By: Jane Dewey, Art Festival Committee Member
April 13, 2019
Spring is finally blooming! Its glorious display of colors, shapes, forms, and sweet and savory scents tickle our senses waking us up from the neutral colors and colder temperatures of winter! While art has the ability to waken our senses during any season, it’s fitting that we celebrate another new season by unveiling some of the diverse and talented artists who are participating in the in this year’s Danville Art Festival! The Danville Art Festival takes place June 8 – 9, 2019 on the grounds of Centre College during the Great American Brass Band Festival!
The bursts of color in springtime never fail to amaze me, and that’s what catches my eye immediately in the work of two of our juried artists, Kristan Paynter and Susan Black. Entering Kristan’s website, shows a world awash in color as a field of bright yellow sunflowers recede towards a horizon of orange, purple, blue, red and yellow light. Hearing her story makes me as an art educator smile! Voted “most artistic student” in her 2010 Boyle County High School graduating class, Kristan went on to study art in college and recently worked and traveled throughout Europe “experiencing the many colors of the world”. As a working artist her pieces include a strong focus on Kentucky themes including bourbon, UK basketball and horse racing.
Susan Black’s photography illustrate both her life in Central Kentucky and her travels. A visit to her website, shows nature in all its splendor! From a line of horses welcoming you over a wooden fence, to the delicate and brilliant pinks of the flowers of a bleeding heart to the humor I see in the long curved necklines of the giraffes, Susan’s photographs delight the viewer inviting us to further exploration. Susan long dreamed of becoming a photographer, and I, for one, am inspired by the artwork she brings to us today.
In the coming weeks we’ll take a sneak peek at all the artists featured at this year’s Danville Art Festival! Please join us as we meet the artists here in print! We hope these brief introductions turn into real life encounters when you meet them and view their work “live” at the Danville Art Festival during the Great American Brass Band Festival!
