The Pursuit of Art Never Ends
Come explore the paintings that grew from w.e. pugh’s MFA thesis, formally accepted and archived by Georgia Southern University in October. These works draw you into the world of mark, gesture, and layered surface—places where material, motion, and meaning converge on the canvas. His thesis reveals how this exploration informs his distinctive approach to painting, offering insight into the quiet rigor behind the work.
At age 71, after a lifelong career in both art and music, pugh continues to study, question, and push his understanding of art forward—a reminder that creative growth truly has no age limit.
Painting the Poetry of Place
The new paintings by Randy Akers in this year’s Holiday Show trace their origins to two artist residencies—Provence, France in 2024 and Vashon, Washington in 2025.
Each residency offered its own landscape, its own light, and its own sense of place, but what connects the work is Akers’ ongoing interest in “shelter” paintings: old houses and structures that hold stories within their walls. These paintings are shaped by time, weather, memory, and the patina of lives once lived.
Akers transforms these dwellings into contemplative spaces—images where history becomes atmosphere, and where the viewer steps into quiet, resonant worlds shaped by both place and imagination.