Verle Mickish - honoring lifetime work in the arts.

One of my personal favorites - done recently when the artist was forced to "reinvent himself"

This past Sunday I attended an artist's reception for Verle Mickish at the Sautee-Nacoochee Center Galleries.  Verle is a featured artist for the first show of 2015. I'd seen the exhibit the day before as it was my regular volunteer day - and the best part of being there the day before was meeting Verle and his charming wife of 69 years, Ginny.  They came by to see how the show had been hung and to take a few photographs.  I was able to spend a hour chatting about life, art, and being an aging artist who is losing his sight.  Sadly Verle has lost most of his vision to macular degeneration.  But as you will see, he's still painting!  And his humor and zest for life remain intact.


The first ones are earlier works (I think) and I'll follow up with what he's been doing recently.

An early oil.

A delicate winter landscape

Selected works

This was done about 10 years ago.

one of his magazine covers

Another illustration for a wildlife publication

A fabulous abstract

Verle Mickish with a recent painting.

The show flyer

Verle and Ginny

Another recent painting - completed after Verle lost most of his vision.

Ginny and Verle are obviously devoted to one another.  They are vibrant and funny and a joy to hand out with.  Ginny and I are now FB friends so I'll sharing this post to her and all of their friends. 

I'd never heard of Verle Mickish - and it's likely you haven't either, but there are literally thousand and thousands of incredible artists out there who just keep making great art so whenever there's an opportunity to see works from 50+ years as a painter, illustrator and educator, I don't think one should pass! Over 90 works are exhibited.

Back to the 50's, Images and Verse, and a tiny avian.

This picture is bigger than the painting!  It's a 4 x 4  - Singing of Spring (I hope).

On to thrift shop adventuring!!

I am rarely able to pass up the chance to rummage about in the books at a thrift shop or yard sale.  There's just something magical to me about finding a best loved author or a new discovery amongst the tons of Reader's Digests and Harlequin Romance rubble.


Last week I happened to notice the word Poetry on the spine of a shabby book.  Since poetry books of any kind are rare hereabouts, I eagerly pulled it out for a look.  It was a 1954 Public School Library book called the first book of poetry published by Franklin Watts, Inc., with pictures (charming line drawings) by Kathleen Elgin and poems "selected by" Isabel J. Peterson.

I wasn't yet in school in 1954, but I found a few of my favorite childhood poems included along with many unfamiliar poems and authors.  And I found that the illustrator, Kathleen Elgin, was a gifted, versatile and prolific artist working throughout the 1950's and 1960's.


 Here are a few of her drawings:

One of my favorite childhood poems - with a perfect illustration,