Thursday, August 05, 2004

Aug. 5, 2004

By Charlotte Laé, PR Intern

WILMINGTON, N.C.—Travis Seymour, University of North Carolina at Wilmington alumnus from Morehead City, N.C., is having his first solo exhibition in the Claude Howell Gallery in Kenan Hall at UNCW until Friday, August 20.

After graduating from UNCW in 2001 majoring in studio arts and art history, Seymour decided to go to graduate school geared specifically towards figurative art.

“I want the figure to be the center of interest,” Seymour said.

He chose to attend the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy – a school which has its roots from the 19th century French academic tradition – because he was impressed by the level of quality of the students’ works. During his art education, Seymour realized that being an artist requires a huge amount of work, no matter how creative you are.

“I spend anywhere from eight to ten hours a day drawing or painting. It is this type of daily intense study of my materials and of objective reality that I intend to master before applying these skills to future creative projects,” he added.

This young artist, and already very talented, will spend two more years in Italy before returning to the U.S. to be a professional painter.

“I think the ‘artist’ is best represented by the individual himself and the medium of choice will always be his current mode of expression. I play music, I write some, I love being near the water, and I like to draw. Right now I am fulfilling my current desire to use oil paint in a very representational mode of expression,” Seymour said.

The current exhibition presents 20 drawings using charcoal, carbon pencil or graphite on paper.

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Media Contact: Travis Seymour at 910/616-6851 or e-mail at mtseymourd@mac.com.