Fredericksburg artist Casey Shaw, known for his iconic scenes of the city, will hold his first featured exhibit at Art First Gallery in November. “This is, by far, the largest number of new works I’ve ever created at one time,” Shaw said.
“Fredericksburg Sketches: New Works by Casey Alan Shaw,” opens Tuesday, Nov. 4, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 30, with a First Friday Art Walk opening reception from 6 – 9 p.m. on November 7, 2014.
“With this show, I continue my explorations of iconic Fredericksburg,” Shaw said. “My recent work has consisted of taking Fredericksburg as a backdrop and trying different styles. I started preparing for this show with a large arsenal of ideas and artistic styles that I wanted to try, and I eventually settled on three.”
First, Shaw continued his series of pen and ink sketches with watercolor. “These capture a casual sketchbook view of popular Fredericksburg scenes,” Shaw said. His “View from Chatham Heights” pen and ink with watercolor was chosen as one of the designs for “Experience Fredericksburg,” Fredericksburg Main Street Initiative’s (FMSI) downtown gift card program. It’s also featured on the November 2014 cover of Front Porch Fredericksburg
Second, Shaw took up an idea he’s been considering for years. “I’ve wanted to develop some simple black and white design-driven illustrations of iconic Fredericksburg buildings. For this show, these became my “Little Fredericksburg” series of small prints with a storybook quality to them.”
“The last, and largest, group of new images was a surprise, even to me,” Shaw said. “While working on some travel poster-style influenced images, I began toying with ways to get more depth into the large, flat colors I use for this style of painting. I began experimenting with plexi-glass panels, and the next thing you know, I was busily painting and mounting multiple plexi-glass sheets on paintings that run as large as 3’ by 4’.” The resulting multiple layers create an intriguing sense of depth.
Art First Gallery, located at 824 Caroline Street, is open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily, and features the work of more than 30 gallery members.
HOME