Bob Neely opens show at Tryon Depot Nov. 18

Bob Neely will be the featured artist at the Depot Gallery from Nov. 18 through Dec. 19. The opening for the show will be on Friday, Nov. 18, from 5-7 p.m. at 22 Depot Street in Tryon. The show will contain at least 60 new works in celebration of Bob’s 80th birthday, and all of the pieces will be 8 inches by 8 inches done in his intricately detailed style.

Bob Neely is a self-taught artist who brings ordinary subjects and geometric shapes alive through the use of color. Over the years he has become known as “the man who paints the dots.” The use of dots or pointillism is a very precise technique that requires time, patience and a very steady hand.

Some of Bob’s larger works contain between 95,000 and 100,000 dots each applied one at a time. Dots range in size from approximately 1/32 inch to 3/16 inch in diameter and for the most part are applied with the tip of a nail that has been customized to achieve the desired dot size. Getting the desired result requires the careful combination of background colors with dot colors and the proximity of color groups to other groups of color. Almost all of Bob’s works are created with the use of acrylic latex paint which is extremely durable and just the right viscosity for dot application.

Bob credits his parents with his interest in art and colors in particular. His father, John Starr Neely, was an accomplished colorist and dyer of yarn who managed textile dye plants. Bob’s mother, Aline Mason Neely, did needle work, hooked and braided rugs and was a painter.

Bob is a native of North Carolina and graduated from N.C. State University with a degree in textile technology. He came to Tryon in 1980 to serve as vice president of manufacturing for Southern Mercerizing Company. He became involved in the community and served as chairman of Crimestoppers, president of the Tryon Chamber of Commerce, a Tryon town councilman and later as mayor of Tryon for eight years.

During the early 1960s, Bob worked in New York City for the DuPont Company and had the opportunity to spend time in some of the world’s finest museums. Artists that influenced him most were the post-impressionist and some of the abstract expressionist. In particular the technique known as pointillism became his style of choice. His methods were developed by studying works of the masters.

Bob’s goal is to continue creating works in his own unique style, which is readily recognizable but difficult to duplicate.

– article submitted by Diana Gurri