‘Spirit in the Sky’ exhibit, featuring work of Shalon Wilson on display at Breckenridge Fine Arts Center
By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
For over five years, Shalon Taylor Wilson was responsible for filling the Breckenridge Fine Arts Center with artwork. At a reception Saturday evening, Nov. 30, the BFAC debuted its first major display of Wilson’s work in a posthumous exhibit titled “Spirit in the Sky: Works by Shalon.”
Wilson, who died in February of this year, painted at her home studio and sometimes displayed one or two of her paintings in her office at the BFAC, where she was the director from June 2018 until her death. Her art work was represented by the Beaudry Gallery in Dallas, and she often sold or gave away her paintings locally, as well.
This painting by Shalon Wilson is titled “Fully Clothed” and is accompanied by the Bible verse Proverbs 31:25 — She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Wilson’s mother, Ruth Taylor, said it is one of her favorites.
In organizing the “Spirit in the Sky” exhibit, local artists Doylene Land and Leslie Blackerby, along with BFAC Director Rhonda Crawford, gathered up about 50 of Wilson’s paintings from her mother, Ruth Taylor, and others in the community. A few of the paintings in the exhibit are for sale.
The artwork in the exhibit ranges from portraits — Willie Nelson and Tom Landry — to geometric abstracts to still lifes. Some are bright and colorful; others are dark and dramatic. A few are monochromatic or almost. There are several paintings of horses, bison/buffalo and other animals.
Blackerby and Land said Wilson preferred to paint with acrylics but sometimes used pastels and watercolors. Many of the paintings are large, such as the 6-by-6-foot painting of a coyote and the 6-by-9-foot painting of a longhorn.
“She liked big,” Blackerby said.
“So much that she had to use her whole body to paint,” Land said. “She would tack the canvas up on the wall and just paint.”
Wilson’s work falls in the category of abstract expressionism, Land said. She often wrote about her artwork and the inspiration behind it on her Facebook page The Tainted Painter.
On the Beaudry Gallery website, Wilson described her artistic style as “very much impressionist. If I’m going to do the work, I want to have fun with it.”
Blackerby and Land said that each painting includes a Bible verse on the back, and some are included on The Tainted Painter Facebook page. “It’s telling about what was going on in her life,” Blackerby said.
The exhibit will be on display at the BFAC through Dec. 28. Also on display through the end of the year is an exhibit of landscape photos by Abilene-based photographer Bill Wright.
The BFAC, located at 207 N. Breckenridge Ave., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
For more information, call the BFAC at 254-559-6602, visit the website www.breckenridgefineart.org or send an email to info@breckenridgefineart.org.
The BFAC also has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/breckenridgefinearts207.
A couple of visitors to the Breckenridge Fine Arts Center take a closer look at some of Shalon Wilson’s paintings during the opening reception on Saturday, Nov. 30. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
On her artist Facebook page, Shalon Wilson wrote about this painting, “Sometimes you just need 3’x4′ cup of coffee in your break room.”
Cutline, top photo: The artwork included in the “Spirit in the Sky” exhibit features Shalon Wilson’s artwork, which ranges from portraits to still lifes to abstract paintings. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
