OUR ARTISTS
RENEE CRAWFORD
Raleigh, NC
Renee Crawford was born and raised in central North Carolina and currently lives in Raleigh. Ms. Crawford received her undergraduate degree from Temple University, where she studied painting, a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon in 1986 and her Law Degree from Duke University in 1996. In 2015, she began her life-long dream of working as a full-time professional artist. Ms. Crawford paints in oil, focusing on landscapes, portraits and commissioned work. She has studied with international Master Impressionist Jerry Fresia as well as nationally-known artists Michelle Dunaway, Howard Friedland, Dan Gerhartz, Albert Handell, John Poon, Dan Beck and Dawn Whitelaw. Her major influences are Joaquin Sorolla, David Leffel, Richard Schmid and Charles Movalli. Ms. Crawford is a juried member of Oil Painters of America, as well as a member of the American Impressionists Society and the Portrait Society of America. Her work is in private collections throughout North Carolina.
“Growing up in Winston-Salem, I had the wonderful luck of being four hours from the coast and three hours from the mountains of our beautiful state. We skied at Beech and Sugar Mountains in the winter, swam the waves at Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach in the summer, hiked the forests of the Piedmont in the fall and picnicked in the rolling foothills in the spring. I grew up with a deep love of the varied and breath-taking landscape of our state. Each painting is my effort to capture and share just a moment’s reminiscence of the wondrous colors, the exquisite design and the spectacular light I see every day living in this gorgeous place we call home - North Carolina.”
ANNIE KINNEY
Raleigh, NC
Annie Kinney was born in London, England and raised in Ireland. Growing up along the western seacoast of Ireland, the beauty of Annie's surroundings was impressed upon her from a young age. Annie moved to the United States in the early 90s and settled in Raleigh, North Carolina. From painting on occasion, Annie made the transition to painting seriously in 2018. She is primarily self-taught, and continues to explore the creative process by taking workshops and connecting with other artists. Annie has studied with internationally acclaimed artists Howard Friedland, Timothy Horn, and Bill Davidson. Annie's early paintings were strongly influenced by British artist Andrew Macara after discovering his work in a contemporary gallery in the UK in the late 90s. It's that blend of Impressionism and abstraction that pushes Annie to explore new ideas.
As a contemporary artist with an impressionistic style, Annie's intent is to create art that is fresh and vibrant. Her zest to paint is fed by the places she knows and loves. These are places she often returns to again and again. Annie's strong connection to the environments that she paints influences her compositions. In simplifying the composition and not being overly explicit, her intent is to capture the effects of light, movement, mood and space in the landscape using value relationships and color.
Annie's goal for each painting is to create a visual dialogue of opposing elements and to create a narrative within the two-dimensional space. Annie's landscape paintings are created using direct observation in plein air, photos and videos. Her portfolio is reflective of her love for the coast of North Carolina and her childhood home of Western Ireland. Annie's growth as a painter will come from experimenting with colors and concepts that go beyond ordinary paths.
LIZ MCBAIN
Southern Shores, NC
Liz McBain was raised in Raleigh, NC. With a lifelong passion for art, she began painting and drawing at a very young age. After studying at Savannah College of Art & Design and North Carolina State University, she settled down with her husband, Jamie, and continues to raise their three children. She creates in a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, and her handmade jewelry line, Riley James. Liz is the founder of The Duck Gallery, and also owns Tar Heel Trading Company, an American handcraft gallery, with her husband, Jamie. She resides in Southern Shores, NC in the Outer Banks.
JACKIE TURY
Kitty Hawk, NC
Jackie Tury is an award winning artist living in Kitty Hawk. Where sky meets sea is her favorite place to be.
She is endlessly amazed and inspired by the natural beauty of the Outer Banks and is grateful to live in a place that speaks to her soul.
Jackie began painting during what she calls her “artful awakening” or “midlife metamorphosis” and has been painting ever since. She uses an intuitive painting process allowing each work of art to unfold layer by layer from the inside out with intuition as her guide. She begins by painting a positive affirmation across the blank canvas. She then focuses on the freedom and joy of the creative process—the colors, energy, emotion and movement of the piece as opposed to a predetermined image or outcome. Her vibrant paintings ebb and flow between colorful abstracts and expressive seascapes. Each of Jackie’s paintings is full of color, joy and positive energy and she hopes that’s what they bring to you!
Reddawn
Kitty Hawk, NC
NOAH SNYDER
Kitty Hawk, NC
Noah grew up on the idyllic Outer Banks of NC, a third-generation artist surrounded by sand and sea. His father, the iconic local artist Rob Snyder, is responsible for many of the sea life murals we enjoy here in the OBX.
Noah's style and frame of reference are truly unique. As the Outer Banks' first professional surfer, Noah is widely known for his athletic endeavors. His Surfing career has taken him all over the world into the wilds of nearly every continent. This beautiful connection can be felt in each and every piece of his artwork.
WILLOW REA
Manteo, NC
Born and raised on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the ocean has always been the captain of Willow’s heart. From an early age, she became fascinated with the shifting facets of the sea, and its ability to maintain order within chaos. As a water-woman, Willow loves to showcase coastal culture through paint and mixed media. Often, the temporality portrayed within the shifting tides of the ocean is reflected within her work. When Willow sits down to create, her goal is to achieve the energy of place and time while providing a pathway to new perspectives of day-to-day life. Although not all of her pieces incorporate an ocean or waves, Willow strives to provide the same sense if renewal through colors and energy that salt water provides for her.
TAYLOR WILLIAMS
Southern Shores, NC
Taylor Williams, an Outer Banks-based artist, discovered her passion for oil painting in 2017, self-taught and inspired by the landscapes of her upbringing. Her paintings capture the essence of her coastal home, focusing on serene moments that reflect the ever-changing sky and ocean. While her work often exudes tranquility and simplicity, Taylor isn't afraid to delve into the stormy and turbulent aspects of nature.
In 2019, she had her first solo show at the Dare County Arts Council in Manteo, North Carolina. She continued to reach her goals in 2020 when she joined twenty other artists in displaying at Robert Lange Studios' "2020 TWENTY" show in Charleston, South Carolina. In January of 2022, her piece "Prevail" won Best in Show at the Dare County Arts Council's annual Frank Stick Show in Manteo, North Carolina. In August of 2022, Taylor exhibited another piece, “Closing Act,” at Robert Lange Studios' exhibit titled “Cloudy.”
JILL BLOCK
Kill Devil Hills, NC
American painter Jill Block is an abstract expressionist painter located in her home studio on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The self taught artist creates works that echo mature depth, form, contrast, composition and color. These components together form intriguing compositions. The key to her inspiration is found in music. From classical to modern artists she does not paint without music. Her artworks range from her small acrylic “Le Petit’s” to very large oil abstracts on canvas. With her eclectic style and passion for many different styles of painting you will no doubt find a piece of art that speaks to you.
Amy Snowden
Kill Devil Hills, NC
Amy G. Snowden is a self taught watercolor artist. She began painting professionally in 2011 primarily as a commissioned portrait artist. Since then she has been included in numerous juried exhibitions and won several awards including three international honorable mentions. Other notable accomplishments include a painting in the book “Splash 16: The Best of Watercolor” and her portrait titled “Wisdom” is part of the Muscarelle Museum of Art’s permanent collection.
In 2019, Amy combined her painting skills with her love of jewelry to create a line of one-of-a-kind pieces. Named for her grandmothers, Mary Maveline Originals features miniature original watercolor paintings sealed between glass and resin and finished with sterling silver. Mary Maveline Originals has won several awards and been featured in North Beach Sun Magazine.
Sarah Davenport
Midlothian, VA
Sarah Davenport has been painting professionally since 2021, though her career spans many artistic disciplines. She is a lover of adventure and nature (especially the coast and desert!) and particularly enjoys capturing both the emotion of a place as well as the human experience in her paintings.
Primarily a soft pastel artist, Sarah loves to explore texture and color to evoke feeling in her works. She believes there is a certain magic in the creating process, and often leaves the edges of her paintings 'raw' so the viewer can share in the experience of how the painting 'emerges' from the paper.
Sarah is drawn to coastal landscapes and children discovering the world around them. She loves collaborating with her collectors to create paintings of the people and places that touch their hearts.
Sarah has spent much of her time by the sea; primarily on the Outer Banks, Florida's Gulf Coast, and California's Southern Coast.
She currently resides in Richmond, Virginia with her three young children, who fortunately share her love of the ocean and enjoy adventuring to the sea as often as possible!
Sarah Rozell
Kill Devil Hills, NC
Sarah Rozell creates surreal paintings of human and animal-like forms. She uses many thin transparent muted bright hues of oil paint over layers of acrylic mediums that are the foundation of the unusual anatomies. In this way, Rozell’s work defies usual depictions of humans and animals by combining the two into one. Rozell’s work is slow, meticulously layered complex narratives that are meant to support experimentation and exploration.
Sarah Rozell is an artist and curator living and working in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. She received her BA in Sociology and a minor in Fine Art from the University Of Virginia. Sarah has shown work in group exhibitions in Virginia, New York, Montana and North Carolina. In 2021, Sarah had her first solo show in Brooklyn, Sarah Rozell in Tall Closet curated by Alexander Page. Starting in 2022 Sarah has been represented by Artistellar (London, UK) and Bracket Creek Exhibitions (NY). Sarah is also part of the juried selection at Dare Arts (Manteo, NC).
Todd Hale
Nags Head, NC | Richmond, VA
Todd Hale is a mixed media artist and photographer based in Nags Head NC and Richmond VA. Since 1996 he has lived part of the year on the Outer Banks working as a portrait photographer while finding inspiration in the ocean and developing his art. In the off-season he is part of the vibrant art community in Richmond where he runs a working studio and gallery called Antennae. The gallery is host to solo and group shows and is part of the First Friday Art Walk in the Historic Arts District downtown. In 2003, Hale was among the founding group of artists and galleries that established a presence in downtown Richmond, leading to its eventual designation as a nationally recognized arts district.
In his work, Hale employs a vast array of methods and media including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, and photography. Recurring motifs and themes include forms and patterns which reference natural and mystical phenomenon.
Kathryn Smith
Cary, NC
My name is Kathryn Smith, I was born in England, and currently reside in Cary, NC. My mother was a wonderful artist, and I have had the privilege of taking classes with some extremely talented artists and mentors. I have painted some landscapes but my favorite subject is animals, and you can tell from my picture horses are close to the top of the list. When I am not painting, you will find me at the barn or in the garden.
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