French Broad Artists Sahar Fakhoury, Sandra Brugh Moore and Virginia Pendergrass discussed whether their studio name might be misinterpreted to mean that the artists are French broads.

But no, everyone knows the iconic French Broad River, which runs through the River Arts District right in front of their new studio — well, at least everyone in Western North Carolina knows French Broad means the river.

On Saturday, June 13, 2015, the French Broad Artists are introducing themselves and their new studio during the Riverview Station Arts Adventure. The Arts Adventure will feature over 20 Riverview Station artists, working in various media, who are opening their studios to visitors from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on that day.

Artwork by all three French Broad Artists will be on display, and their studio will host a watercolor landscape demonstration, “Mountain Sunset,” by Sandra Brugh Moore from 1-4 p.m.

Other artists will also demonstrate their techniques throughout the day in other studios.

Sahar Fakhoury, originally from the Mid-East, has lived in the Asheville area for 25 years. She works in both oil painting and sculpture. Her paintings remain reminiscent of her Mediterranean heritage, through her preference for rich warm colors of reds, oranges and yellow ochres.

Fakhoury says, “I am inspired by observations of people everywhere, on the street, while traveling, or doing their daily chores. From their body language, their emotional state, and their movements, I create a series of paintings which depict them in motion, or at rest. A record of their movements in small, incremental progressions captures that moment in the daily life of the person.”

Fakhoury graduated with a BFA from the University of North Carolina, Asheville. She has shown her work nationally and internationally, and has art in private and corporate collections in the US and abroad.

Sandra Brugh Moore, a watercolor and pen and ink artist, has found a home in Western North Carolina depicting the beauty of the forever changing moods of the mountains. Many of her paintings depict seasonal transitions or early morning fog lifting from the valleys.

Sandra notes, “The remarkable variety of light effects found in the mountains moves me to paint. Nature provides a lifetime of inspirational subject matter — pastoral landscape, wildflowers, color-intense sunsets, sunlit buildings — the subject matter is unlimited.”

After graduating from West Virginia University with a degree in art education, Moore taught in public schools. She now offers watercolor and drawing classes in North Carolina community colleges, and privately. Her work has been recognized in juried shows with awards for excellence.

Virginia Pendergrass describes her oil painting style as “contemporary impressionism. I like broader brushstrokes than the early impressionists; it feels more modern to me. I also have the advantage of more brilliant modern colors, and I don’t have to grind them myself, either. Color is almost always what first attracts me to my subject matter.”

Pendergrass’ work has been accepted into regional and national exhibitions of the American Impressionist Society, Oil Painters of America, Paint the Parks, and Women Painters of the Southeast, where she has won awards of excellence. Her informal art training consisted of painting and drawing instruction at Old Lyme Art Academy in CT, Crealde School of Art, and Valencia Community College in FL and numerous workshops with her favorite artists.

If You Go: Watercolor demonstration by Sandra Moore, Saturday, June 13, 2015 from 1-4 p.m. For directions, go to www.riverviewstation.com. For more details about Arts Adventures, go to www.villagepotters.com.

French Broad Artists, #216 Riverview Station (South Entrance)
191 Lyman St., River Arts District