Join us for the opening reception of our autumn exhibit, Small Works, featuring the work of Artists Charles Welles and James Penedos.
Charles Welles is a sculptor, who primarily carves marble. He has been carving for more than twenty-five years. His studio is in Bardwell, near Factoryville in the Endless Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He exhibits throughout the northeastern United States as well as regionally.
Welles began his career as a marble sculptor studying with noted Northeastern Pennsylvania artist and teacher, Hope Horn. He took classes with her at The Lucan Center for The Arts in Scranton, PA, beginning in the mid 1980’s. This was followed by attendance at an intensive marble-carving workshop at The Carving Studio, then in Proctor, VT. Subsequently he attended workshops at MARBLE/marble in Marble, CO, and at Southwest Stone Carving Symposium in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico.
He has been affiliated with Artists For Art, a non-profit organization for artists in Northeastern Pennsylvania which operates The AFA Gallery in Scranton, PA, since its founding in 1989. Artists for Art and The AFA Gallery are dedicated to exhibiting the quality work of regional artists, and to acquainting the community with important art from beyond the immediate area. He is a member of the Endless Mountains Council of the Arts in Tunkhannock, PA. He is also a partner with James Penedos in the Springville Schoolhouse Art Studios, which is an artists’ live/work space in a converted schoolhouse in the small village of Springville, PA, in the Endless Mountains.
Oil painter James Penedos was born in 1951 in Caminha, Portugal, on the northern coast, where his father ran the village café. In 1959, his father moved the family to Newark, New Jersey. James’ Portuguese childhood and early city influences reflect richly in his paintings. Since 1976, he has lived with his wife Sue in the Endless Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania, where they raised their three children.
Self taught, James started early by studying in depth the works and writings of great painters, doing countless reproductions to learn the masters’ techniques. Over the years, he has exhibited in galleries in New York City and Paris, as well as in various galleries in Colorado, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. His works are in many collections around the country.
The Charles Welles and James Penedos Opening Reception will take place at the Comm on Friday, September 13th, from 5 to 7 PM. The event is free and open to the public, featuring music and light refreshments.
