Naked Art—No Mats, No Frames, Big Savings!-—Our fourth annual Naked Art show exhibit continues this month, featuring unmounted, unframed works of fine art at prices that would entice any art lover to become a collector. Take your art finds home when you purchase them. The bonus: you can use the money you’ve saved to frame your new art however you desire. Naked Art continues through Sunday, February 25.

Say it in Six—In our front gallery, the Calligraphers’ Guild presents a must-see exhibit of 28 pieces that tell a story in just six words. Say it in Six began as a competition with Hemingway’s name attached. The Guild took up the challenge to create these vibrant visual stories.

New Art Presence Boutique—Introducing the new Art Presence Boutique! In this section of the Main Gallery you’ll find unique handcrafted pieces by Art Presence members, including small fine art, jewelry, greeting cards, and a variety of 3D works. These small to medium-size artworks will make great gifts for any occasion, any time of the year.

Speaking of gifts, Anne Brooke’s Historic Jacksonville Coloring Book is for sale at Art Presence and other venues throughout Jacksonville. Its 28 images of historic buildings are on rag paper and all profits benefit non-profits…it’s a great gift idea.

February Reception—Join us for our February reception on Saturday, February 3 from 1:00-3:00pm, with live music by Matt and Rebecca Stuart of Minstrel Streams. Author Christin Lore Weber reads from her newly published book “Widow’s Walk.” This is the first opportunity to purchase Christin’s book locally!

Dance of Ink: Art of Traditional Chinese Brush Painting—Art Presence is excited to welcome Alexey Huanchong Wang, an award-wining calligrapher and artist. We will showcase his work—including paintings on fans, scrolls, and t-shirts as well as framed pieces—alongside the calligraphy exhibit in the front gallery.

Ring in the Year of the Dog at Art Presence!—Plan to stop by the gallery during Jacksonville’s Chinese New Year celebration on February 17. Try your hand at calligraphy…take home a Weather Gram…and don’t miss these presentations in our upstairs classroom!

  • 12:00pm: Dr. Jeffrey Judkins, who practices alternative medicine for animals at Animalkind Veterinary Clinic in Jacksonville, discusses Chinese traditional medicine for dogs.
  • 1:00 pm: Author Virginia Morell talks about her New York Times bestseller book, “Animal Wise – How We Know Animals Think and Feel.” Virginia’s articles have been included in collections of the “Best Science and Nature Writing” and received awards from the Society of Environmental Journalists.
  • 2:00 pm: Alexey Huanchong Wang arrives to bless the gallery; then demonstrates his brush painting technique.

Art Presence Offsite Exhibits—These newly-hung exhibits of works by Art Presence members are now available for viewing:

  • Paintings by Dolores Ribal at the Medford Public Library through March
  • Paintings by Dolores Ribal at Pioneer Village
  • Exhibit of Works by Walt Wirfs in the Jacksonville Library’s Naversen Room continues

Reserve our upstairs room for your class, workshop or meeting! Contact Anne Brooke at 541-941-7057. As always, you can find the above information and more on our website, https://art-presence.org.