Two artists will be featured at the Brentwood Library during the month of February. Ceramic works by Meghan Muir will be displayed in the glass showcase, and landscape artist Larry Richardson’s works will be featured on the gallery wall.
Both exhibits are sponsored by Friends of the Brentwood Library, a non-profit organization.
Richardson, whose love of art was inspired by noted wildlife painter Ralph McDonald, is also an author. He wrote the narrative of the new book, “An Artist’s Journey,” published in November 2014. It follows the life and works of artist Anthony J. Padgett.
“I love to paint and I paint mostly outdoor scenes of what I enjoy,” Richardson states. “My leisure time is spent hiking, hunting, fishing, sailing, and biking. I save rainy days for painting in my studio.”
Born in rural western Kentucky, Richardson’s love of the outdoors led to a career that included an advanced degree in biology, work in parks and wildlife, art publishing and management positions. He retired from Ducks Unlimited, the world’s largest environmental organization dedicated to wetland conservation.
He began to consider art seriously when he worked with noted wildlife painter Ralph McDonald while helping him develop a new art publishing business in the 1970s. He has been involved in both art publishing and sales throughout his career.
“I guess you could say I’ve looked over the shoulders of a lot of great artists I’ve known. I’ve also had some formal training. I like realism, not photographic, but more toward an impressionistic style, leaving a loose edge or the gesture of a shadow, inviting the viewer to make the final stroke.”
“An Artist’s Journey has over 125 color plates of Padgett’s work plus photographs of some of his wildlife art and research travels. Richardson and Padgett became friends through Ducks Unlimited, where Larry worked with artists for fundraising. Richardson has also written an art-related book with McDonald.
Meghan Muir, a Connecticut native, has lived most of her life in Tennessee and Kentucky. She is currently a resident of Greenbrier, Tenn. where she has a studio in the basement of her home. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics in 2011 from Western Kentucky University.
Although she has dabbled in many aspects of clay, from sculptural to functional, pit fire and raku, Muir prefers to focus on utilitarian forms for use in the home. She enjoys making functional objects that the user will enjoy for years to come.
Both exhibits will be on display throughout February at the Brentwood Library, 8109 Concord Road, Brentwood during regular library hours.
For more information on the library and the Friends organization, visit www.brentwood-tn.org/library/ or call 615-371-0090.
