COLUMBUS — This June, West Alexandria artist Erica Keener will be showing her work in the Columbus area in a solo exhibit titled “Big Skies of Ohio”.
The exhibit will take place at Sunbear Studios and Gallery in Alexandria, northeast of Columbus, June 2-July 1. A reception will be held on Friday, June 2, from 7-9 p.m. and will include refreshments and live music from Bohemian Highway, a contemporary singer/songwriter folk band.
Preble County is featured prominently in Keener’s richly colored pastels. She often finds inspiration in the rolling hills and open fields around the county. In particular she enjoys trying to capture clouds and storms as they move over the landscape.
“People usually think of the western plains when they hear ‘big sky country’, but I see plenty of ‘big skies’ right here in southwest Ohio. Sometimes I don’t even have to leave my front yard,” she said. “There is a feeling of freedom and a beckoning space” in her paintings said Sunbear owner and fellow artist Meredith Martin.
Keener was formerly a Preble County Art Association Board member and often exhibits her work at the Visual Arts Center in Eaton. Her award winning art has also been exhibited in Union City, Richmond, Oxford, Miamisburg and Dayton and can be found at the McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford as well as local private collections in Preble County, Richmond and Cincinnati and as far as Texas and Connecticut.
More of Keener’s artwork can be seen on her website, www.ek-excavations.com, and on Facebook and Instagram. Information on Sunbear Studios and Gallery, including directions and hours, can be found at www.sunbearstudio.com.
