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ArtSpotlight
Jr.
Grayson Ruhl
Artist
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Grayson and his art instructor, Mary Urquhart,
at the opening of his exhibit.
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Grayson Ruhl from
Tallahassee, Florida, recently turned 11 and is a sixth grader at Raa
Middle School. He took an interest in drawing at a very early age, and
loved cartooning. He very much enjoyed his school art classes at Gilchrist
Elementary with Julie McBride (where he was invited to assist a team
of professional adult artists in painting a mural on an outside school
wall). His first private instructor, at age 9, was Alison MacEchearn,
an FSU art graduate (who has since moved to graduate school in Boston).
She introduced Grayson to different drawing media and techniques.
Grayson is currently
taking private lessons in watercolor and oil painting from Mary Urquhart,
an artist in Tallahassee, FL. Since the Fall of 2005, under Mary's instruction,
Grayson has progressed rapidly and is producing work in a variety of
media, including oil pastel, ink & watercolor, watercolor, and oil.
Mary described his style as "painting with a combination of fluid,
brave abandonment and an appreciation for color and detail. He has easily
grasped the concepts of landscape/still life perspective, composition
and the use of light. Grayson works intently and quickly. He asks questions
and absorbs information like a sponge. With every painting, he learns…and
I am delighted to teach him."
Grayson's parents
are J. B. Ruhl, a law professor at Florida State University, and Lisa
LeMaster, a Leon County schools volunteer. He has one brother, Grant,
who is a freshman at Lincoln High School, and a Boston Terrier named
Parker, who is his constant companion. As important as art is to him,
Grayson also pursues many other interests, including tennis, soccer,
and piano. He competes annually in the National Piano Playing Auditions,
and has attained the Intermediate-A Guild level with a Superior rating
under the instruction of Lilla Turner. As all young artists and their
parents would agree, the top priority is academics. Grayson maintained
an A average in elementary school and has just entered the gifted program
at Raa Middle School, where he is loving the independence and responsibility
of having his own locker!
Grayson has sold
a painting by commission (Little Sis) and another through an auction
at his elementary school. His work may be seen at http://homepage.mac.com/jbruhl/PhotoAlbum1.html.
The site provides a link to send Grayson a message-he'd love to hear
from you! Twenty-two of Grayson's pieces are currently on display at
the Sunshine State Credit Union building in downtown Tallahassee. Other
exhibitors include prominent members of the Tallahassee Watercolor Society.
Grayson's exhibit runs through January 2007.
Click
on Image to Enlarge
Do you have
an artist to recommend for a future ArtSpotlight Jr.? If you do, contact
ArtSpotlight@theArtsweb.com.
You can even recommend yourself!
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