Throughout Chattanooga is a community of creatives who add vibrancy and dimension to the city. Painters, makers, and artisans share their passions through the creation of art that is visually appealing, thought-provoking, and innately engaging. Through their work, these artists tell often deeply personal stories to which consumers can relate.
The Chattanooga arts community is enhanced by a number of workspaces where artists can create and galleries where their work can be showcased. Clear Story Arts, for example, provides a collaborative space for a number of artists' studios and a gallery under one roof. Here, creatives of all backgrounds and specialties, like Ali Kay of Ali Kay Studio, can grow and thrive.
Additionally, some of the esteemed galleries in the area include: River Gallery, In-Town Gallery, Area 61 Gallery, Hart Gallery, Gallery 1401, and Shuptrine's Gallery. Shuptrine's Gallery serves as a source for private collectors and works extensively with museum curators and art consultants. Alan Shuptrine is known for his detailed and fine works on paper and canvas, historically accurate fine one-of-a-kind fine framing, gold leaf restorations, and preservation, restoration, and conservation.
In this year's "Love Local" issue, we have the privilege of highlighting three artists within this community of creatives who call the Scenic City home: Alan Shuptrine, Ali Kay & Carylon Cooper.
Alan Shuptrine
Watercolorist & Craftsman
A nationally acclaimed watercolorist and craftsman, Alan Shuptrine has paintings in permanent collections of American museums and corporate and private collections nationwide. Shuptrine has participated in several museum exhibitions, including In the Tradition of Wyeth: Contemporary Watercolor Masters at The Vero Beach Museum of Art, and his solo 2-year, 4-museum traveling exhibition, Appalachian Watercolors of the Serpentine Chain. This exhibit showcased his paintings featuring the land, culture, and people of the Appalachian Trail. In 2019, Alan collaborated on his book, "I Come From A Place", which received the Gold Medal Independent Publisher’s Award and is available at fine galleries and retailers.
www.shuptrinesgallery.com
Ali Kay
Painter & Instructor
Ali Kay has been a creator since childhood. Knowing she would follow her passion for art, she started her entrepreneurial journey as a teenager. She is currently known for her loose and bold approach to both color and brushwork. She carries this out in her acrylic paintings that include a vast array of subject matter. Ali teaches her methods to students all over the world through her online painting school, Fresh Paint. This is where she offers new virtual art lessons every week. She believes that everyone has the ability to paint, and it should be fun.
www.alikaystudio.com
Carylon Cooper
Master Artist
Blinking before dawn I mutter, "Thank you, Jesus" and as my feet hit the floor I remember Jedidiah Jenkins writing "Mornings are the time outside of time." Excitedly, with God's word, two dogs, Bach softly playing, I fuel my spirit and I enter the studio. I've journaled on paper from a young age. Now, I do my journaling on canvas. The paintings are my storyboards. The images are all symbolic: barns equal abundance; creatures equal purity; figurative equal moments; boats equal surrender. Minimalistic and straight-forward these images invite the viewer to connect and enter in with their life, their stories, and our stories merge. Life is bigger together!
www.carylon.art
