WPTV news anchor & artist Ashleigh Walters debuts ‘exhibit A’ at Lighthouse ArtCenter, April 13 – 22

WPTV news anchor & artist Ashleigh Walters debuts ‘exhibit A’ at Lighthouse ArtCenter, April 13 – 22

Lighthouse ArtCenter is excited to present “exhibit A,” the art of WPTV news anchor and artist Ashleigh Walters, from April 13 – 22, 2023. The exhibition includes more than fifty acrylic paintings, jewelry pieces, and small-scaled three-dimensional objects. The opening reception takes place on Thursday, April 13, 5 – 7 p.m. at Lighthouse ArtCenter. Admission is free for members and a $5 suggested donation for nonmembers. For more information, visit lighthousearts.org.

Walters’s art celebrates the variety of what people consider “ordinary life” and explores how the same item or place can evoke nostalgia or emotion differently. She captures a snapshot in time with well-known household brands and products such as Goldfish, Marshmallow Fluff, Mrs. Butterworth’s, and McDonald’s as her subject matter. Her paintings use contrast, shadow, and reflection to make moments in color beyond what exists to the eye.

“I am interested in how people’s lives intersect with their neighborhood and home. We may choose products into adulthood because that’s a brand our parents always purchased, or we may associate a specific brand with our perceived level of luxury,” said Walters. “Places like laundromats and barber shops are interesting; some of my most valued conversations have happened in diners. These seemingly ‘ordinary’ spaces and objects are where so much of life happens. It’s fun to consider what that looks like to each of us.”

Walters often uses repetition in her work but sees and paints each item as an individual. She photographs and paints shelves stocked with products in grocery stores and is fascinated by how each section evokes a different mood. Although many of the products she paints are not things she eats or feels nostalgic about, they still produce an emotion for her.

“My paintings are mostly still lifes and landscapes, but in some ways, I see them as portraits of individuals and communities. The objects and spaces reflect the people who use them, enjoy them, or cast them aside,” said Walters. “I love to seek out the “ordinary” when I travel and in various neighborhoods here at home because it’s a gift of perspective.”

In addition to her paintings, Walters is showing small-scaled jewelry and objects created from epoxy resin.

About Lighthouse ArtCenter:

Lighthouse ArtCenter Gallery & School of Art is 501c(3) not-for-profit founded in 1964 by eight artists and Christopher Norton. The ArtCenter is dedicated to the visual arts whose mission is to inspire, engage and connect our community through a vibrant school of art, unique exhibitions and diverse special events. The center has grown into a three-building campus consisting of a Gallery & 2D Studio, 3D Studio, and a Jewelry & Textile Studio. Supported by memberships, tuition, grants, and donations, Lighthouse ArtCenter serves over 20,000 visitors, 3000 students, 45 faculty members, 400 summer art campers, and a comprehensive outreach program to benefit under-served populations. For more information visit https://www.lighthousearts.org.

LIGHTHOUSE ARTCENTER GALLERY AND 2D STUDIO

373 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, FL 33469

561-746-3101

About Ashleigh Walters:

Ashleigh is a painter, as well as a maker and manipulator of oddly scaled objects who currently lives in Palm Beach County, Florida. At the University of Colorado at Boulder, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Painting, a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast News Journalism and a Minor in Business Administration. While her award-winning journalism career as an anchor and reporter took Ashleigh to Denver, Colorado; Columbia, South Carolina; and West Palm Beach, Florida, her art reflected the stories of people in those communities and in her personal life. Ashleigh is drawn to understanding the places we go and objects we use in our day-to-day lives. A brand that can be viewed as ordinary or comforting to one person can be seen as exotic or unusual to another. The labels on jars, the signs on buildings, the style of a season’s designer shoe: each of these things reflect what’s important to the people who use them, and timestamp that specific moment in history. Ashleigh also loves to manipulate and create objects of giant and tiny scale, including small sets of hands she often keeps in her purse and gives away. Ashleigh’s art has been featured prominently in a variety of publications, juried shows, galleries, on-air news stories and commercials.

Calendar Listing: 

April 13-22, 2023 – Lighthouse ArtCenter is excited to present the art of WPTV news anchor and artist, Ashleigh Walters, in “exhibit A”. The exhibition will showcase more than fifty acrylic paintings, jewelry pieces, and small-scaled three-dimensional objects. An opening reception takes place on Thursday, April 13, 5 – 7 p.m. at Lighthouse ArtCenter, 373 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, FL, 33469. Admission is free for members and a $5 suggested donation for nonmembers. For more information visit lighthousearts.org.