Landscapes that "Touch the Soul"

REDLANDS >> With his mind’s eye focused on our country’s natural beauty, Sunland, California-based artist Jeff Skelly paints gentle landscapes with muted strokes to create unique perspectives on nature. Skelly, whose work has been displayed on three continents, will be featured , along with the work of four other artists during the annual “Evening with the Artists” event hosted by the Redlands Community Hospital Foundation on Friday, April 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Skelly has been a professional painter for more than 20 years. His mediums are oil and pastel on canvas, board, and linen. Skelly also conducts plein air painting workshops and teaches classical painting on an individual basis. Skelly earned a Bachelor of Arts from California State University, Northridge in 1989 and continued his studies at the California Art Institute and University of California, Los Angeles. He has held exhibitions at Palm Springs Art Museum, The National Arts Club in New York, and many other juried shows. He recently won first place at the Yosemite Renaissance XXVIII juried competition at the Yosemite Museum in Yosemite National Park. “As a child, some of my most memorable experiences were on summer camping trips to the Sierras,” says Skelly. “The vast landscapes, towering peaks and stunning beauty left lasting impressions. Over time I learned how to merge that love of nature with my desire to create. With the use of bold brushwork and unique color harmonies, my paintings are not only faithful representations of places I’ve been but spiritual impressions as well”. Skelly will join artists Leslee Adams, Michael Bedoya, Karen Werner, and Trudy Wood at the annual “Evening with the Artists” event. Skelly’s artwork will be available for purchase at the Stan and Ellen Weisser Education Pavilion from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 22. Proceeds will benefit the Redlands Community Hospital Foundation’s art fund. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served during the evening’s elegant event. Tickets are $25. The Foundation’s art program began in 1978. Today, the hospital exhibits a collection of more than 800 works of original art and historic photographs in the Redlands Community Hospital Art collection.