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Recognition of Painters Jim Crompton and David McCaig at Carlton Gallery on Saturday

Carlton Gallery continues its 33rd Spring Group Exhibition with special recognition for a lifetime of painting by the late Jim Crompton and David McCaig from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 6. Both were longstanding gallery artists whose new art work and presence is very much missed.

James Emerson Crompton was a romanticist and individualist with a unique approach to oil painting and enjoyed painting a wide range of subjects. Born in New Jersey to professional musicians, Crompton’s art education was obtained from the Art Students League in New York City where he was drafted into the Army.

While serving in the Army in Europe, he studied the art of the great masters in France and Spain. After returning to the United States, Crompton was admitted to the Art Center School in Los Angeles, California, one of the most prestigious and competitive centers for the study of art in the United States.

Crompton lived in Florida for many years where he taught art in many venues, including his own Crompton Art Academy. He lived in the High Country for the last sixteen years of his life and his impressionistic paintings reflected his deep appreciation for the beauty of the area.

The gallery has framed and unframed collections of the art work of Jim Crompton in various subject matter including jazz musicians, scenes of the Southwest, local mountain landscapes, horses and figurative in his distinct impressionistic style with economical price ranges.

The abstract oil paintings of David Warren McCaig project the awareness of the landscape not a literal interpretation of it. To some his trees are birches but they could be any type of tree, as McCaig painted an illusion of trees not their specific identity.

McCaig began drawing at the age of three and painted everything in sight as a young child. He earned an associate degree from Montserrat School of Visual Arts in Beverly, Massachusetts, Santa Rosa Community College and Sonoma State University in Cotati, California.

Daily painting beginning at 8 p.m. and continuing until 2 a.m. was the creative path chosen by McCaig. He worked on more than one canvas at a time and was very involved with shapes and colors. He never preplanned by drawing first and worked wet on wet. Like all artists, McCaig felt his paintings were never fully completed and he should have spent more time by adding a little more color here or there.

The abstract oil painting of McCaig titled “Picnic” is a 42 x 46 canvas and beautifully rendered in muted fall colors while “Fall Color, a 30 x 40 canvas is painted in colorful red, yellow and blue. All available art work of McCaig is offered at a reduced price.

Visit Carlton Gallery on Saturday, June 6, 10 to 5 for the special recognition of the late Jim Crompton and David McCaig whose long careers as fine art painters are to be appreciated and their work to be valued.

Carlton Gallery’s 33 Spring Group Exhibition with the ongoing “The Landscape – Masculine and Feminine” by Kevin Beck and Amy Sullivan can be viewed through July 15. Local artist Beck and Charlotte artist Sullivan’s perspective in painting a landscape on canvas and board is one of epic endeavors.

The gallery is located 10 miles south of Boone and 7 miles north of Linville on N.C. Highway 105 South in the Grandfather Mountain community near the entrance to Seven Devils. For additional information on artists, exhibitions or workshops, call 828-963-4288 or visit www.carltongallery.com.

David McCaig - Poppies - 32x42
David McCaig – Poppies – 32×42
Jim Crompton - Old Homestead 30x40
Jim Crompton – Old Homestead 30×40
Jim Crompton - The Club Downbeat - 24 x 36 (2)
Jim Crompton – The Club Downbeat – 24 x 36 (2)
Crompton -The Holly in Port-001
Crompton -The Holly in Port
David McCaig - Picnic - 46x42
David McCaig – Picnic – 46×42