Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Kitty Hawk artist Stella Nettles took top honors in the 27^th Annual Artist Self-Portrait Exhibition now on display at Glenn Eure’s Ghost Fleet Gallery in Nags Head. Receiving first place was her oil pastel titled I AM . . . FREE TO BE ME.

Exhibition judges Steve and Carol Kirton of Pennsylvania said of Nettles’ work: “We were impressed by the range of emotions conveyed and the artist’s approach to the 2022 Self-Portrait theme.” The theme was I AM ___________ with an invitation to artists to complete the blank with their creations.

The judges also selected two North Carolina artists for Excellence Awards. The first went to Shannon Anderson of Edenton for an innovative wood sculpture titled I AM, BUT YOUR TEARS . . . .  The second was awarded to Dawn Angela Dickson Van Ness of Manteo for a reflective depiction of the artist in an acrylic on canvas which she titled I AM SHE.

In addition, five Honorable Mention ribbons were presented: one for a striking black and white photograph I AM GUARDED by Edenton artist Bobbie Campbell; another to Carleigh Flynn of Greenville for a powerful lithograph I AM WHAT OTHERS DO UNTO ME; the third to Manteo artist Jasmin Miller for a beautifully executed oil SELF-PORTRAIT; the fourth to another Greenville artist MJ Orlando for an expressive screenprint titled BULLY BOY. And another Honorable Mention ribbon was awarded Kitty Hawk artist Shirley Ruff, who invited the viewer into the artist’s studio with her detailed and colorful oil on canvas I AM A GARAGE ARTIST WITH A STUDIO DOG (a must see in the show).

Work of 55 visual artists from North Carolina as well as California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin and Bainbridge Island, Washington are featured in the show, which will be on display through May 5 during gallery hours Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In 2022, literary artists were also invited to participate in the self-portrait event. Thirteen depicted themselves in the written word. The top literary honor went to Kathy Cawthon of Manteo for a poem I AM THE CRONE. An Honorable Mention was awarded Suzanne Scott Constantine of Point Harbor for a prose piece STILL LEARNING. The literary judge was Jane Lindley, a writer and photographer who recently relocated to the Outer Banks. Literary work is available for reading when visiting the gallery. 

For further information, call 252-441-6584.

READ ABOUT MORE NEWS HERE.