Arts & Entertainment
Local Artists Find Inspiration in Their Not-So-Local Journeys
A number of artists have works on display in Southern Lehigh Public Library's Summer Rotating Art Show called "Travel."
Local artists recently turned to travel for inspiration, in order to support the in Center Valley and participate in its Summer Art Show called "Travel."
Gloria Gekas of Lower Macungie Township and Charles Daniels of Saucon Valley are among the eight artists whose work is on display and for sale at the library through Sept. 12.
Gekas always had an interest in art, but after raising a family and moving in and out of the Lehigh Valley she rediscovered it as therapy after a bout with breast cancer in 1994. Her recovery led her to paint with a group at the hospital, and then to seek out other groups. She is currently a member of the Bethlehem Pallete Club.
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“I don’t have the luxury of a studio—we’ve downsized,” Gekas said. “I paint now at Dick Blick’s with Tina Madoni at her art classes. It keeps me going.”
Gekas has one painting on display and for sale--#1 Olive Grove, Greece ($250)--an oil on canvas that depicts her travels through Peloponnesian Greece.
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Daniels has been integral in organizing the art shows at the library since he was a board member from 2004-2010, and still assisting, he has some of his photographs on display.
Before retiring in 2002 after working in the electronics industry for more than 35 years, Daniels revived his passion for photography as a freelance photographer for Lehigh Valley Marketplace Magazine, The American Watercolor Society and the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, as well as with fine art photography for artists.
“I studied oriental style watercolors with Martha Chang, Martha Wu, Eloise Braylove and the world–renowned oriental painter Henry Wo Yue Kee,” Daniels said. He also studied Western-style watercolors with Phil Metzger, Dana Van Horn, William Wentze and Fred Bees, as well as studying drawing at the prestigious Barnstone Studios.
Daniels has two photographs on display and for sale: #4 Florence, Italy ($360) and #9 Cassis, France ($550).
To view all of the paintings on display, visit Southern Lehigh Public Library at 3200 Preston Lane, Center Valley.
To purchase one of the paintings, contact Lynnette Seager, Library Director, at 610-282-8825.