Fairbanks Arts is pleased to invite you to our very first Fairbanks Arts Member Invitational Exhibition! The First Friday reception is February 3, 5:00-7:00pm.

We are excited to display a variety of artwork in this show, from textiles to oils to wood carvings. It’s a wonderful showcase of the creativity of our members. In the gift shop, the featured Watercolor Corner artist is Phyllis Tate and the Artist of the Month is Jesse Venable. This exhibition will be on view through February 25.

Gift Shop:

Artist of the Month: Jesse Venable

Jesse Venable was born in Durham, NC in 1949. He moved to Fairbanks in 1972 and has been here ever since. He studied art at UAF, earning a Minor in Art with his BS in Computer Science. His main mentor was Bill Brody, and he has also been influenced by the work of Kesler Woodward and David Mollet. He was a part time artist until 2004, when he took up landscape painting full time. Painting in alkyds and acrylics is his main interest, but he also works as a printmaker, creating relief prints, intaglios, lithographs, and digital prints. His work has been exhibited in many juried and solo shows, including the All Alaska Juried Show, 64th Parallel, and Interior Artisans. His work can be found in numerous private collections.

Artist Statement
I have had a lifelong fascination with the beauty and rhythms of the natural world, and the expression of this love of nature is the focus of my work. I like to depict the landscape in its primal state, without the works of man (or woman). Human development is rapidly spreading to all corners of the earth, so I am motivated to paint these beautiful vistas while they are relatively unscathed. Alaska still has abundant unspoiled land, and it is my main source of inspiration.

Watercolor Corner Artist: Phyllis Tate

Phyllis Tate is a lifelong Alaskan born in Fairbanks.  She has lived, worked, boated, and flown throughout most of Alaska.   She was home-schooled and attended boarding school when she lived in the bush.  She attended Lathrop High School and UAF.   She has been an active licensed pilot since 1966 and holds an instrument rating.   She is one of many pilots profiled in the book Women Pilots of Alaska.

As a teenager she took a job painting sale signs on the windows of Ray’s Supermarket in the Northward Bldg.   In 2004 at the urging of a friend she took some watercolor painting lessons and discovered she enjoyed painting very much.   She joined the Fairbanks Watercolor Society (FWS) for inspiration and guidance and has been painting ever since.   Through FWS she has taken classes from many local, national, and internationally known artists.

In 2005 Phyllis won the FWS President’s Award for her painting “Evening Light” and in March 2007 she won the Gallery Choice Award for “Forest Steps” in the annual New Horizons FWS show.  Through her paintings, she tries to record and share some of the sights and places she has been fortunate enough to visit, travel, or spend quiet moments enjoying the beauty that is Alaska.

In 2008 Phyllis earned her 100-ton USCG Merchant Marine Officer Masters License.   She and her husband Murray reside in Fairbanks during the winters and spend summers in Prince William Sound where they operate Nuliaq Alaska Charters.   The beauty of Prince William Sound inspires her to paint there whenever she can.   The quiet Fairbanks winters allow her to take classes and hone her painting skills with a variety of subjects.

Her art has been exhibited at juried and non-juried shows in several galleries and artist venues both in Fairbanks and Anchorage.   Her paintings are in permanent collections throughout the U.S. and Europe.