News

Mar 21, 2024

'It's a Shore Thing'

“Retirement Center” oil by Rhonda Ford. CHESTERTOWN — On First Friday, Aug. 4, and throughout the month of August, The Artists’ Gallery in Chestertown will feature paintings by their exhibiting

“Retirement Center” oil by Rhonda Ford.

CHESTERTOWN — On First Friday, Aug. 4, and throughout the month of August, The Artists’ Gallery in Chestertown will feature paintings by their exhibiting artist, Rhonda Ford in “It’s a Shore Thing.” Ford is a native of Maryland and grew up in Howard County, drawing, painting and exploring the woodlands around her rural home on both foot and horseback. Her favorite place to go between classes in high school was the Art Room. After receiving the Wilhide Fine Arts Award upon high school graduation, Ford studied Studio Art and Art History at the University of Maryland at College Park, focusing on drawing, painting and printmaking. Following college, Ford moved to Annapolis and worked at a gallery downtown before moving on to become the Visual Merchandising Manager at Garfinkel’s Department store where she designed, created props and installed displays while traveling within the Washington, DC area and various store locations. After that, she joined her husband in opening a marine business where her position was fabricating custom upholstery for sailboats for thirty years.

In search of the perfect environment for her renewed pursuit of art, Ford moved to Easton, where she dove back into the art world full time. With her childhood wonder of all nature has to offer reinvigorated, Ford has continued to enjoy the remote marshlands of the Eastern Shore in Virginia, finding the lighting and weather changes in a saltmarsh to be intriguing subject matter. Living in Easton has also sparked her desire to paint en plein air since the town hosts one of the most prestigious plein air events in the United States. She began applying to various events locally a few years ago, and so far in 2023, she has successfully juried into eight Plein Aire events from Cape Ann Plein Air in Rockport, Massachusetts to Plein Air Easton and juried into the Top 100 for March for Plein Aire Salon, Plein Aire Magazine. Painting in plein air continues to be a wonderful experience for Ford and has become a way to see different areas within the United States while at the same time doing what she loves to do most. As stated by the artist, “Putting a scene on canvas creates a connection to that object or time of day and makes it a very personal experience. Something you see strikes you as particularly important in its mere existence.”

The public is invited to visit The Artists’ Gallery’s opening reception from 5-7:30 p.m. on Aug. 4 for light refreshments and to meet the artist. The Artists’ Gallery is located at 239 High Street in Chestertown and is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10-5 p.m. and Sundays from 12:30-4:30 p.m. For more information about The Artists’ Gallery, please visit www.theartistsgalleryctown.com or call the gallery at 410-778-2425. For more information about the artist, Rhonda’s website may be seen at www.rhondafordfineart.com.

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