A reception for artist and former campus student Chuck Carr is slated from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, in the Art Gallery at Penn State New Kensington.
Carr’s exhibit, "Passions," features 40 landscapes, most of which depict coastal and island life. Beach venues include: Hilton Head island in South Carolina; Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island; Tortola in the British Virgin Islands; Casco Bay in Maine; and Antigua in the West Indies. Augmenting the sand and water art are farm and farm animal scenes.
This is Carr’s second solo show at the campus. He previously exhibited in 2006 with “One Artist's Life,” which featured landscapes of his family's dairy farm. When he is not painting, Carr works the Lone Oak Farm, located in Crabtree, Pa.
The reception and exhibit, which runs through Feb. 28, are free to the public. The New Kensington gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. weekends.
For more information, call 724-875-1479.
For photos of the exhibit, visit http://psnk.smugmug.com/
About Chuck Carr"Art is a reflection of my life. The things that are important to me and the things that I connect with are usually what are outwardly expressed on canvas. I have a passion for coastal and island life. My favorite thing to do with my artwork is to set up at the beach with my travel easel, right in the water, and paint the beauty of God's creation as it changes in front of me. It just does it for me. Every painting has a story. Sometimes bizarre things happen. Sometimes onlookers stop to peek. Sometimes the moment is graced with peace, or beauty, or some type of funny accident. Some people might not understand why I paint coastal and island life so much or drag my easel all around with me, but with every trip, every painting, and every brushstroke there is a story to tell and a memory made. They all mean something special to me.”— Chuck Carr, 2014
Chuck Carr works in a mixed media of acrylics and oil on canvas. His style and medium have evolved as he was influenced by each of his mentors during his early life.
Carr graduated from Penn State in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in agricultural science. He attended the New Kensington campus for two years as an art major, studying under Bud Gibbons, professor of visual arts. He developed an artistic style similar to that of Gibbons.
“When I met Bud Gibbons, I instantly fell in love with his style, his appreciation for art, and his perspective of it,” Carr said. “He was the greatest personal influence in my art career. He helped develop my skills and taught me how to allow the materials to cooperate with the creativity inside of me.”
After his sophomore year, Carr was headed to University Park to complete his studies. But he was at the crossroads of his artistic career. He had adopted Gibbon’s style and wanted it to serve as the foundation of his paintings. He didn’t want to be influenced by other professors and instructors at University Park. In a twist on “We had to destroy the village in order to save it,” the memorable quote from the Vietnam War, Carr had to save his artistic endeavors by enrolling in the agricultural science program.
“I made the incredibly hard choice to end my art training and education and switch majors so that I could preserve the art skills and perspective that Bud had taught me,” Carr said. “I chose to develop what I knew on my own and not allow any other influence to change things.”