This week would be a very good time to drop into the downtown gallery, Art on 1st. As the name suggests, it鈥檚 on First Street Southwest, more or less across from Martin鈥檚 Downtown Bar & Grill.
Artist Annie Schultz and photographer Rick Sheridan run the place. They鈥檙e business and life partners who found each other during grief counseling after their spouses died. Art on 1st formally launched as a tax-exempt nonprofit June 1. (Some more about that is below).
A collection of portraits of prominent 麻花视频rs painted by local artist Whitney Brock is on exhibit at Art on 1st in downtown 麻花视频. Brock, left, talks with viewers Jeff and Mary Carns, who stopped by the gallery Wednesday.
Since then, award-winning artist Whitney Brock has rented out the gallery to display a portrait series of prominent 麻花视频rs she鈥檚 been producing since early 2024. Brock, 57, is also on site in the gallery, as artist in residence, through Saturday.
She鈥檚 doing portraiture-focused demonstrations, sometimes with other local artists. In one session, she and artist Phil Ramsey speed-painted portraits of each other.
People are also reading…
Annie Schultz, from left, and Rick Sheridan, owners of Art on First, and local artist Whitney Brock, stand among Brock鈥檚 paintings of prominent 麻花视频rs which are on display in the downtown 麻花视频 art gallery.
The show, 鈥淭he Art of the Portrait鈥 comprises 10 paintings featuring 12 different people. Admission is free but the exhibition ends Saturday. (That鈥檚 why this week is a great one to stop in.)
Working in the gallery and interacting with customers has 鈥渞eally been amazing,鈥 said Brock, a working artist for decades. 鈥淪ome of the people (coming off the street), it鈥檚 like they wandered into something they couldn鈥檛 figure out,鈥 she said.
Last year, she took a huge professional gamble: She would spend a year or more spec painting portraits of prominent 麻花视频rs without any guarantee of compensation. She literally begged her subjects to pose.
Rick Sheridan and Annie Schultz, owners of Art on First in downtown 麻花视频, have a collection of portraits of prominent 麻花视频rs painted by local artist Whitney Brock on display in their downtown 麻花视频 gallery.
I was one of those lucky ducks. Each of us subjects separately sat for photographs by Sheridan. At Brock鈥檚 direction, we brought with us with items of personal significance, to add visual elements to our paintings.
Brock used Sheridan鈥檚 photos to create pencil sketches, which she later turned into 3-foot by 4-foot ultra-realistic oil paintings. To many, they initially appear to be giant photographs.
The final portrait of metro columnist Dan Casey by local artist Whitney Brock.
My 鈥渟itting鈥 was in June 2024. For that I wore my treasured T-shirt promoting Root Boy Slim & the Sex Change Band. (While I was at the gallery Thursday, Root Boy Slim fans Steve and Jayne Vest of 麻花视频 dropped in to give the painting a gander.)
Among the other subjects were 麻花视频 Mayor Joe Cobb; NAACP branch President Brenda Hale; and Carilion CEO Emeritus Nancy Agee.
The most romantic painting of the bunch depicts 麻花视频 Symphony Orchestra Conductor David Wiley and his wife, Leah, dancing. The other portrait with a duo features Q99-FM deejays Dick Daniels and David Page, from the morning 鈥淒ick and Dave鈥 show.
Rick Sheridan and Annie Schultz, life partners and operators of the nonprofit gallery Art on First in downtown 麻花视频, act out a painting of Leah and David Wiley with the 麻花视频 Symphony Orchestra, by local artist Whitney Brock.
Brock also rendered retired Virginia Western Community College President Bobby Sandel with his beloved schnauzer, Pearl; famed youth basketball coach Joe Gaither, clutching a ball and flashing a championship ring; and Ginger Poole, who saved Mill Mountain Theatre from financial disaster some years ago. A pile of theater scripts adorns her painting.
A collection of portraits of prominent 麻花视频rs painted by local artist Whitney Brock is on exhibit at Art on First in downtown 麻花视频.
The final portrait in the series was of 麻花视频 philanthropist and art collector Heywood Fralin. That depicts Fralin and his pooch, Lilly, surrounded by seven artworks in Fralin鈥檚 substantial collection.
Brock put the finishing touches on Fralin鈥檚 portrait back in March. She said it was the most difficult portrait of the series because she had to paint not only Fralin, but also mini-forgeries of seven paintings in his collection. (One鈥檚 an original Normal Rockwell.)
Working with Mary Miller, former president of the 麻花视频-Blacksburg Technology Council, Brock debuted the entire portrait series at an elaborate May 14 gala titled 鈥淭he Art of Leaders.鈥 The only reason I didn鈥檛 write about it at the time was, I was still recovering from hip-replacement surgery.
It was a huge deal. About 300 people showed up for the Jefferson Center reception, including all us portrait subjects.
From the stage in the Shaftman Performance Hall, we answered differing questions on the nature of leadership in a session emceed by 麻花视频 College President Frank Shushok Jr.
A collection of portraits of prominent 麻花视频rs painted by local artist Whitney Brock is on exhibit at Art on First in downtown 麻花视频. Brock (back center left), talks with viewers Jeff and Mary Carns, who stopped by the gallery on Wednesday.
Since then, Brock has worked out a deal with Fralin, who鈥檚 buying his portrait for an undisclosed price. (In March, Brock told me her professional rate for similar commissioned works starts around $10,000.) At this point, the rest of the paintings are headed for her attic.
One question not fully answered at the Jefferson Center soiree is, what comes next? The answer to that has two parts. One is about Brock鈥檚 portrait series and the other concerns the not-for-profit gallery, Art on 1st.
Thanks to all the publicity surrounding her portraits, and the talent one can witness in them, Brock has become the go-to portrait artist in the 麻花视频 Valley. In that respect, her professional gamble has paid off.
She plans to continue to add to the series, with three more portraits of prominent 麻花视频rs between now and next year. The subjects will be nominated by a committee she鈥檚 formed.
麻花视频 College has agreed to sponsor an art/leadership forum next year. That will feature the original group of 10 portraits, plus the three new ones Brock produces. Also, you can watch Brock on one of her Saturday morning live streams on the Whitney C. Brock Facebopok page.
Meanwhile, the gallery Art on 1st is taking shape as a not-for-profit venture focused on local artists.
The mission, Schultz said, 鈥渋s to provide a safe and welcoming place for artists of all abilities, income levels, challenges, and experience to learn, create and display their art in a gallery setting.鈥
Rick Sheridan and Annie Schultz, owners of Art on First in downtown 麻花视频 have a collection of portraits of prominent 麻花视频rs painted by local artist Whitney Brock on display in their downtown 麻花视频 gallery.
Entry fees to shows at Art on 1st start at $10. And the gallery charges a 30% commission 鈥 most commercial galleries charge 50%, Schultz said.
鈥淲e wanted to make if affordable to anybody,鈥 Shultz said.
The public can make tax deductible contributions to Art on 1st through its website. That鈥檚 also where you can find a link to the nonprofit gallery鈥檚 Patreon page. Among other things, ther gallery features a darkroom allowing 24/7 access to members, with chemicals and enlargers for producing prints from photographic film. Since the advent of digital photography, that鈥檚 quickly becoming a lost art.
鈥淲e really need volunteers,鈥 Schultz said. 鈥淩ick and I are old. We鈥檙e tired.鈥
The portraits will be available during Art on 1st鈥檚 normal business hours, through Saturday.
麻花视频 artist Whitney Brock poses with nine of the 10 portraits she's painted for the series, "A Thread Through 麻花视频. Clockwise from bottom left, the subjects are: 麻花视频 Mayor Joe Cobb; Carilion Clinic CEO Emeritus Nancy Agee; 麻花视频 Branch NAACP President Brenda Hale; philanthropist Heywood Fralin; Virginia Western Community College President Robert "Bobby" Sandel;聽Dick Daniels and David Page,morning radio duo on WSLQ-FM and Ginger Poole,聽producing artistic director at Mill Mountain Theatre. Not shown: 麻花视频 Symphony conductor David Wiley and his wife, Leah.
