Pennsylvania native and Twin City resident Eileen Dudley will be the featured artist at The Kalmanson Gallery of Emanuel Arts Council for the months of July and August. An opening reception will be held Thursday, July 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibition itself will be on display from July 11-August 22. Dudley says she can’t recall a time when she wasn’t creating art, beginning with drawing murals on the basement wall when she was five years old.
Although she majored in Fine Art at Syracuse University, it was not until 1982, while living in Pensacola, Fla., that she gained mastery of painting, specifically portraiture. At that time Dudley painted in the American Impressionist style. For the next 30 years she satisfied numerous portrait commissions, exhibited her work, and won numerous awards for her paintings.
During Christmas of 2010 Dudley’s husband David gave her the book Classical Painting Atelier, by Juliette Aristides, and an interest in classical realism was sparked. She mentored with Walker Hall, a graduate of the Aristides Atelier, for a year, then in 2013 she spent three weeks at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle Wash., studying with Jordan Sokol and Michael Grimaldi, both recognized for their mastery of this style.
In the Spring of 2015, Dudley took a workshop with Marc Chatov, son of the artist who taught Dudley’s original mentor. In addition to a new approach to portraiture, she also learned about Studio Incamminati, its founder Nelson Shanks, and the extended palette used there. Investigating that program kindled a desire to attend, to deepen and advance her portrait career. In the Fall of 2020, Ms. Dudley began her course of study at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia, Pa., where she found in the school’s teaching, the perfect marriage of realism and contemporary, vibrant color.
The Kalmanson Gallery of Emanuel Arts Council is located at 109 North Green Street in Swainsboro. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. After-hours visits are also available for groups. Call 478-237-2592 to make an appointment. For current information on all arts programming, follow the Emanuel Arts Council on Facebook and Instagram.
