Arts & Entertainment
Local Artists Find Inspiration in their Not-So-Local Journey
Artists on Display in Solehi Public Library Summer Rotating Art Show Called 'Travel'
Local artists turn to travel for their inspiration to support the local library for the Summer Art Show, Travel.
Gloria Gekas of Lower Macungie and Charles Daniels of Saucon Valley are among the eight artists whose work is on display and for sale now 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 art as therapy after a bout with breast cancer in 1994. Her recovery led her to painting with a group at the hospital and then to seek out other groups. She is a member of the Bethlehem Pallet Club.
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“I don’t have the luxury of studio—we’ve downsized,” said Gekas. “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 sale, #1 Olive Grove, Greece ($250), depicting her travels through Peloponnesian Greece in oil on canvas.
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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, has some of his own 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 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,” said Daniels. 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 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.