the commonality of all people by exploring how human emotions, aspirations, and a connection to nature are similar across geographic boundaries. She has taken particular inspiration from the striking landscapes and diverse people she has encountered during her childhood in Bulgaria and her travels throughout the U.S. and various parts of the world, including Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
____________________________________
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2005
"Christo’s Gates" was a City wide exhibition of fine art photographs and paintings of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Central Park Gates Project. Painters and Photographers of the Blue Ridge Photographic Arts Society of Lynchburg Tammy Bryant, Kathy Cudlin, George Edwards, Margie Hatcher, Kelly Mattox, Ginny Schmidt of Lynchburg, Andrew Wilds of Hendersonville, North Carolina, and Jim Hopkins of Manhattan were in Central Park at various times during the two week duration of the Gates project. They each bring their personal vision, their unique way of seeing, to a lighthearted and exciting photography and painting exhibit. SELECTED PRINTS CURRENTLY ON SALE AT VISUAL ART STUDIO.

STATEMENT
On the morning of February 12, in New York City’s Central Park, over 7,500 steel gates stood ready to have their bright saffron-colored fabric unfurled by eager volunteer workers. The Gates, a temporary installation art project of enormous scope and impact, was the long-held dream of the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who had begun thinking about the project in 1979.

As the morning got underway, the panels of orange fabric were loosened to float in the wind, to glow with the morning sun, and each unfurling was met with the cheers and encouragement of a joyful crowd. After all the sadness of 9/11, New York City was proving it was alive and exciting, full of hope and happiness, art, eccentricity, brilliance, and tremendous enterprise.

One art critic, writing for the New Yorker magazine, called the project an experience “pitiable to be missed.” However, no one in the Richmond area need miss a personal viewing of the Gates, because eight fine artists brought the experience to Visual Art Studio and Bank of America through December 31, 2005.

The story of the Gates is a joyful one. It is a celebration of Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their combined creative genius, perseverance, and admirable philanthropy. And it is a celebration of New York City. No public funds went into the creation of the Gates, and all proceeds from merchandise were donated to the Central Park Nature Conservancy and the charitable foundation, Nurture New York. The removal of the Gates began on February 28 and was completed on March 11, 2005. Between opening day and the final dismantling, thousands of New Yorkers and thousands of tourists made their way under the bright orange arches that ran through 23 miles of Central Park pathways.

The eight artists in Christ's Gates capture the scope of the project, the landscape-altering patches of bright orange in a winter scene, the expressions on the faces in the crowds, the Gates in sun, rain, and snow—and they have brought all those memorable images home with them to share.
__________________________________
FEBRUARY/MARCH EXHIBITION 2005: "2 too 3: Dimensional Art for all Spaces," New Furniture and Digital Print Media by artist Paul Troy of Dun Cow Design and Art in Savannah, Georgia.

PAUL TROY was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. For eleven years he attended an elementary education in music and art at the Toledo Museum of Art and doubled majored in art and mathematics at Sylvania High School.

He began a career in the service and entertainment industry owning his first small business at twenty one. He was commissioned and completed a number of wall murals in both private homes and public establishments along with a completed design installation for a restaurant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Mr. Troy owned and operated a group of enterprises compositely known as Dream Days which included an antique retail outlet, a furniture restoration and design shop, and an entertainment brokerage agency. He graduated summa cum laude with his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Furniture Design from The Savannah College of Art and Design in 2000. He is a published writer and poet/performer and has a variety of commissioned design pieces and a digital art portfolio to his credit.

He is currently the owner of DunCowDesign Studios and is well known throughout the Southeast as a custom furniture craftsman of innovative design and meticulous skill. Over the last few years, Mr. Troy has also been experimenting in the medium of digital art and has produced a wide range of images. Some whisper with shades of subtle coloring while others call out with a playful vibrancy.