This January, the Eccles Community Art Center, 2580 Jefferson Avenue, Ogden in its main gallery will exhibit paintings by Charles R. Gilmore of Layton. The display of works from the Third Annual Petite Impression Competition will continue in the Carriage House Gallery. A reception for the artists and the public is scheduled on Friday, January 6, 2016 from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibits will remain on display through January 28, 2017

“Charles paints in Utah, because he loves this land. There is a diversity, a color palette a dimension to Utah that can only be replicated in the heart of the artist. He doesn't 

record, he remembers. He shares the endless visual wealth of the mountains, the canyons, and the sky, with the adventurous, and the brave.”

“His paintings are his Utah. From the vantage points he's stood, there is a history that speaks to the heart, and moves the soul. It inspires. It glories the men and women of

the new world. It commands the bravery of passage. It powers the fertility of life on the high desert. It soothes the reckless endangerment of the land. Utah speaks to him like

no other place on Earth.”

" I haven't always been an artist. I've traveled many paths in life. I have a penchant for science and engineering, and while at the University of Utah, in pursuit of my engineering dream. I hit one of life's many left turns. I was lost in a sea of faces an personalities. While I love a party. I needed the intimacy afforded me at a smaller venue. Weber State University not only provided a slower pace, but I discovered painting. I got hooked. And with a technical head, and a spiritual heart. I applied the sum of my creative intelligence to a deeper pursuit. I left Weber, with not only a degree in commercial art, but a hunger to one day be known as a successful artist. It was 1969, there was personal freedom in the air. There was change. And the USA was hungry for art.”

“Charles felt a duty to serve his country and spent two years with the US Army in Europe. During his commitment he discovered the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. For him it was a dream come true. How could anyone overlook the legions of famous artists, illustrators, photographers, and designers who've contributed so abundantly to our culture - who started down their path along the creaky wooden floors of the Art Center.”

“And like his beloved Utah, he began his path surrounded by history. These are the roots of a lifelong career. There is a connection - what came before to the present day. There is no future. There is only now. The artist has to listen to the present because that's where we live. That's where we create. That's where we imagine.”

“There is more than discovery in the art. There is a vision that he extracts from deep Below the skin that he knows his Utah. He is here to do more than please. He is here To purvey the truth. To guide ownership of the spirit that wants desperately to touch the one truth of Utah. It lives. In the land there is life. Where there is life there is creativity. And where there is creativity there is freedom.”

“There is a color to Charles that defines him. There is an understanding of the world around him that runs true to the dreams of anyone who longs for the virgin mountain air, or the taste of life near the edge of the grid.” Dan Raabe - author, speaker, photographer.

The Eccles Community Art Center’s board and staff were pleased to receive 172 works by 107 resident Utah artists. Juror/artist, Chauncey Secrist chose 150 works to exhibit in this competition. Awards presented include:

First Place: Into The Woods
Amber Hansen ~ Pleasant View

Second Place: Seaweed & Driftwood
Anne Datko ~ Ogden

Third Place: Unicorn Peak
Erica Lyon ~ Ogden

Honorable Mentions:
Les Petite Fleurs I Collin Noortmann Chandler ~ Ogden
Standing Alone Robin L Farr ~ Ogden
Not-a-Fish Stella Ferro ~ Ogden
Paint Jar Jim Martinez ~ Roy

Between: Visible & Invisible #1
K. Stevenson ~ Ogden

We invite you to visit the Eccles Community Art Center and our galleries. Regular gallery hours are weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. For information, please contact the art center staff at 801-392-6935 or visit the art center’s website at www.ogden4arts.org.