Cabarrus Art Guild meetings are held at 7:00 pm on the second Thursday of each month at the Historic Cabarrus Courthouse on the second floor, 65 Union Street N., Concord, NC. The art guild is supported in part by a grant from the Grassroots Arts Program of North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency, and the Cabarrus Arts Council, Inc.

THE SEPTEMBER MEETING: The guild will meet at the Arts Council Galleries in the Historic Courthouse on September 10th. at 7:00 p m. Guest speaker for the meeting will be Patrick Glover of Charlotte.

For more information on our guest speaker, or if you would like to view our September 2009 Newsletter, click on the Newsletters link in the menu to the right.

The Guild will have its annual picnic on Saturday, July 18th at the Tomlin's place in Harrisburg.

This is designed to be a whole day of fellowship, beginning with a "Paint In," or paint out if you prefer; there is both indoor and outdoor space. The painting sessions will begin at 10am and last all day or as long as anyone wishes. If you do not paint, come and watch, or visit! This is not a workshop but rather an opportunity for every one to get together and share thoughts, ideas, art, jokes, reminiscences and for the new folks to get to know the "old" ( as opposed to new) folks and vice versa! So bring your paint supplies, your lunch (if you will be around during lunch time), and a chair and come join us for a day of fun and relaxing.

The picnic starts at 5pm and Chef Keith will be preparing hotdogs and hamburgers for everyone, so bring a dish to go with that, or a dessert! Water and soft drinks for the picnic will also be provided by the guild. Water and lemonade will be provided by the Tomlins during the day. The paintings finished during the day will be displayed during the picnic - weather permitting. Mark your calendars for this one. We had a lot of fun last year even with the threatening weather!

Charles Farrar: Turned Wooden Vessels

Archie Smith: Dulcimers

Kathy Cooper: Floorcloth Artist

Kathy is a nationally recognized floorcloth artist, producing original, hand-painted rugs in custom designs. She is the author of two best-selling books on floorcloths, and has been a frequent guest on television, appearing on Home Matters, Decorating with Style, and Interior Motives. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers including Southern Accents, House Beautiful, Metropolitan Home, and the cover of Where: Atlanta. Cooper has produced work for many homes across the United States and abroad. Some of her more famous clients include, Mrs. FW Woolworth, Joanne Woodward/Paul Newman, Carrie Fischer, Michael Keaton, Jim Palmer, and Henry Winkler.

Robert Brown: Oil Painter

Bob was born in Anderson, SC and began taking private art lessons when he was 7 years old. As an adult he received formal training at Pennsylvania Academy in Philadelphia. He also studied landscape painting with Lou Sloan, a former teacher at the Academy who passed away this year.

Bob painted part-time most of his life until his avocation got the better of him in 2002, when he left his last job and began painting full-time. Since then he has produced work for numerous solo and group shows in galleries in North and South Carolina.

All of his work is painted from life on location, and his subject matter consists mostly of rural and urban scenes in the Carolinas and Virginia. Most everything he does is in oil but he also occasionally does ink wash.

Bob is one of the featured artists at The Galleries of the Cabarrus Arts Council's new show "Structurally Sound".

Charlotte artist Sharon Dowell will present a free gallery talk about her architectural paintings at 7pm

Dowell's talk will be at 7 p.m. in the Arts Council Galleries at 65 Union Street South, Concord. It is co-sponsored by the Arts Council Galleries and the Cabarrus Art Guild. Her work will be included in the Arts Council Galleries' exhibition, Structurally Sound: Foundations in Architecture, which will be on display January 20-March 26.

Dowell's colorful paintings look at architecture from a worm's eye view. She calls the paintings, many of which focus on detailed areas such as windows or fire escapes, "cityscapes" and says that she "strives to find beauty in often overlooked structures and spaces."

A BFA graduate of UNC Charlotte, Creative Loafing magazine named her "Best Local Artist" for 2008. Her work has been shown in numerous exhibitions in North Carolina, New York, California, South Carolina and Florida.

For information about Sharon Dowell, visit www.sharondowell.com.