Opening on August 17, 2006 in Abingdon Arts Depot's juried Spotlight Gallery is "Steel Shadows and Such" an exhibition of artwork by award winning painter Nancy Stark of Roanoke, VA. This show will continue through September 30th. A meet-the-artist opening reception and open house will be at the Arts Depot on Sunday, August 27th from 2 - 4 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

The artwork in this show is of railroad cars and their cast shadows. These pieces have been painted using fluid acrylics on gessoed board. This body of work continues a series that began in 1998. While watching trains with her husband, Nancy noticed the intriguing shadow shapes produced by the ladders, brake wheels and footplates of the railroad cars. She has planned her compositions to focus the viewer’s eye on these patterns.

Nancy was always in “art club” in elementary school but decided on a teaching career in the field of special education. In 1983 she I took a watercolor class from Kay Flory at Blue Ridge Community College, became hooked on the joy of painting and has been painting ever since. All her works are done using watermedia, including watercolor and acrylics. When asked about her philosophy toward painting, Nancy replies “ I paint because I am drawn to shapes, strong value contrast, texture and line. I paint because it is fun and exciting to get started and then follow where the painting leads me. I do not have a clear picture of the finished artwork that I work toward, rather I have an idea for a beginning and then I enjoy the painting journey”. She continues, “When choosing a painting subject, I look for sharp shadow patterns created by strong sunlight. Next I zoom-in for a close-up view of a portion of the subject and its shadows. This often results in a painting that leaves out as much, or more, of the subject than is actually painted. The viewer is invited to fill in the missing shapes”. She enjoys painting large florals and also has done a series on chairs and their cast shadows. Her favorite subject at the moment, and the focus of this exhibit, is portions of railroad cars and their shadows as cast on a sunny day.

Nancy grew up in New York and New Jersey, and first moved to Virginia for graduate school at the University of Virginia. After completing her studies, she lived in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for 22 years, and then moved to Roanoke in 2000 where she paints and is one of the business managers of Roanoke’s Signature 9 Gallery. She has exhibited in many shows throughout the country, including the Southern Watercolor Society Exhibition in Montpelier, VA; the American Watercolor Society Show in New York; The Pennsylvania Watercolor Society Show; The Grand Exhibition in Akron, OH; The Virginia Highlands Festival Juried Fine Art Show; the National Watercolor Society Show in Fullerton, CA; along with many regional shows in Virginia and North Carolina. She has received many awards in these and other shows. In addition, she has paintings featured in the books Best of Watercolor: Painting Light and Shadow and Remembrances.

The Arts Depot is a non-profit volunteer organization that is dedicated to promoting the arts in the community and features the region's artists. The Arts Depot is located in the historic Depot Square area of downtown Abingdon, VA. The gallery and seven working artists studios are open for your viewing pleasure Thursday thru Saturday, 11-3 pm, and by appointment. There is no admission charge. For further information, please contact the Arts Depot at (276) 628-9091, or e-mail at abingdonartsdepot@abingdon.com, or visit our web site at www.abingdonartsdepot.org.