Olney Community Library & Arts Center hosting reception May 19 local artist

Olney Community Library and Arts Center is hosting a reception and art show for local artist Brie Dinwiddie Watson. The reception is Thursday, May 19 at the library, beginning at 6 p.m.

Watson is the muralist behind the massive paintings displayed on various buildings throughout Olney. Many townspeople are familiar with the mural of a pastoral desert scene on a Main Street building owned by the Wades.

“I began painting with oils when I was 17. It’s something that has always been very therapeutic for me. I love to turn on some music and get lost in a canvas,” Watson said.

In addition to painting murals, Watson teaches art classes, a skill that developed when she started an art camp for children, paint classes.

“I love to watch people feel free and let loose when they begin to paint,” she said, regarding teaching.

As a working photographer, local organizations hire Watson to shoot events frequently, something she enjoys doing; Watson said she developed a passion for photography when she was a young child.

“I remember being as young as first grade and using my campfire candy sales points to get my very first camera--a neon orange 110 film camera,” Watson shared. “I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that you can freeze a moment in time by taking a photograph. I love to capture the connection between people, the emotion in someone’s eyes, and their personality shining through in a photograph. Photography has been a way that I could hold on to a memory or make something beautiful that I’ve seen last forever,” Watson said.

The multifaceted artist also throws pottery, which is a method employed by Greek potters to form pottery vessels on a potter’s wheel.

“I started throwing pottery three years ago and absolutely fell in love with the transformation of clay. I love that you can start with a simple block of clay and turn it into something beautiful,” Watson said.

Come out May 19 to meet the artist and see her works of art on display at the library. You may visit Watson’s Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/PhotographyByBrie to learn more about her.

Watson said, “Art has always been the one thing that I felt that I could do, the thing that makes me feel free and expressive. A true passion for me, and I love to share it with others.”