The late, great Charlie Paris was a very kind, very generous man. And when Charlie passed away, he left the museum an amount of money. His sons Jeff and Greg suggested that if possible, the money be utilized to obtain works of art for the permanent collections of the museum. Charlie was a founding member of the Bald Eagle Art League and a talented wood artisan. In order to respect Charlie’s wishes and the suggestion of his sons, we have purchased two works of art.
J. Wesley Little worked in the latter part of the 19th century and into the 20th century creating pastoral scenes and views of the Susquehanna River while working in Picture Rocks, Eagles Mere, and locations throughout Lycoming County. A rare triptych view of the Susquehanna River by Little, a family piece, was on loan through the generosity of Mike and Kathi Flock. Through their willingness, we have now purchased the triptych, and it will be a permanent addition to our collection.
Lynn Kibbe is one of the talented artists working in the County area, and produces scratchboard artworks. Her recent work “Long Lasting Happiness” was recently acquired from Charlie’s bequest.
Lynn details the process through which the image is produced. “The process is extremely time-consuming and those in color doubles the time spent on the piece, however one like this just screams for color. I start with a black archival professional scratchboard panel covered with a minute layer of white clay and then another minute layer of black ink. It is totally black when I start. I scratch off the black with many layers of fine scratching. Each scratch layer removes more of the black ink until I get the shading I require and the finished image in black and white. Then I add layers of color using ink to those areas of removed black ink. I scratch in between layers of adding color. This is done until I get the color values built up again. When complete it is spray finished with 4-5 layers of UV resistant finish spray, and when dry is attached to a one-inch black float frame. Lastly, the back is finished off with a certificate of authenticity and care instructions, and finger friendly wire is used to hang.”