As mother nature – and art lovers! – start to stir after winter’s slumber, Rowe Fine Art Gallery is ready and waiting with doors wide open. On Friday, March 1, the gallery begins a month-long celebration of the season of rebirth during Spring Awakening. The show opens at 4 p.m. with a look at the fresh, colorful artwork the gallery’s family of fine artists has recently created.
Enjoy sculptures by Shirley Eichten Albrecht, Kim Kori, Alvin Marshall, Erik Petersen, Joel Petersen, Ken Rowe and Joshua Tobey along with jewelry from Liam Herbert, Jennifer Inge and Lesley Aine McKeown. The show also includes works by painters Julie T. Chapman, Dane Chinnock, Kim Diment, Jen Farnsworth, Lynn Heil, Gary Jenkins, John Rasberry and Amy Ringholz.
Speaking of Kim Diment, the celebration of spring continues on Friday, March 15, from 1 to 4 p.m. when Kim makes her first appearance at the gallery in more than five years. The Michigan-based wildlife painter candidly admits 2023 was a challenging year for her family. While some artists find working during difficult times therapeutic, Kim says she found the act of creating daunting. “I’d been working on a painting of raccoons that I’d loved from the get-go, but I was afraid to work on it because it’s a lighthearted piece, and I didn’t want to impede that,” she admits.
Art is starting to feel essential again, and Kim is looking forward to spending time in Arizona. This will be her first show anywhere in nearly two years. In addition to bringing some small acrylic paintings to debut, Kim plans to sketch at the gallery. She says she sketches in the field regularly, especially when she doesn’t have her camera with her, and drawing in front of an audience doesn’t intimidate her.
“Don’t forget, I taught high school art for many years,” says Kim, laughing. “That’s a tough crowd. I find art lovers are willing to give me much more of a break.”
Come shake off those winter blues on March 1 for a new works show and return on March 15 to meet painter Kim Diment and see what she has in store for 2024.
Rowe Fine Art Gallery represents traditional and contemporary southwestern artists. The gallery, located under the bell tower in Patio de las Campanas at Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, is open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 928-282-8877, visit rowegallery.com, or find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.