Kudzu Artists Find Inspiration in the Masters

Kudzu Art Zone opened its latest exhibit, "Inspired by the Masters," last week. Local artists borrowed a page from some of the most famous artists to ever live--adding their own unique flair. 

"I do think that (my favorite thing about this opening reception) is probably the variety of the artwork. The color, the style the different masters that they chose to embellish their own work," said Kudzu member Gwen McDonald.

Susan Faircloth, who also makes a crowd-pleasing olive and pepper dip opening reception-goers learned, came dressed as the painting that inspired her piece, "The Mona Lisa." Some people didn't recognize her at first because she normally sports reddish-blonde hair. Her other entry in the exhibit, "Matisse Piece," won an honorable mention. It's a collage but you'll be shocked when you finally realize it. 

First-place winner David Raderstorf made his piece, "Nude Abstraction," with ink, layers and layers of ink. "I paint with all kinds of layering. Sometimes you use 17 to 25 layers," he explained.

He beamed with happiness as he accepted his first-place ribbon for the very first time from Kudzu. The cash prize probably didn't hurt either. Raderstorf said he paints for a few hours everyday and will soon be changing careers to be an artist full-time.

Cathy Henry, who won an honorable mention for her piece titled, "Illumined," stepped into a new role for this show. She took over the hanging duties, including working with the judge.

"It was interesting, you know, he spent a good long time looking at the artwork but he didn't talk much about it while he was actually making the selections. We finally did ask him afterwards." she said.

"Illumined," was inspired by the Dutch masters (think: Rembrandt). It uses the same dramatic portrait style with lighting on the face and darkness in the background.

You can check out "Inspired by the Masters" every Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. during gallery hours. The exhibit will run until June 26.