GAYLE N. MANDELL began her artistic career in 1970 after her son Chris was born.  While exhibiting in local art shows she worked as a gallery manager, arts administrator, and art consultant for a local bank.  She opened her own gallery in 1992 in Virginia Beach and now maintains a studio at her home in Weems on Virginia's Northern Neck.  Her current work, featuring coastal scenes in & around  Chesapeake Bay, were inspired by summers spent at Willoughby Spit in Norfolk, trips to the Eastern Shore, and by the marshes and rivers around her home.  Gayle has partnered with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Virginia.org, and with area inns and B & B's to celebrate and preserve, through her artwork,  the beauty of her home State's bay region. 

EDUCATION: Educated at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., Gayle studied with professors Charles Sibley, Ernest Mauer & Ken Daley.  She continued her studies  in workshops with Phil Morrison, Barclay Sheaks, Robert Willis, & Fay Zetlin, all of the Tidewater area.  

AWARDS & COLLECTIONS: Gayle has won numerous awards in competitions including the Virginia Beach Boardwalk Art Show, Twentieth Century Galley in Williamsburg, Va., and the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News, Virginia.  Her work is part of private and corporate collections in Virginia including Bank of America, Dominion Bank,  Kirn Memorial Library, SunTrust Bank, Verizon, and Philip Morris Corporation. 

ARTIST STATEMENT:  Besides being something I love to do, drawing and painting allows me to record the changing landscape of the Chesapeake Bay & to share my love of it with others.  I work mainly from photographs I have taken & find great pleasure in exploring nature.  I have been called a "colorist" and even though I prefer the subtle tones of nature, I am always conscious of the purple cast of a shadow, the brilliant reds & ochres of Autumn, & the deep blues and greens of the water.  Changes in how light appears, the changing of the seasons, & reflections in the water are all elements I try to capture in my work. 

REPRESENTED BY: MORAN CREEK STUDIO, 583 Moran Creek Rd., Weems, VA. 22576; Lynn Friel of LIMITED EDITIONS, INC; RAPPAHANNOCK HANG-UPS, Kilmarnock, VA;  THE BOX BOUTIQUE, White Stone, VA; MORNING GLORY GALLERY, Gloucester, VA; BONNIE ARNOLD'S GALLERY, Norfolk, VA; VERANDA GALLERY, BAY CREEK RESORT & CLUB, Cape Charles, VA; and other fine galleries throughout the US.