In honor of Tryon’s own 65th Blockhouse Steeplechase race, Tryon’s newest gallery, Skyuka Fine Art, presents its first annual Equestrian Show. The show will open Saturday, April 16 and run until the end of May. There will be an opening reception from 5 – 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 16. Ten artists will be featuring their equine art. Seven of the equestrian artists are local: Joan MacIntryre, Jill Silver, Charles Harpt, Rick Conn, Sarah Holmberg, Erik Olsen and Richard Christian Nelson. Two are from Greensboro: Jan Lukens and Tucker Bailey, and one is from Canada: Valerie Hinz.

Joan MacIntyre, an award-winning artist in open juried shows as wells as equine art shows, is a signature member of The Society of Western Artists and just recently an associate member of The Horse Artists Association.

Jill Silver attended The Ringling School of Art and Design where she studied graphics and illustration. Her sense of design is only second to her ability to convey the loving relationship she feels for the animals she depicts.

Charles Harpt was the featured artist on the cover of the Okatie Rotary Polo Club invitation and poster for 2003. He studied art at The Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia on the G.I. Bill and The William Emlen Scholarship.

Recently earning his MFA from Western Carolina University, Rick Conn is a multi-talented artist, sculptor, painter, furniture maker and architect.

Richard Christian Nelson, primarily a portrait artist, will have equestrian themed landscapes to add to the show. This award-winning artist hails from Detroit where he earned his BFA from The Center for Creative Studies, and took post-graduate fine art courses at Wayne State University. Nelson has been working as an artist ever since, initially as an illustrator, then as a portrait artist, gallery artist and instructor.

Sarah Holmburg is a sculptor living in Tryon. Her pieces exhibit a whimsical feeling and movement, some even evoking a hint of humor. Holmburg’s colors are bold and vibrant and she works in paper mache.

Photographer Erik Olsen has an innate artistic sense of balance, color and perspective, which is evident in his juried photographic fine art works. Olsen is blessed to follow his given passion and pursue what he loves for a living, horse sports photography.

In 1991 Jan Lukens was awarded a painting exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. for winning top honors in a national portrait competition. In July of 1992, he started Jan Lukens Portraits, specializing in equestrian portraiture. His work has been featured on the covers of “The Chronicle of the Horse,” and in the pages of “The Artists’ magazine,” “The Equine Image,” “The Canine Image, Ink” and “Show Circuit.”

Sculptor Tucker Bailey has devoted her life to the study of animals and art and has studied with sculptor John Paul Harris and painters Sally Strand, Heiner Hertling and Valerie Hinz. Tucker’s work is found in private and corporate collections across North America and abroad, including many bronzes at the North Carolina Zoological Park.

Growing up a Canadian farm girl, Valerie Hinz has been drawing horses “ever since (she) could hold a pencil.” Some of Hinze’s accolades include being commissioned to paint the winning “Queens Cup Woodbine” Toronto/Canada, Best in 2D Award – “Kentucky Four” Horses in Motion Exhibition/Kentucky Derby Museum/Louisville, Kentucky, First Place – Oils/Acrylics – “Stage Left” 10th Annual Draft Horse Classic Western and Equine Art Show, First Place – Oils/Acrylics – “Penny & Clyde” 9th Annual Draft Horse Classic Western and Equine Art Show and juried into full membership of AAEA -1994 Featured Artist, Vancouver Wildlife Art Show, to name a few.*

This show will open the weekend before the 65th Blockhouse Steeplechase. The opening reception will coincide with three other galleries in downtown Tryon prompting its first ‘Gallery Trot’ in years on Saturday, April 16 from 5 – 8 p.m. Participating galleries are: Upstairs Artspace, Kathleen’s, Richard Baker Studio and Skyuka Fine Art.

Visit Skyukafineart.com or email info@skyukafineart.com for more information. Business hours for the gallery are Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., or call Kim Nelson at 828-817-3783.