Whimsical Art for Dark Days: Featuring Rita Crooks and Michael McWillie

We thought it was time to show artwork that makes us smile and chuckle. ENJOY!

Rita Crooks has Signature membership in the National Watercolor Society, the San Diego Watercolor Society and Watercolor, USA Honor Society. She has exhibited in the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition as well as National Watercolor Oklahomas Annual Exhibit. Ms. Crooks has received a merit award in the International Society of Experimental Artists exhibition and was a finalist in 2002 in The Artists Magazines competition in the Experimental category.

Ms. Crookss paintings are in collections of the Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO, the Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee, WI., the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Milwaukee, WI., the Village of Northbrook, ILL., the Milwaukee Public Art Commission, Wausau-Mosinee Papers Corporation, Wausau Insurance Co., St. Clare Hospital, Baraboo, WI and many other corporations, hospitals and homes in the Midwest.

In Michael McWillie’s paintings and prints, a whimsical spirit is joined with a sharp visual style. Calling himself the founder of the “Canine Neo-Surrealist Movement,” McWillie portrays some famous dogs in a few works, such as Barney and Miss Beasley, two Scottish Terriers owned by former President George W. Bush, who once hung a few of the artist’s pictures in the White House. Elephants and armadillos also appear in McWillie's works, depicted with a charming playfulness. The strong sense of rhythm and movement in each piece reflects his ability to make the viewer feel the movements of his animals and the presence of musical notes and instruments. “My paintings and prints are intended to take the viewer to a place of innocence, wonder and awe,” he says, “while exploring the mysteries of composition, texture and color."

Exhibition Runs August 1-28
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Gallery Open most days, call for hours