The North Florida Community College Art Department invites the public to a reception celebrating the opening of its April exhibit and local artist John Rice on Tuesday, April 26 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at the NFCC Hardee Center for the Arts (Bldg. 11, NFCC campus). Refreshments will be served. All are invited to attend.
John Rice is a self-taught painter and resident of Live Oak. He and his wife Debbie own the Frame Shop and Gallery in Live Oak where they hold life drawing and painting classes for the community. Rice’s paintings can be found around Live Oak in various buildings including inside the Suwannee County Courthouse.
“I got seriously interested in art when I started working with John Lawson, a local pen and ink artist,” said Rice. “He inspired me to see what I could do. I started working with oils and that’s the medium I prefer. I’m basically self-taught, learning a lot from books and interacting with other artists in our local Artists Guild. People are my favorite subjects, and most common cause of inspiration. I think people generally are most interested in other people, as they can identify with, or somehow feel akin to, a fellow human. Like most people interested in pictorial art, I want to draw like Michelangelo, paint like Da Vinci, be as popular as Kinkade, and live the exuberant and eccentric lifestyle of Dali. But, failing that, maybe I can just do the best work I’m capable of at the moment I’m in.”
The John Rice exhibit will be on display throughout April. The Hardee Center for the Arts is open to the public Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information, contact NFCC Art Instructor and Gallery Director Lisa Thompson at (850) 973-1642 or thompsonl@nfcc.edu. More information is also available at www.nfcc.edu.