Beloit Art Center announces July Exhibits
 
Beloit Art Center is pleased to announce the July exhibits which will open with a First Friday Gallery Reception, open to the public, on July 1st from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. A gallery talk featuring the artists will be held at 6:00 pm. Both exhibits will be open through July 28th.

 The Main Gallery will feature the work of watercolor painter, Ken Marsden. Trained as an engineering draftsman and illustrator, he later obtained a business degree from the University of Illinois and spent his working years in marketing and sales, eventually becoming president and CEO of several national companies. In spite of managerial responsibilities, Marsden produced a wealth of paintings during this period. Now retired, he is devoted to fly fishing for trout and watercolor painting. His paintings have been exhibited in Wisconsin, his birth place of Galena, Illinois, and locally in Rock County. “My painting tends toward realism without getting too detailed. I use transparent watercolors, only using opaque (gouache) rarely.”
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In the Bell Gallery you will see a historic collection of artwork by Dr. Glen Heggy, which has been loaned by collector Judy Warner. Dr. Heggy practiced dentistry in Beloit for years, first in downtown Beloit and then out of his home on Denture Lane just south of the Butterfly Club. After his retirement, he devoted his time to painting landscapes, still life, portraits and seascapes. He also taught painting at Beloit College and Blackhawk Technical School. Dr Heggy was featured in Robert Ripley’s “Believe it or Not” book and syndicated column for having made a set of dentures for his eight-month-old son, David. He was a senior member of the Beloit Rotary Club, joining in 1923. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus for fifty years and a veteran of World War I. Both Hazel and Dr Glen Heggy are buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

Beloit Art Center is located at 520 E. Grand Ave. in downtown Beloit and has established a mission of partnering with the community and regional artists to maintain a center to teach, display and promote art through events, classes, and studio space. Visit us at www.beloitartcenter.com. Gallery hours: Saturday & Monday 10am – 2pm; Tuesday through Friday 10am – 5pm.

GLEN HEGGY
Artwork on loan from Judy Warner

Beloit Art Center presents artists Suzanne Stewart and Patsy Lauer in June.
 
The Beloit Art Center First Friday Reception for the new exhibits will be held on June 3rd from 5 to 7. This reception is open to the public, and refreshments will be served. Come hear the artists, Suzanne Stewart and Patsy Lauer, talk about their creations starting at 6:00 p.m. Have some room on your wall? Many will be available for purchase.
 
Suzanne Stewart will be featured in the Main Gallery. She has lived in Illinois most of her life. After graduation from Galesburg High School, she attended Olivet Nazarene University where she studied art. She finished an Associates of Arts degree at Miami Dade Community College. As a mother of four, art took a back bench for ten years, but then she got a BA degree majoring in Studio Fine Art and Educational Studies from Knox College in Galesburg.

She taught art at the elementary, junior high and high school levels for over 20 years, most recently at Rock County Christian Elementary School. She has shown her work at the Galesburg Civic Arts Center, Junction City Arts Fair in Peoria, the Loft in Morrison, and the Villager Gallery here in Beloit.

“I have loved doing art since I was a small child and my grandmother gave me a pair of scissors and a Montgomery Wards catalog and let me cut pictures to my heart’s content. That and the paint-by-number sets my mother bought me hooked me into loving the process of making art. I went from drawing to quilting, sewing and woodcrafts until the age of 36 when I decided to return to college. It was there I fell in love with the fine arts and have been on this journey of discovery and learning and experimenting with a variety of mediums.
 
“As a teacher, I have had to diversify my skills and practice many art methods. I heard this old saying again recently: “A Jack of all trades and a Master of none is still always better than a Master of One.” Suddenly I didn’t feel so bad that my portfolio of art was so varied. After all, variety is the spice of life.”
 
Featured in the Bell Gallery in June will be Patsy Lauer from Milton, now living in Beloit. With a career as hairdresser behind her, she searched for a new passion in retirement. At first, she painted on old windows and put them in her salon. She then enrolled in a watercolor class but quickly switched to oil paints, learning that she was able to work on a painting and change things where she wanted. She paints landscapes, flowers, and some animals. She says, “I have been motivated by the Open Studio group at the Beloit Art Center on Thursday nights. My two grandchildren love to come to Grandma’s. The first thing they say is, “Can we paint?” They really enjoy it, and it has given them an outlet they can also pursue.”
 
The June exhibits will be available to view through June 24th.  The Beloit Art Center is free and open to the public.  Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Monday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parking is in the street. For more about current exhibits and upcoming classes visit https://www.beloitartcenter.com/gallery-exhibits

Coming in May, Beloit Art Center is pleased to host a painting exhibition of two sisters, LuAnn Widergren and Lynette Redner, who often plein air paint together. A First Friday Gallery Reception will be held May 6 from 5-7pm, with an ArtTalk, at 6pm.  Join LuAnn and Lynette as tell of some of their adventures and what they've learned out in the field.  

​BELOIT ART CENTER MAY 2022 EXHIBITS  

Sisters LuAnn Widergren and Lynette Redner often plein-air paint together, which means painting outdoors. They will be the featured artists in the Main Gallery in May at the Beloit Art Center at 520 East Grand. A First Friday Gallery Reception will be held on May 6th  from 5 to 7 p.m. with an Art Talk at 6 p.m.  Join LuAnn and Lynette as they talk about their adventures of painting out in the field and what they've learned about coaxing nature to come alive on canvas.

Featured in the Bell Gallery will be Lori Huntoon, a hydrogeologist, whose art represents various aspects of the water cycle. “As a geologist and educator, I enjoy bringing nature into every art form. My focus in my professional and personal life has always been all-things-water. The photos in this exhibit depict various aspects of the water cycle in our surroundings.”
 
The two May gallery exhibits have a feeling of perfect synchronicity and will be available to view through May 27th.  The Beloit Art Center is free and open to the public.  Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Monday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parking is in the street. For more about current exhibits and upcoming classes visit https://www.beloitartcenter.com/gallery-exhibits

Students from Beloit’s four area high schools will be exhibiting artwork as part of the Beloit Art Center 13th Annual High Schools Art Exhibit, which will run through the month of April. 

A First Friday Gallery Reception will be held on April 1 from 5 – 7 p.m.   The event is free and open to the public. Students, their parents, teachers, and administrators, as well as the public are encouraged to attend to see the collective talent of young artists in Beloit. 

The participating schools are Beloit Turner, Beloit Memorial, Rock County Christian, and The Lincoln Academy.  The exhibit highlights artwork in the mediums of drawing, painting, digital art, mixed media, pottery, sculpture, and stained glass. 

​Twelve pieces will be selected to represent Beloit at the Association of Wisconsin Artists (AWA) Statewide Teen Art Mentor Program (STAMP).  Work chosen will be published and exhibited at the Center for the Visual Arts in Wausau this coming August.
 
The exhibit will open through the April 30 Downtown Beloit Wine Walk.  Gallery hours are Monday from 10am - 2pm; Tuesday - Friday from 10am - 5pm and Saturday from 10am - 2pm.  for more information about Beloit Art Center visit: www.beloitartcenter.com
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Gallery views show a preview of the high school art exhibit which will be featured in the Main and Bell Galleries in April. 

The Beloit Art Center saw a good crowd at their monthly First Friday Gallery Reception held on March 4 to announce of the results for their annual juried photo exhibit. Many of the people in the crowd were the photographers who had submitted entries to the show along with their families. Amateur photographers throughout the region submitted up to three images to be reviewed by a panel of three jurors. The results were kept top secret and then announced at the opening reception.  Program Coordinator Jerry Sveum has been involved with the exhibit since the beginning.  “The annual juried photography show is an opportunity for photographers to showcase their skills and ability,” said Sveum. “For members of the community and our patrons it’s a time to celebrate and enjoy the talent of local artists.”  While most of the entries are from the southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois area, this year the contest drew participants from as far away as Kentucky.
 
Awards were given to the top ten artists and the top three entries received monetary awards. The first-place winner received $150 and was awarded to Kayla Lindquist for Breakfast at the Marsh.  Second place went to Jeff McDonald for Antelope Canyon Study and third place was taken by John Messley for Pelican Creek Sunrise. The seven other award winners were James Meldrum, Jack Long, Ryan Varney, Paul Pinzarrone, Tom Jordan, Brad Schmitt, and Philip Schorsch. The exhibit will be hanging in the main gallery at the Beloit Art Center through March 24. Over twenty-five local photographers are featured in the exhibit.