July is when you see the heart and soul of America and southwest Virginia is where you find it. The many diverse colorful events available beyond our annual 4th of July jubilations range from large scale festivals to underground collective exhibitions and annual auctions. The biggest fine art event in July is Abington’s Annual Virginia Highlands Festival. It attracts visitors from all over the east coast with a signature combination of colloquialism, juried fine art, music and everything else a two week festival should include. In mid July the Jacksonville Center for the Arts is having it’s sequel to last year’s splendid art auction. This year they are offering fantastic work from over 40 artists. The Gang of Lost Souls exhibition at the Jefferson Center is a full access opportunity for everyone to discover and connect with the shakers and movers of the underground art scene in Roanoke. The artists are a collection artist mentors and their plethora of relatively unknown associates. No matter what your plans are for July make sure they have some South West Virginia heart and soul?

1. Event: Gang of Lost Souls Exhibit and Reception
Reception: Thursday July 9th, 5-9 pm
Jefferson Center
541 Luck Avenue
Roanoke City

Always astonishingly satisfying the Gang of Lost Souls annual exhibition is known for bringing out the best nameless artists, pairing them up with locally established artists and connecting their raw artistic energy with the rest of Roanoke. The Gang of Lost Souls exhibit is presented by Artist LoLo Monae in conjunction with GAMUT theater group at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke. Work will hang all of July. The reception on July 9th, from 5:00-9:00 pm is free and open to the public. The reception will be shared with GAMUT Theatre on their opening night performance “Vintage Durang” 7:30pm. Food and drinks are available. Expect to see an unadulterated mix of fine art and creative ideas.
The Exhibit will show work by 40+ artists such as… Ann Glover, Isha Devine, Artcentrik, Hiro Motegi, Page Turner, Leigh Ann Wiser, Katherine Devine, Leah Lucci, David Adkins, Stephanie Greenway, Jamie Nervo, Katherine Guy, William Doughty, Jenny Garnett, Jennifer Fowler, Danny Micro, Gilee Corral, Sonya Chappelear, Mark Roberson, Randy Hogan, Nick Jones, Tuesday Moriarty, Zephren Turner, Sal Corral, William Snizek, Hunter Johnson, Tara Jones, Day Seriani, Bobby Jenelle, Dawn Bush, Susan Adkins, Aerin Toler, Adam Thompson, Curtis Griffin, Ingrid Moldenhauer, Colin Doughty, Jay Slife, Barry Webster, Joey T, Sherry Tucciarone, Joe Hegarty, LoLo Monae and Dickie John W. Johnson, Maggie Morgan… For more information contact LoLo Monae at 540-958-0255 or email the Jefferson Center at info@jeffcenter.org.

2. Live Art Auction at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts
Saturday July 18th 10am-5pm
The Jacksonville Center for the Arts
220 Parkway Lane South
Floyd, Virginia, 24091

Mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday, July 18, to attend the Jacksonville Center for the Arts’ Second Annual Live Auction. To wet your appetite for the event, the jurists have selected a high quality sampling of the talents among the corps of participating artists and instructors. A plethora of sample digital images with descriptions are available at http://jacksonvillecenter.org/?page_id=993.

This event will be an excellent way to not only decorate your home or office, or to find that perfect gift for a friend or family member; it supports the Jacksonville Center for the Arts’ ongoing efforts to support emerging and established artists in the region. The auction is schedule for July 18, but many preview exhibitions are planned, so stay updated by visiting http://jacksonvillecenter.org or calling 540-745-2784.

3. Virginia Highlands Festival and Juried Fine Art Show
Festival and Art Show Dates: Saturday July 25th –August 9th
Art Show Reception: Friday July 24th, 8pm
Abington VA 24212

The Virginia Highlands Festival began in 1948 and, over the years, has grown and flourished. Today it is one of the top 100 tourist events in North America and one of the top 20 in the Southeast — offering plenty of entertainment, an enormous antiques market, juried art and photography competitions, and a juried arts and crafts show, as well as nationally-known writers, lecturers, and visual and performing artists.
Fine Art and Photography highlights include the Juried Art Show, Youth Art Show, and Juried Photography Show. Exhibits at museums and galleries in Abingdon serve as a cultural mosaic – from photographs of trains to displays of traditional pottery and contemporary artwork. The Festival also offers lectures and workshops in both fine art and photography.

Come see why Abingdon was named a “Virginia Main Street” destination in 2007 and an “American Dream Town” in 2006 — and why the Virginia Highlands Festival is a Top 20 “must see” event (National Geographic Traveler, April 2005). There is a lot offered at this event so it is to recommend to visit http://www.vahighlandsfestival.org for more details, or to call either 1-888-489-4230 or 276-623-5266 for basic information.

4. George Warner: “A Few Things I’ve Seen”
A Photographic Exhibition at the O. Winston Link Museum

July 30 – October 22, 2009

“Each person brings their own perspective to the universe. We see the same objects before us, but we have our own emotional response to them. Photography lets me capture the moment as I experienced it and share it with you, the viewer. If only for a moment, you see and feel what I saw and felt at that moment in time.” This exhibit brings the visitor close to George Warner’s eye for color and detail and gives insight into a world that has aesthetic value. Join us for the brightly colored lights and tones of this local photographer’s vision. www.linkmuseum.org

5. “Roadside Distractions, Driving the I-81 Corridor” by Brett LaGue at Nelson Gallery

Nelson Gallery in Lexington debuts Roanoke artist Brett LaGue’s current landscape project, Roadside Distractions, Driving the I-81 Corridor. The exhibit is on display from July 1 through 30. LaGue, who frequently drives on I-81, maintains that each trip up and down the interstate “presents exciting possibilities for a painter.” “There may be only one time that something amazing presents itself, then zoom, you’ve driven by it.”

Nelson Gallery, an artist’s cooperative, invites the public to enjoy this delightful July exhibit. The gallery, located at 27 West Washington Street in downtown Lexington, is open from 11 to 5 daily except Sundays and Wednesdays. For more information about the show and gallery, call 540.463.9827 or visit www.nelsonfineartsgallery.com.

6. Smithsonian Exhibit by Robert Kramer at Piedmont Arts

The Piedmont Arts galleries will soon be filled with rarely seen flora and fauna. Don’t expect the smell of flowers, though. These rare specimens are captured in the unconventional photography of Robert Creamer. His exhibit, Transitions, is organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and circulated by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). It will be on display at Piedmont Arts July 10 – August 22, 2009.

Robert Creamer’s creative process is as fascinating as the images themselves. Instead of photographing the objects with a camera, Creamer captures or imports them using a scanner. He places the specimens in visually engaging compositions, occasionally suspending the objects or setting them up on cloth, and then scans the arrangements directly into his computer. The result is unusually lifelike and provides striking interpretations of botanical, fossil and bird collections.

7. “Reflections” by whimsical abstracter John Bishop at Art Pannonia

The Exhibition is open now and runs until August 4, 2009.

John Bishop is a self taught artist, with background in graphic and web design. He is creating various forms of art. His favorite medium is oil on canvas. He paints abstracts images, landscapes, wildlife and portraits. His use of energetic colors gives each painting a positive and uplifting sensation. John is young, but very good. His work is open to various interpretations. It will be interesting to watch his art mature. Do come and meet him, some day you will be proud you were present at John Bishop’s first public reception. www.artpannonia.org

8. “Out to Pasture” featuring new paintings by Nancy Bass at Angelo

In her recent paintings Nancy Bass stages subtle and unexpected dialogues between farm animals and the viewer. Each image explores the individual personalities of livestock, varied subjects that include named cows from her own herd. Set against bold bands of color or vistas of Virginia landscape, these idyllic scenes reflect on America’s agrarian past yet are a new take on the pastoral, disrupting the “rules” of traditional animal painting and the Dutch landscape genre of the seventeenth century.

This exhibit runs from July 1 through August 31.

Reception for the artist: First Friday, July 3 from 5:30 till 7:30.

9. Gallery 108 is featuring a show of New Works by photographer Susan Lockwood and sculptor Gail Geer. Their joint show opens with a public reception during the July 2nd Art By Night and will remain on display through July 31. The Gallery’s Artists In The Window for July are Martha Lalka and Angela Shields. Gallery 108 is located at 108 Market Street in Downtown Roanoke. Hours: Tue-Sat 10-5; Sun 1-4.