Garrett County artist Fred Peacock has recently sold a collection of four area landscape paintings and sixty-eight small still-lifes to the new Western Maryland Health System hospital in Cumberland.  Much of his inspiration comes from his home close to the wild and scenic Youghiogheny River.

The largely self-taught artist volunteers his time as a board member of the Garrett County Arts Council.  He has had solo shows in Columbia, Maryland, at the Garrett Council’s Gallery Shop in Oakland, at Adventure Sports Center International, and at the Garrett College Art Gallery.

The work of local artists was a key design element of the new medical facility which had closely reviewed artists and their work before making purchases for interior spaces.  “I am honored to be among the artists selected to furnish original works,“ Peacock said.

The four large paintings Peacock sold to the hospital depict panoramic views of the Youghiogheny River near his home and represent the artist’s unique method of layering oils to bring out the rich interactions of colors.  “Most of my paintings are composed with ten or more layers of paint,“ he said.  “After applying the first few layers to establish the picture’s basic structure, I am engaged in a conversation with the painting.  I step back several feet, ask the painting what it needs next and then, when I see the answer, I step up and respond in paint.”

He strives to create good representative paintings that are rewarding to look at for years - from across a room or from a few inches away.

Although he has taken a few arts courses and workshops, Peacock has excelled as a painter from intense practice and exercises in oil painting.  After a lifetime of dabbling in art and experiencing the light during time spent in Province, France during 2000 he has pursued his art seriously.  He states “The secret of learning to paint is thousands of hours of practice.”

He grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, worked for thirty years as an economist, and retired to Garrett County with his wife, Erin, in 2003.  Much of his works portray his feelings for the majestic beauty of the river and the woods, but he has recently pursued small but meticulous paintings of pears and peaches to improve what he calls his rendering “of the edge between light and shadow.”  Sixty-eight of these 6”x8” still-life paintings will be displayed in two large groupings in the dining area of the hospital.

The Garrett County Arts Council oversees The Gallery Shop in Oakland, a retail showcase for artists like Peacock, and coordinates a bevy of activities and workshops to promote the arts through Garrett County.  In addition, it provides more than $40,000 in annual local grants funding for some 20 arts organizations.  It receives funding from Garrett County government, the Maryland State Arts Council, and support from council members.  Visit www.garrettarts.com for more information.