Watercolor Exhibit Opens at Arts Center Gallery

The Cedar Key Arts Center is proud to offer a month long exhibit of works by watercolorist Virginia Chen. Ms. Chen's work is breathtaking, alive with color and overflowing with detail. Whether the work is one of her exquisite florals, or a scenic glimpse of Cedar Key, they all have one thing in common, stunning realism.

The works utilize a range of colors from the crayola bright feathers of macaws, to the almost monochromatic softness of a weathered cracker cottage. There is a sense of joy, and an appreciation for the intricacies of nature, in her outdoor scenes. Like the way she captures the texture and grandeur of stately cypress trees in a swamp. Or the humor expressed in the portrait of a child playing in a bucket of water. The colors may initially be what draws your eye, but it is her attention to detail that captures and holds it.

"Two Macaws"

Ms Chen said that the urge to paint was always in her, that it has been a life long passion. Though she has attended a number of workshops, she is basically self-taught, honing her skill through years of hard work and practice. Her home is in Gainesville, but she has been visiting the Cedar Key area since 1987.

Her work will be on display in the upstairs gallery (over the Keyhole Shop on 2nd Street) through the month of January.

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