Welcome to Beattyville » Artists
Spotlight on John Paul Duddy, Sculpter, Painter, Woodworker, Home Designer
If you ask John Paul why he left New Jersey in 2008, he’ll tell you he was in the right state of mind, but in the wrong state. So he left his job, sold his home, packed his dog in the RV and headed West. He passed through Kentucky on his way to settling somewhere in Wyoming, Montana, or one of the Dakotas. After looking around to find a place to put down roots, he realized he couldn’t get thoughts of the laid back attitude and friendly people of th Bluegrass State out of his mind, so he headed back. He contacted a realtor and began looking for the home of his dreams. What he found was a rough hewn cabin in foreclosure. The rustic appearance and huge amount of work required to bring it back to life were an answer to a prayer. He was home.
John Paul has turned his home into a living piece of art. From the leather and wood organizer near the phone to the full size phone booth in his living room, he has paid meticulous attention to every deatail. He calls his decorating style “Down Dating” . He doesn’t update houses, he down dates them. Every nook and cranny, inside and out holds a personal touch that begs to be analyzed. And if he invites you out–and he will–he’s not just being nice. He really loves sharing and showing his home. It’s well worth the trip.
He has exploited all his disciplines as a sculpter in steel, carver, and painter to make his home a true showplace. And if you are looking for a designer to bring to life a rustic or western motif inside or out, he’s got the eye. His art is diverse, but you can tell he has a love for horses, because they are a common theme. All of his design elements are pieces of art that he has for sale. Give him a call and be surprised.
Cheryle Walton
Redbud Time
Cheryle Walton is the Artist of the week this week. A Florida transplant-a long time ago- she is a regionally aclaimed artist with showings at the Kentucky Professors Exhibit, Morehead Art Guild, Imaginarium Gallery, Appalachian Artisan Center, and LEEAD art show. She is also a founding member of the Beattyville Arts Guild.
A wife and mother mother of two college age sons, she taught art for 12 years at the Oneida Baptist Institute. An artist with training from Eastern Kentucky University in painting, print making, ceramics, and drawing, she has worked in mixed media for the last three decades and has developed an interest in using her diverse skills to create art from trash. Part of a growing trend of artists who use materials at hand to inspire and challenge the audience while cleaning up the environment, she has expanded her own artistic endeavers to include teaching classes in Recyclable Art.
Working for a local newspater, the Beattyville Enterprise, she was inspired to start a new series of paintings as she was cleaning up the newspaper office after a fire destroyed it in August 2009. She calls the series “Coal Dust”.
The technique is a mixed media project which uses acrylic and watercolor. It calls for painting the picture in acrylic in flat colors which are outlined in black. The entire painting is then covered in black watercolor and the colors are brought back out of the black with brushes and rags. The beautiful images coming out of the “coal dust” speaks of where and how people of the coal fields of Appalachia live.
She has completed three paintings in the series; “Yellow House”, “Redbud Time”, and “Owsley Outback”. Two of the paintings can be seen at the PEP Gallery in Beattyville, but ”Yellow House” has been juried into and will be on exhibit in the Mountain Vision 2010 art exhibition which will be open from April 05-June 25 at the Mary B Martin School of the Arts, Reece Museum on the East Tennessee State University Campus in Johnson City Tennessee.
Featured Artist of The Week
Crystal Cook is a local artist
Crystal Cook is a local artist who started on the path to being an artist in High School thanks to the uncompromising support of Bruce Combs her art teacher. A 1996 graduate of Lee County High School, she found herself entrapped in a downward spiraling addiction to drugs. By seeking help to deal with her dependancy, she began the long journey back to finding herself. She remembered decorating her Granmother’s mirror and her father’s advice to “stay busy” and began practicing her art. An accomplished calligropher and cross stitcher, she added jewelery making to her repertoire and found a niche to share the best elements of herself and grow as an artist.
Crystal designs custom jewelery and offers jewelery classes and parties. Using semi-precious stones like Amethyst, Turquoise, Hematite, Shells, Unakite, Sodalite, Cat’s Eye Tiger’s Eye and others, she can create a personal jewelry statement for you or guide you to create your own. From Girl Scout meetings to a girl’s night out, she can set up a class or party to meet your needs. She can be contacted at 606-560-8432.
Elmer Joseph Gipson
Joseph Gipson Feature Artist
Elmer Joseph Gipson is a retired cosmetologist who has found his way back to Lee County after an exciting life that included a stint in the Navy aboard USS FORRESTAL (CVA-59), and working or owning businesses in Nevada, Florida, Minnesota, Texas, and various cities around Kentucky.
He even took some time off to be a Beach Bum in St. Croix, The Virgin Islands. A part time artist his entire life, he returned to the mountains of his boyhood in 2006 to pursue his passion to paint in acrylic full time.
He started painting in oil but found the long wait for oils to dry, allergies, and the toxic nature of the medium constraining. He shifted his focus to “more green” acrylic.
To prevent interruptions, he has no cable, telephone or internet in his home. He just paints, reads and arranges flowers.
Filed under: Artists
About Us
Nestled in a valley where the North Fork and South Fork rivers come together to create the head waters of the Kentucky river, rests a true mountain community, Beattyville. With a population of 1,178, It is the center piece of a mountainous, timber covered county with dramatic cliffs, abundant wild life and miles of country roads and waterways. Beattyville (named for a local land owner Sam Beatty in 1843) along with communities named Heidelberg, Tallega, Fillmore, Fincastle and Cressmont, among others, boasts a rich and diverse history of trials and victories which began well before the formation of Lee as the 115th county.
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