​In our present times calling for our best efforts on behalf of the greatest good, artCentral is fully committed to making responsible choices for the well-being of our artists, patrons and guests. We want to take every measure possible to keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy. As venues across our country are making day by day decisions in keeping with CDC guidelines and protocols, artCentral will be CLOSED until further notice.

​Philip Ledbetter’s PAINT in MOTION solo exhibition is postponed.  This showcase of the exciting motion paintings made by this innovative artist was scheduled to fill the galleries of Hyde House, April 3 through May 17, 2020. For now, all of artCentral’s plans and preparations for PAINT in MOTION are postponed and put on hold. 

Since we must delay this exceptional offering, I am thankful for the graciousness and professionalism of Philip Ledbetter. He has agreed to keep in reserve all of his original works scheduled to be debuted April 3. Looking ahead to the spring of 2021, we anticipate the joy of another spring in which to exhibit PAINT in MOTION.

The passion and commitment Philip Ledbetter gives to his art-making are evident in the outstanding body of work he has spent more than a year preparing for his artCentral exhibition unveiling. We all share in his disappointment with the necessity of postponing his 2020 Opening and Exhibition.

The words of Artist Phil Ledbetter, written in his Artist Statement, tell you best of his deep love for and his commitment to his art-making.

“I am a painter and photographer. My mission is to present subjects in a new and interesting way, to entertain, and to bring attention to the beautiful things around us that we pass by and take for granted, every day.

I have been greatly influenced by Andy Warhol, Wassily Kandinsky and Jackson Pollock, to name a few.  Like Pollock, I use only latex paint, however, the latex paint of today is greatly improved over the paint that was produced in 1940’s and 50’s. The colors are easier to work with, more vibrant, and they are longer lasting than the latex paint of long ago.

My subjects are frequently influenced by nature, especially the sun and the ocean, but not always. Sometimes people, and even architecture, find their way into my work.

After I choose a subject, or abstract idea, I set out all of the colors I want to include, then, I use an instrument like a paintbrush, pipe cleaner or wooden stick to dip into the color, then drip the paint onto a canvas that is lying flat on the ground or table. 

Typically, the paint is dripped onto the canvas, but sometimes it is tossed or even thrown.  The paint is actually in motion when contacting the canvas, hence the term “motion painting”. This tends to contribute the impression of movement and/or energy to the work.  

Ordinarily, creating artistic painting is done with great precision, but this is not necessarily true with motion painting. Motion painting, in my opinion, allows a greater range and breadth of actual physical expression. 

My work is unusual, and I really like that my art strays from the norm. I learn new techniques with each painting, and I love to experiment with colors. I enjoy producing paintings that create a mood, or especially, one that gives the observer a lot to view. 

My greatest hope is that you are thoroughly entertained by what you see. Thank you so much for coming out to see my exhibit. Your presence means the world to me. Sincerely, Philip Ledbetter.”

We do hope you will join us in looking ahead to another spring—the fresh beginning of a new spring—when the walls of Hyde House will bloom with PAINT in MOTION!
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In the meantime please follow artCentral for new developments and announcements at www.facebook.com/ArtcentralCarthage/ and at www.artcentralcarthage.org/events.html.

​In my own Paradise, the home I share with my husband David and our dear Furries and Feathers, spring has us up and celebrating well before the break of day. Our weekday rising rituals include our morning meal enjoyed in bed. While David is downstairs in the kitchen preparing breakfast to carry up, our Aussie puppy and I do our morning yoga routine. First, before I begin moving through my asana poses, we choose a sound track. Lasyrenn bows in “adho”, then stretches out for her massage blissfully relaxed by our gentle music streaming from my tablet, creating an Impressionistic atmosphere of tranquility.

​The term “Impressionism" is a philosophical and aesthetic description borrowed from the French painting after Claude Monet's "Impression, Sunrise". Impressionism was a movement embraced by many artists and composers in Western classical music, mainly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their compositions focus on creating moods and emotions. Composers were labeled Impressionists by analogy to the Impressionist painters whose techniques included starkly contrasting colors (timbre) and the effect of light on an object, blurry foreground and background and the flattening of perspective to urge the observer to focus his attention on the overall impression.

Perhaps in this new season of your own life you will feel compelled to celebrate the artistry of our beautiful Carthage spring in the company of composers and painters like Debussy and Monet. The magic of our modern technology makes meeting up with them so easy. Turn on a sound system. Pop in a disc or choose a stream. Listen to your favorites. Open a book from your coffee table collection or check out a volume from artCentral’s Lending Library. Curl up in a comfy chair beside a favorite window. Journey through the delights the Impressionists have to offer.
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Or…put in your earbuds, plug them into your phone, tune to an Impressionist composer and step outside. Take a walk through the wonder of Mother Nature’s creation and know we are being remarkably blessed by the artistry of Mother’s Nature's spring in the making.

Inside the gallery walls are in radiant bloom for a final weekend of the spectacular HEART and SOUL exhibition featuring inspiring creations made by 42 artists of the Joplin Regional Artists Coalition. Do step out and come visit HEART and SOUL and our beautiful Hyde House neighborhood! Weekend gallery hours are Friday and Saturday, 12:00-5:00 p.m. and Sunday, 1:00-5:00 p.m. For more information call (417) 358-4404 or visit www.artcentralcarthage.org online.

While my husband, David, artCentral’s prepitor (art handler), and I are well into preparations for artCentral’s coming spring exhibition—PAINT in MOTION presented by Philip Ledbetter—we are happily enjoying Mother Nature’s changes in our own beautiful neighborhood on Sycamore Street.

Gleeful birdsong is growing more vibrant with each dawn. Green shoots are rising up in flower beds and on lawns everywhere. Our hearts are full with the gifts of this season freely flowing to us. Indeed a surprise gift came via mail from our local video store. The printed card offered a “free dvd rental” and pictured several movies—one a movie we missed and really wanted to see in a theater while the holidays had us twirling with no time to squeeze in a feature.

David picked up the gift disc on his way home from work. After a quick bowl of soup and mugs of his extra frothy homemade cappuccino, we cuddled up together in our big, cushioned watching chair for our dinner-and-a-movie-night in Paradise. “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” began. We sat enchanted as we watched this artful film conveyed with atmospheric cinematography and masterfully crafted sets including a toy town rendered in miniature.

As the promo goes for this lyrical movie, Lloyd Vogel (movingly played by Matthew Rhys) is an investigative journalist who prides himself on tough assignments. He receives and grudgingly takes on an assignment to profile Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers (exquisitely portrayed by Tom Hanks). Since Vogel does not believe that anyone can have such a good nature, he approaches the interview carrying adversarial skepticism. With each encounter they share, Roger's empathy, kindness and decency soon chips away at Vogel's jaded outlook on life, forcing the reporter to reconcile with his own painful past.

Cinema critic Anthony Lane writes in a New Yorker magazine review that Hank’s performance leaves us all, “not just consoled by Rogers but curious about what drove him”. Lane tells us that “in addition to being the host, the composer and the puppeteer on his own show, from 1968 to 2001, Mr. Rogers was a Presbyterian minister, and, thanks to Hanks, the business of dressing for his TV set [changing into a sweater and indoor shoes] begins to resemble a secular robing, as if we were in a vestry rather than in a television studio.”

Another New Yorker writer, Richard Brody, observes, “Throughout the movie, Rogers offers…words of wisdom and insight, revealing himself to be not merely the host of a children’s show but a sort of freelance activist clergyman whose main pulpit is the show but whose concern is society at large….The melancholy [thread] of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is that of a world out of whack—and of its dramatization of an unabated sense of responsibility to do whatever one can to help put things aright.”
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This gem of a film, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, could aptly be subtitled, “Mr. Rogers for Adults” as Tom Hanks adeptly plays Fred Rogers offering each of us the sage wisdom of an experienced, unruffled teacher. Perhaps you will want to add this treasure to your watch list or maybe enjoy a second viewing as each new beautiful day in your neighborhood unfolds for your pleasure.

Collaborating with Father Steve around art is always pleasant, always satisfying. As rector of Grace Episcopal Church, he has commissioned me to paint “La Pietà” (The Pity) to be displayed as a companion to the “Madonna and Child” which I painted some years ago.

For this particular commission Facebook has been a beneficial format for sharing the painting’s unfolding with Father Steve, our Facebook friends and members of the Grace Church parish. He came to offer his responses for what he had previewed on Facebook.
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Of course, my artist husband, David, whose home studio is just across the hall from my own, is always the first to see new developments at the end of my studio sessions. I do value David’s thoughtful responses that validate my progress. Since we have both learned the value of honoring each other’s creative boundaries, we each refrain from giving unsolicited criticism or advice. I especially appreciate his observations that cause me to know he “gets” what my art-making is all about—all about storytelling.

Recently contemplating “La Pietà”, David commented, “This painting looks like a stained glass window”. Indeed! Like most all of my paintings, “La Pietà” is a mosaic of motifs that tell a story created with bold linear definition and rich colors. The motifs in “La Pietà”—the images of the mourning Mary and the crucified Christ, the simple haloes that crown each and the passage from the Scriptures—are assembled like the elements of a leaded, stained glass window offering clues for viewers like you to see and read as a story.

Storytelling through art has been a tradition in many churches. Art in churches told the Bible’s stories in times before the advent of printing and the rise of literacy. When scriptures were unreadable to the vast majority of believers, church storytelling art could be found on the capitals of columns and in colorful windows and throughout sacred spaces large and small.

On the afternoon of Father Steve’s visit to my own sanctuary, up the stairs we climbed, past walls filled with paintings David and I have already made for our collaborative exhibit, “Signs and Wonders”, to be presented at artCentral in months to come.

“La Pietà” was waiting, serenely cloaked in a gauzy drape strewn with embroidered spring flowers. Father Steve nodded, and I slipped away the covering. My patron stood silently—smiling. “I love Mary’s eyes,” he said, then went on to offer his other appreciations. “I am very pleased,” he concluded, and he asked for one modest addition. “Do you think we can have a bit more gray in Mary’s hair?”

​As our studio visit drew to a close, we moved back down the stairs to the front porch. We said our good-byes. Father Steve was off to his next appointment, and I felt the same regret I always experience when one of our art chats comes to an end, and I am left wanting yet another of his studio visits and another artful conversation.
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I returned to my easel and squeezed fresh pigment onto my palette. I picked up a favorite brush to continue with my storytelling, and I reflected on all the wonderful stories now being told on the walls of Hyde House—stories made in other studios by the amazingly talented artists of the Joplin Regional Artists Coalition—the stories of HEART & SOUL.

Do come enjoy the storytelling of artCentral's HEART & SOUL exhibition on view through March 15, 2020! Weekend gallery hours are Fridays and Saturdays, 12:00-5:00 p.m. and Sundays, 1:00-5:00 p.m. For more information call (417) 358-4404 or visit www.artcentralcarthage.org online.