First Friday Art Walk

Join us for an exciting evening of art, creativity, and community! On the first Friday of each month, step into the vibrant world of The Arts of Great Falls Art School & Gallery, The Artists' Atelier and The Artists' Loft studios, where you'll have the chance to see the latest exhibit plus meet and explore the latest works by twelve talented resident artists.

Info: Stylistically, I continue to evolve from realism with feeling to impressionism with even more emotion and simplification." -Jill Banks
Life is full with family, friends like you, and an art career that keeps oil painter JILL BANKS smock-donned and constantly on her toes. Each year, Jill teaches multiple classes a week over three semesters (she was ranked as one of the Top 9 Painting and Drawing Teachers in the Metro DC area by expertise . com); exhibits at top fine art festivals; sends work off to juried regional, national and international exhibitions; paints in juried and invitational plein air competitions (including Gloucester Plein Air, Knoxville's Artist on Location, Sedona Plein Air, En Plein Air Texas, Telluride Plein Air, Wayne Plein Air, Mountain Maryland, Harford Plein Air and more); and takes on a small number of portrait commissions; plus travels for personal painting trips and inspiration.

Info: Everything that moves the eye, that makes you want to touch the surface or explore beneath—that is my passion. My early love of painting, combined with printmaking and now an evolving interest in paper, keeps my journey ever changing. Yesterday’s monoprint has become today’s collage. Visits to the sea, the marshes, the grasslands and mountains all inspire my lifelong fascination with the horizon line and sky. I like to explore how different times of day, affect the colors, shapes, shadows, and horizon line in my works. I like to use different mediums and mixed mediums, and I rejoice in bending the rules to my satisfaction. Art is in the making. ~Roberta Pruett Beasley

Info: I am a Dreamer and an Achiever!
My name is Joyce Lee and I am an artist who is also a mother of three beautiful children, a teacher of wonderful art students, a martial artist, a player and teacher of the piano, and a volunteer for the local elementary school’s activities and sports teams. I have so many titles to describe myself with.

But I want to say that I am a Dreamer and an Achiever when it comes to everything that I do. I dream of what I want to be rather than getting lost in the past, although I believe it is good to always remember what has happened before. I love to achieve my goals and I am not afraid to create new ones. I believe everything is meant to be and must have a meaning for others.

Starting with the inherent visual beauty of the flowers the point of my work is to give people a sense of serenity to allow them to open themselves to a deeper emotional response. I hope people are able to discover and feel hope, peace, joy, comfort and most of all love of life.

Info: Theresa Miller is a painter of watercolors and oils; her career as an artist has extended over 22 years. She paints landscapes of public and private gardens and buildings, en plein air/on location in the Washington DC area. Theresa also paints still-lifes from her home studio in Vienna, Virginia and at the Artists' Atelier in Great Falls, Virginia a working art space where she shares studio space with fellow artists. Theresa is an avid gardener and specializes in painting, from life, flowers and fruits that she grows in her garden. In her work, she captures the ephemeral beauty of nature that surrounds her all year round in the woods where she lives. Theresa is also a copyist in the Copyist Program of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.
Photograph of the Artist by Richard Doyle.

Info: While I have used cameras for many years, and have taken a couple of classes in Black and White Photography I have not had any formal art education, thus I really do not consider myself an “artist” but rather a guy with a camera. So this “Artist Statement” I believe, is more about why I photograph in Great Falls. I have been fortunate to have lived in Europe, Africa and on both coasts of the US but it is here where I landed in 1971 and began to develop an attachment to the area. During this time I have seen incredible changes as the rural character of the area morphed into a bedroom suburb of Washington. Upon retiring I decided to capture as much of the character of the area with my camera by developing a large collection of images of the local landscape, landmarks and wildlife. I go out in the early morning and watch the sun come up, listen to the sounds of birds or the flow of water and try to capture the moment.

Info: Through the camera lens, I focus on the beauty and wonder of the natural world. I enjoy sharing with the viewer the art that surrounds us every day in the most ordinary places, objects, and settings. I've applied my combined training in art, design, and photography to the composition of my photographic images.
I have recently returned to my art after a twenty-five year hiatus, during which time my artistic pursuits were limited by both professional and personal commitments. I enjoy having the time now to focus on and pursue my artistic interests.

Info: I’m Cindy Grisdela – an Artist, Teacher and Author from Reston, VA.
Color and texture are the driving forces behind my contemporary art quilts. Browse my site to see how I combine line and shape, then add stitching lines to create texture and dimension – a process I like to think of as painting with fabric and thread.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Arts of Great Falls, 756 Walker Road, Great Falls, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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