“We are very fortunate to have an artist of his caliber visit our gallery,” Gallery owner Rick Mullen said. “He has been painting professionally for more than 30 years, but for the past 15 years he has concentrated on recreating historical moments in time featuring mostly favorite Confederate and Union officers of the Civil War, along with, the most beautiful landscapes of the South”
Most famous for his realistic portrayal of moments of American Civil War, the artist was born near Nashville, Tennessee, but now lives near Ft. Worth, Texas.
Mullen said Strain paints with as much detail as any artist he has ever seen. “He works with a gouache paint that is sort of like an opaque watercolor which allows him to use very small brushes when he paints tiny details. In one of my favorite paintings he took three weeks just to the bottom half of one tree!”
Mullen said it was 30 years ago Strain got one of his big breaks when he carried some of his realistic landscapes into the most prestigious art gallery in Jackson Hole, WY. “Fortunately for him, one of the richest men in the country was talking to the gallery director at that moment and purchased several of John Paul’s paintings later that day. For the next 15 years he painted scenes of the American West and was represented by some of the top galleries in the country,” The Gallery owner said.
Over a period of years, Strain has become known as America’s leading historical artist, with over more than 50 magazine covers featuring his paintings. His work is featured in books, movies and film. The Scholastic Resources Company purchased more than three thousand copies of his book “A Witness to the Civil War,” a best seller that was released in 2002, and was placed in school libraries across the country. His new book is scheduled to be released in 2009.
Gallery owner Rick Mullen said limited edition prints have been donated to three different organizations to be raffled at the August 29 art show and to keep all of the proceeds to help with their efforts to preserve historical landmarks in our area relating to the Civil War.
The three organizations that received the limited editions for the raffle are: 1. Averasboro Civil War Battlefield & Museum, located off 1-95 near Dunn. 2, The Raleigh Civil War Round Table, www. raleighowart.org. 3. Bennett Place Museum in Durham, the historical site where many Southern troops surrendered to General Sherman.
“If the print raffle winners are present at the art show they win a free custom frame for the print,” Mullen said. Ashley’s Art Gallery is located at 701 N. Main Street, Fuquay-Varina.
Post a Comment
