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Cultural Center to feature Charleston artist in phodigital painting exhibition

2/9/2006

A new exhibition, Bruce K. Haley Jr. : Photography, will open in the Lobby Gallery of the Cultural Center, State Capitol Complex, in Charleston, on Friday, Feb. 10. Visitors can meet the artist at an opening reception the following week on Friday, Feb. 17, at 5:30 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. The show will remain on display through April 10.

Haley, a Charleston native, will have 12 PhoDigital paintings in the exhibition. PhoDigital painting is a relatively new art form in which traditional painting techniques and media such as watercolor, oils, or impasto are applied to the original photograph using digital tools by means of a computer and software. These software programs, such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, allow artists to adjust color and texture until they achieve the effect they want.

An accountant by education, Haley always has searched for a way to express his creative instincts. In 1998 while exploring the internet he discovered the website of Maureen Delahanty, a New York photographer and published writer. He contacted her to express his admiration for her work and she suggested he take up photography to fill his artistic bent. In 1999, Haley bought his first camera and has been creating images ever since. The noted nature photographer, Jim Clark, also influenced him and became his mentor after Haley took a workshop from him.

Haley began exhibiting his work in November 2002 and has participated in more than 65 exhibits in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Colorado. He has received numerous awards including the Director’s Choice Award at the 2005 International Abstracts Show at the Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, Colo., first place in the professional photographer’s division of the French Art Colony’s 36th Annual Festival Exhibit, in Gallipolis, Ohio, and an Award of Excellence at the Allied Artists 64th Juried Exhibition in Parkersburg among others.

“Photography, for me, is life living and life giving. My vision is constantly changing, evolving. Nature is usually my inspiration, but the endless colors, shapes and designs of everything that surrounds us are not to be ignored. The camera is my paintbrush. The light is my paint,” Haley says.

For more information about the Bruce K. Haley Jr.: Photography exhibit, contact Stephanie Lilly, exhibits coordinator for the Division, at (304) 558-0240, ext. 128.

The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division. The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

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Ginny Painter
Director of Public Information
West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History
The Cultural Center
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Charleston, WV 25305-0300
Phone (304) 558-0220
Fax (304) 558-2779
[email protected]