Brenda Fleming Minton's works featured at Harrisburg District Library
HARRISBURG - The new art exhibit in the conference room at Harrisburg District Library features the work of Brenda Fleming Minton, an experienced artist from Pittsburg.
She is returning to the library after a long absence: she last exhibited there in a one-woman show in 2009. The current exhibit will be up until Sunday, March 29, when there will be a reception open to the public. The paintings may be visited any time the library is open, unless the conference room is in use.
Brenda works in a studio set up inside her rural Williamson County home. She began working with oils and then moved to watercolors. She still paints in those two media, enjoying both equally well. She does not use acrylics. Her subjects have been landscapes and people. She has been inspired by her love of nature and by her interest in people. She often paints from photographs which she has taken herself. She will take a photograph of something that grabs her attention and later turn that picture into a painting. She also paints portraits.
Several of the paintings are quite large. A fair near Baltimore is the subject of one of the larger ones. Some viewers may recognize a scene at Bell Smith Springs. Old houses, pelicans, a woman in the yard of her rural home, a proud Native American woman - all are subjects in these realistic paintings.
In recent years, Brenda has branched out into more abstract works. She says she never knows where these ideas come from. About one-third of the library exhibit consists of abstract works. The viewer may be challenged to read the title of the painting and then try to match it to the painting. These are colorful paintings, with a variety of subjects, from a still life of flowers to a canvas full of people on a pilgrimage.
An active member of the Little Egypt Art Association in Marion, Brenda Fleming Minton has shown her work in most area galleries and contests. She said she did not start painting until she was in her 40s. She has no plans to stop doing what she enjoys so much. The paintings which are for sale have the price shown on the title plaque. They may be picked up at the time