Columbia State Community College’s Pryor Art Gallery will feature the artwork of local artists Dean Shelton, Darryl Steele and Bill Brison in “An Awakening of Colors” exhibit. The exhibit will be open to the public from August 6 until October 8.

“We have not held an in-person art exhibit in the gallery in over a year,” stated Rusty Summerville, Pryor Art Gallery interim curator. “We are especially pleased to announce this exhibit and to welcome the works of these three award-winning Middle Tennessee artists.”

The exhibiting artists are each known for their individual styles with watercolor, gouache and oil being their preferred mediums. Each artist will also visit with the public and discuss their artwork during a reception to be held on October 7.

“These three award-winning artists, all from Middle Tennessee, are well known in the area and have placed artwork in private and public collections throughout the region,” Summerville said. “We are excited to be exhibiting their work.”

Dean Shelton, a noted watercolorist, often finds inspiration for his works while driving around the scenic backroads near his studio in Fairview. Since his retirement as a freelance commercial illustrator in 2002, Shelton has emerged as one of Tennessee’s most prolific painters and watercolorists. His hundreds of works, often drawn from the digital photos taken during his many excursions, capture the charm and pristine beauty of the Tennessee landscape. Some of his newest pieces are now on display at Richland Fine Art in Nashville.

Darryl Steele is a self-taught artist. Born in Nashville in 1956, he has been a member of the Nashville arts community for more than 40 years. His first show was at the Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery in 1978, and since that time, his work has been featured in exhibitions and galleries across the nation. Steele has also been featured in several publications such as The Nashville Arts Magazine, N Focus Magazine, The Art of Watercolor Magazine and Artists on Art. His paintings are included in the permanent collections of the Opryland Hotel, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nissan Corporation and in many other public and private collections across the United States, as well as abroad.

Bill Brison fell in love with painting in his youth. After years of working with artists through his career in painting and picture framing in Murfreesboro, Brison returned to his craft. A member of the Oil Painters of America and friend to fellow exhibitor, Dean Shelton, Brison’s award-winning work has been featured at Belmont University, The Central South Fine Art Show and several other locations.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. The Pryor Art Gallery is in the Waymon L. Hickman Building on the Columbia Campus located at 1665 Hampshire Pike. For additional information about this exhibit, please visit www.ColumbiaState.edu/PryorGallery.  

For more information about the Pryor Art Gallery, contact Summerville at 931.540.2883 or rsummerville@ColumbiaState.edu.