"Annie" by Jeff Chapman-Crane was selected as the People's Choice-Best in Show winner in the VHF art show.
ABINGDON, VA. -- The Arts Depot, in conjunction with the 60th Annual Virginia Highlands Festival Juried Fine Art Show, announces this year's People's Choice-Best In Show Award goes to Eolia, Ky. artist Jeff Chapman-Crane's painting, Annie.
This award was selected by votes cast by the people visiting the exhibit during the first week of the show. The painting is a stunning egg tempra perspective of a young woman in deep thought. Throughout his painting Chapman-Crane has employed fine detail to create a soft texture.
Chapman-Crane is a full-time professional artist from the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky, where he has lived and practiced his art for the last twenty plus years. His art focuses on the culture of Appalachia, with an emphasis on portraits of mountain people.
His work has been featured in American Artist magazine, and he is a four-time finalist in the Artists Magazine's annual portrait competition. He was the illustrator for the children's book Ragsale, which won Best in Show at the 1995 New England Bookfair. He has also received several major awards during previous Virginia Highlands Festival Juried Fine Art Shows.
Together with his wife, Sharman, and son, Evan, he operates the Valley of the Winds Art Gallery in Eolia, where works by all three family members can be seen. The gallery hosts an annual festival on the third Saturday of June featuring live music, poetry readings and other events. His work is represented by prestigious galleries in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in New York City.
The Arts Depot is a non-profit volunteer organization that is dedicated to promoting the arts in the community and features the region's artists in its galleries and in seven working artists studios. The Arts Depot is located in the historic Depot Square area of downtown Abingdon, Va.
For further information, contact the Arts Depot at (276) 628-9091, or e-mail at abingdonartsdepot@abingdon.com, or visit their web site at www.abingdonartsdepot.org.
