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Louisiana artist Bill Rice has a great exhibit at the Livingston Parish Arts Council that runs through April 20. The exhibit consists of 14 paintings and two large wood carvings of birds.

I stopped in to see Rice’s exhibit this past week, expecting the Louisiana swamp scenes with egrets and beautiful wildlife he’s known for. But when I opened the door, I was really taken aback by the size of the three main oil paintings, the subjects of which weren’t the typical Louisiana scenes I expected. The paintings anchor the show, which also includes 10 smaller paintings. The three large paintings are in massive wood-carved ornate frames. So many art critics scream about ornate frames of late, and I know of one guild that has “no ornate frames” in the exhibiting guidelines. But sometimes the artist knows best, and in this case the frames really do accentuate his art.

The Livingston Arts Council is located at 133 Hummel St. in Denham Springs. The exhibit will run until April 20th. The hours of the arts council are 8 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday. For more information call 664-1168. Bill’s gallery is in his Pine Grove home, and his work is on the web here.

Congratulations to the winners of Louisiana Arts and Artists’ Guilds Spring Judged Show. Laurelie Gheesling took 1st with “Maggie,” her mixed media watercolor with acrylic background. Eve Cormena placed 2nd with her “Portrait of Spring”, and Don Rask placed 3rd with “I’ll Call It Realism.” Honorable mentions went to June Tuma, Roberta Loflin, Larry Downs, Christine Lorio (two mentions), Byron Levy, Betty Efferson, Joyce Hensley, Nora Scarborough, Jo McWilliams. The show is hanging at 7800 Independence Park through May 9th. The hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday.

Link-Up with me and let me hear what you have found of interest in the arts around Baton Rouge, and what is happening in your art world. Happy Painting!