The Virginia Highlands Festival announces this year's signature art and theme for the festival, "The Jewel of the Blue Ridge." Signature artist, Nadya Warthen-Gibson, resides in Abingdon, Va., and is a member of the Arts Depot. Her work can be seen at the Arts Depot and at Heartwood.
Her signature art piece for the Festival is entitled, "The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts." It is a large acrylic painting on plywood and can be seen at the Abingdon Visitors Center, where it holds a place of honor on display over the fireplace.
"This piece contains my thoughts on the Virginia Highlands Festival and memories from the town of Abingdon as a whole," said Warthen-Gibson. "The snippets of historic narrative, the wonderful arts scene, the wildlife ... the little things to discover and to treasure in the eye of the mind."
"Nadya's work was unanimously the committee's favorite," said Becky Caldwell, festival producer. "We sought concepts from four different local artists on the theme "The Jewel of the Blue Ridge.' Nadya captured every detail of the Festival and of Abingdon with intense color and intricate beauty."
The Festival's signature art is an annual commission, which carries a $1,000 prize for the chosen artist. Local artists are invited for consideration each fall, and the resulting work is used in all Festival marketing materials as the image of that year's theme.
