MEDIA CONTACT:

Vanessa Ormsby, RCA Communications Manager

(361) 320-2064 / vanessa@rockportartcenter.com

 SUMMER EXHIBITIONS SHINE AT ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS

RCA Master Artists take center stage

ROCKPORT, Texas (May 31, 2024) — The galleries of Rockport Center for the Arts will be filled this summer with the work of its master artists, both past and present.  

Now underway is Rockport Legends, May 31–July 21, in the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery, featuring works from many of the Rockport Art Festival Master Artist honorees through the years including award-winning painter Anita Diebel and acclaimed wildlife sculptor Kent Ullberg. Always a guest favorite, the exhibition is a visual representation of what inspires artists to move to Rockport and become part of the most vibrant art community on the Texas Gulf Coast.  A public reception with some of the participating artists will be held June 8 from 5–7 p.m. The reception also will coincide with the monthly Austin Street Art Walk a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring RCA and other galleries located in downtown Rockport.

Every year since 1993, a diverse committee of artists and art patrons gathers to select one master artist for the annual Art Fest, the first of whom was Harold Phenix whose collection of watercolors depicting Texas lighthouses is permanently displayed at the Texas Maritime Museum in Rockport.

 “We are fortunate to have so many talented artists, past and present, who have contributed so much to advance the arts, here in the Coastal Bend and beyond,” said Catey Arnold, The Barrow Foundation Curator of Exhibitions for RCA. “Our tradition of showcasing the work of our Art Festival Master Artists is something guests look forward to each summer.”  

Rockport Coast Lines, presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, is the solo exhibition of this year’s Rockport Art Festival Master Artist, Patsy Lindamood, featuring her realistic watercolor pencil, graphite and soft pastel works. Lindamood’s work will be on view and available for collection June 21–August 4, with a public artist reception held Saturday, June 22, from 5–7 p.m., which is free and open to the public. The reception includes the announcement of a limited-edition fine art print and the unveiling of an original piece to be auctioned off at the Art Fest Gala July 5.  

The award-winning Lindamood has achieved all the major American realist signature designations for her work, including the coveted Allied Artists of America, American Artists Professional League, Artists for Conservation, Society of Animal Artists, Salmagundi Club, and the International Guild of Realism.

Her work also continues to be showcased and honored via dozens of prestigious exhibitions and competitions, domestic and international, through these same organizations and more, including the internationally curated Birds in Art, organized annually since 1976 by the world-renown Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, and the Artists Network an Artists Magazine Strokes of Genius competition, where she was a finalist the last three years. Two of her Rockport Coast Lines drawings have also received specific recognition: “Mom's Bait Shop” (Juror's Award) and “Pelicans on the Pier” (Bronze Award) in the 2024 Artist Invitation 9 International Juried Visual Art Exhibition at Camelback Gallery of Scottsdale, Arizona.

For more information on Rockport Center for the Arts, visit rockportartcenter.com follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.

About Rockport Center for the Arts and The Rockport Conference Center (The ROCC)

The new 1.2-acre Rockport Center for the Arts is located a block away from Aransas Bay in the heart of the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Designed by the award-winning team at Richter Architects, the state-of-the-art campus features a two-story, 14,000-square-foot, visual arts and education building with four galleries and five classrooms (204 S. Austin St.); a one-story, 8,000-square-foot conference and event center, known as The ROCC, including a 4,400-square-foot ballroom and culinary arts kitchen (106 S. Austin St.); with a 16,000-square-foot Sculpture Garden serving as a visually inspiring transition space between the two buildings. Hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For information on event space, or to book an event, call (361) 729-5519. For general information and to become a member, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.

About the Rockport Art Festival Master Artist Tradition

The first Rockport Art Festival was hosted in 1969 and has grown to become one of the most respected, and longest-running juried art festivals in the United States. Every year since 1993, a diverse committee of artists and art patrons gathers to select one master artist for the annual event, the first of whom was master artist Harold Phenix. This select group of chosen artists are known for their achievements in the Arts, for their engagement and contributions to the Rockport Center for the Arts, and for their ability to capture the coastal aesthetic that is uniquely Rockport and that is recognized across the State of Texas.

About Rockport Art Festival Master Artists, 1993–present

1993 Harold Phenix †; 1994 Steve Russell (Founding member of the Rockport Art Association, Inc.); 1995 Al Barnes †; 1996 Herb Booth †; 1997 Jesus Moroles †; 1998 Evelyn Atkinson; 1999 Ricardo Rivera †; 2000 Kay Barnebey; 2001 Jim Offeman; 2002 Flint Reed; 2003 Anita Diebel; 2004 Thom Evans †; 2005 Carol Koutnik; 2006 Hal McCaskill; 2007 Nanci Barnes; 2008 Teresa Justice; 2009 Lisa Baer Frederick; 2010 Shirley Hughes Blackman; 2011 Betty Shamel; 2012 Bruce Bitter; 2013 Bonnie Lou Prouty; 2014 Pamela Fulcher; 2015 Chance Yarbrough; 2016 Joey Blazek; 2017 Barb Robinson; 2018 Debbie Stevens; 2019 Angalee DeForest; 2020 V… Vaughan; 2021 Robin Hazard; 2022 Jeffrey Neel McDaniel; 2023 Kent Ullberg; and 2024 Patsy Lindamood 

Legend: † Deceased

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