Nestled in the northwestern corner of North Carolina, the mountainous Ashe County boasts the most picturesque landscapes that painters and other artists could hope to find. This spirit of natural artistry runs deep through the county’s culture—towns offer murals, street art, galleries and institutions like the Florence Thomas Art School. Even in West Jefferson, a town in which getting lost is impossible, there is an “art district.” Truly an art destination, Ashe County is home to hundreds of painters inspired by the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the New River valleys. This book showcases the talented painters of Ashe, professionals and hobbyists alike, across generations and paint media. Works from 103 artists are represented in 415 full color images.

Doug Munroe is a painter, former president of the Florence Thomas Art School and a retired nurseryman living in the Clifton Community of Ashe County. He partners with his daughter and son-in-law in a commercial maple syrup business and manages a couple of trout ponds.

Kim Hadley is the author’s close friend (and a McFarland employee) and a photography enthusiast who handled the photography of the hundreds of paintings and managed relations with artists.

Doug Munroe with Kim Hadley

Format: softcover (8.5×11)
Pages: 259
Bibliographic Info: 415 color photos, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8324-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4481-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments and Thanks vii
Introduction 1
Catherine Altice 4
Beth Andrews 6
Nancy Ball 8
T. Scott Ballard 10
Patricia Beaver 12
Tara J. Belk 14
Joan Stiles Bell 16
Pete Benda 20
Darrell Bentley 22
Elizabeth Bentley 24
Bill Berry 26
George Bireline (1923–2002) 28
Tonya Bottomley 32
Jayne F. Braxton 36
Cindy Carbonneau Breden 38
Candace Hice Bridge 40
Garrett Briggs 42
Renee Brooks 46
Syndi Brooks 48
Claudia Burkhalter 50
Kelly Cameron 52
Lindsay Carroll 54
Amy Queen Chappin 58
Alma Colvard Church (1921–2003) 60
Louise Garfield Clark (1923–2018) 62
Susan Dahlin 66
Bennett Bower Darnell 68
Susan Lane Pyatte Davis 70
Dawg (James Wood) 72
Lydia de la Cerda 74
Lenore DePree 76
Cynthia Dixon (1957–2019) 80
Elaine Day Dowdell (1931–2014) 82
Jason Drake 84
Tatyana Dyakonov 88
Cristi ­Ebel-Tucker 90
Elaine Ellington 92
Martha Enzmann 94
Ed Fine 96
Robert Franklin 98
Christina Freeman 100
Frenchy (Aurelien J. Tremblay) 102
Molly Colvard Gambill (1939–2019) 104
Edy Cooey Gilreath 106
Martha Gimlin (1948–2009) 108
Sally Glass 112
Kathleen Q. Graham 114
Tony Griffin 116
Michelle Handler 120
Jessica Weaver Hodgson 122
Marsha Holmes 124
Richard Lee Jackson 126
Susan Howell Jespersen 128
Adam Kahn 130
Carol Heaton Kirby 132
Ellie Kirby 134
Mildred F. “Mickey” Knox (1912–1992) 136
George Kosinski 138
Diane Bessee LaBonté 140
Whitney Stuart Landwehrmann 142
Patricia Leonard 146
Sequoyah Magroski 148
Felicity “Lissy” Mahler (1951–1999) 150
L D Marchant 152
Ida Marsh (1919–2015) 154
Ellen Jane Messina 156
Melba Miller (1922–2020) 158
R. T. Morgan 160
Doug Munroe 162
Louis Munroe 166
Keith Osborne 168
Wendy Morrison Painter 170
Ed Perzel (1938–2020) 172
JoAnn L. Pippin 174
Betty Crowder Powell 176
Robert Powers 178
­Mary-Ann Prack 180
Clayton Proctor 182
Joni Ray 184
Robert Ray 186
Patrick J. Richardson 190
Ken Robinson 192
Raney Rogers 194
Jeremy Sams 198
Cher Shaffer 202
Ashley Nicole Sheets 204
David Shoemaker 206
Nancy Allmon Shoemaker 208
Stephen Sharpe Shoemaker 210
Milton (Milt) Sigel 214
Lyn Soeder 216
Gary W. Spicer 218
Dann Stansberry 220
Ron Taylor (1938–2016) 222
Florence Thomas (1909–2007) 226
Susan Van Wyk 230
Loretta J. Weaver 234
Dawn Wicklow 236
Mark Stephen Willingham 238
Leaflin Lore Winecoff 242
Connie L. Woolard 244
Marilyn Wooten 246
Cheryl Young 248
Artists’ Websites and Social Media Sites 251