Featured Artist - Patty Russell - Cover Winner at the 2017 Member Calendar Exhibition

Patty Russell was born and raised in the beautiful foothills of North Carolina where the rolling hills and rural landscapes continue to inspire her to paint.

Although art has been a life long interest, it took a backseat to her career in education where she served as an elementary school teacher and school administrator. In 2012, Patty retired and was finally able to pursue her interest in art by taking oil painting classes. She became captivated with the creative process of mixing colors, paint application and the evolution of a painting.

After several years of oil painting, Patty decided to try her hand at the medium she started with as a child, pastels. It had been almost 60 years since she had last picked up a pastel but when she did, she felt a familiar ease and pleasure in making luminous marks and strokes on paper. This was a turning point for her and she began to study and practice the techniques and

processes associated with this medium.

                                                                                       Patty practices her art in Studio 206 of the Dilworth Artisan Station in Charlotte, North Carolina. Recently Patty won “Best in Show” at the Fifth Annual Piedmont Pastel Society Calendar Show. This spring, her work will be on exhibit at the Seacoast Artists Guild and Gallery in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She is a member of the Piedmont Pastel Society of Charlotte, Pastel Society of North Carolina, and Guild of Charlotte Artists.