Quilt City USA® Murals Maquette Exhibit

The Paducah Quilt Murals Inc board is proud to announce that the 14 local artists who participated in an audition process for the upcoming Quilt City USA® Murals project have completed and submitted their Maquettes—scaled model paintings that show how the finished work will fit in the proposed floodwall site. The public is invited to meet the artists and vote for their Viewers Choice at an artists reception on Wednesday, March 29, from 6-7:30 pm at Pinecone Art Gallery, located at 421 North 7th Street in Paducah’s LowerTown Arts District. Each of the 14 artists painted a specified section of Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry's 1989 award winning quilt "Corona II: Solar Eclipse" on a canvas. Artists were required to color match the image of the quilt to the colors used on the canvas, and to create a painting that fooled the eye into seeing a fabric quilt. “Painting a section of a quilt in the Maquette was a good test for the painters to create a realistic section of a quilt, demonstrate their ability to mix the paints for accurate coloring, and to show their ability to use color values in the areas of the stitched lines,” said juror Bonnie Browning. “Some of the painters were more successful in presenting a realistic quilt section than others. Each of the Maquettes can stand alone as pieces of art.” Though all 14 paintings are creatively executed, the top six artists who excelled in meeting the rigid requirements are Kijsa Housman, Cyn Hubble, Tanya Gadbaw-Neitzke, Stefanie E Graves, Deb Lyons, and Kelly Sparks Salchli. The accepted group will be the painters of the first quilts on the floodwall. All 14 paintings will be available for purchase as part of the project’s first fundraising event. In addition to being on display during the reception, the public is invited to view the exhibit and cast their vote for Viewer’s Choice from noon-4 pm, every Friday & Saturday through May 31, with special AQS QuiltWeek® hours: 10 am-5 pm, Monday-Saturday, April 24-29.