Neptune Festival Unveils
2001 Commemorative Poster
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They say you "just know" when it's right. This certainly held true for the 2001 Neptune Festival committee as they searched for the 28th Annual Neptune Festival limited edition commemorative poster.
When Neptune Festival President Nancy Creech, Vice President Whit Collins and Special Events Coordinator Kelley Bimson walked into The Artists Gallery door, "The Race," created by Hampton Roads artist Constance Fahey grabbed their attention. Fahey has been a painter and illustrator since 1960, and her work is featured in private collections throughout the United States, Ireland, England, France, Holland, Germany, Norway and Canada. She is president of The Artists Gallery in Virginia Beach and has a studio at 2407 Pacific Avenue. "The Race" features abstract sailboats dancing across the water. "The poster represents the movement, motion, excitement and heat of a summertime sailboat race on the ocean," says Fahey. "The colors bounce off each other, and you get the feeling and the energy of the race." The painting was created with acrylic paint and actually looks like an oil painting. The vivid reds, oranges and blues convey movement, while the almost willowy sails seem to be weaving in and out of each other's way as they race. Swirling water, full of movement and color, conveys the power of the ocean that sailors might feel when in the heat of a race. "I used color to convey the feeling of a race," explains Fahey. "I didn't really plan it, it just came straight out of the tube." The inspiration for the piece came from Fahey's friend, Nelson Stall, who raced in the 200 Governor's Cup Yacht Race from Capetown, South Africa to St. Helena Island. "The Race" is just one of a series of six paintings Fahey created from her imagination and Stall's descriptions of the race. Typically, The Neptune Festival hires an artist to create a new piece to be featured as a commemorative poster, and the board has never view a piece already in existence that captured the feeling of the festival. Fahey has been commissioned to do paintings for Virginia Beach General Hospital, The Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters and the City of Virginia Beach. Locals might be familiar with her work a the 31st Street park on the ocean front where her huge 8'x 8' painting hangs. Fahey graduated from Craddock High School in Portsmouth and received her fine arts education from both The College of William and Mary and the University of Miami. Only 2,000 of these signed and numbered posters will be sold. The cost is $25 each, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Hampton Roads Muscular Dystrophy Association. Citgo Petroleum Corporation sponsors this year's poster. |
Contact the artist: ArtistCJF@aol.com, commissions accepted.