About the Artist
Painter, Printmaker, Designer; Experience producing artwork for exhibitions and commissions.
Art Educator, Instructor, NC SP2 Teaching License - K12 ART; Experience teaching children, youth and adults.
Gallery Director, Curator, Art Juror; Experience managing one-person, group, competition, and invitational exhibitions.
ARTIST'S BIO:
Gary Freeman is a painter, printmaker, and designer known for his Carolina landscapes and architectural studies. He has been a working artist for more than 30 years with numerous exhibitions, awards, and commissions to his credit.
Freeman displayed talent as a young child and begin drawing and painting lessons at age nine. He continued to work in watercolors and oils before switching to acrylics and mixed media as a teenager. After earning an Associate of Fine Arts from Gaston College, he transferred to East Carolina University and earned a B.S. Degree in art and art education and a Master of Arts with a concentration in printmaking and additional study in drawing, illustration, and art history.
He finds his subject matter by exploring the Piedmont and Foothills near his home in the beautiful small town of Cherryville, North Carolina where he maintains a studio on Main Street.
The larger paintings by Freeman take months to finish and are usually preceded by digital reference photos and smaller preparatory drawings, watercolor, and mixed media studies.
He has produced over 100 commissions and has printed more than thirty editions of original prints. He has, also, worked as a gallery director, curator, and art juror with experience managing one-person, group, competition, and invitational exhibitions.
He retired as art instructor and head of the Gaston College art program in 2014 and returned to public school teaching for six years. He enjoys teaching and holds a N.C. Teaching License in K-12 Art and has much experience teaching art to children, youth, and adults. He is, now, an adjunct professor teaching studio and online art classes at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.