An artist with ties to the area has won a juried art contest in Chase City, VA, held in conjunction with Arbor Day.
Frank Timberlake’s “Persimmon Tree Branch” took top honors in the adult division of the art contest, held at MacCallum More Museum & Gardens to spotlight community support for trees and the town’s arbor canopy.
The subject of the winning submission is located just a few miles from the museum, Timberlake said Monday. “Persimmon Tree Branch is a small stream with looming tall trees,” he said in a written statement to WIZS News. The winning artwork features vibrant orange and yellow foliage covering the branches of a tree alongside a narrow creek, with fallen leaves dotting its surface.
The contest’s theme was “Arbor Day is Every Day in Chase City.” Artists submitted works in various media, from paintings to sculpture, all of which exemplified the importance and beauty of trees.
Timberlake is originally from Stovall and Grassy Creek in northern Granville County and operates Shutter Art Gallery in Zebulon. Visit www.shutterartgallery.com to learn more.
Although the final product looks like a painting it’s actually a photograph, thanks to a process he created called PhoArt. Timberlake begins with a high-resolution photograph, which is digitally manipulated into colorful prints using proprietary software. Each finished print is put on museum-quality canvas and comes on a gallery-wrapped frame.
Timberlake explained that, after struggling with not being able to paint pinpoint realism, he spent several years developing the special process. “Once I did, I asked myself, ‘What am I going to do with this?’” A few months later, the MacCallum More Museum and Gardens offered him a two-month, one-man art exhibit. It opened in January 2017 and Timberlake said he created nine special prints just for that exhibit. “There’s no question that ‘Persimmon Tree Branch’ is the crown jewel of my Mecklenburg art prints,” he said. “To return here and to have this work so honored is extremely satisfying.”
There are more than 100 works from a variety of locations and settings viewable on the website, including the contest winner. Timberlake said the limited-edition prints – signed and numbered – can be made in a variety of sizes, from small 8 x 11 canvases to 40-inch x 60-inch canvases.