January 2026 Group Show
”New Year, New Art”
featuring
Beth Anne Booth, Barbara Brecher, Gloria Clifford, Thomas Ema, Toy Fowler, Mary Ellen Huennekens, Nancy Jacey, John Maples, Heather Salvador
Opening Reception:
Friday, January 2, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Kick off 2026 with a burst of creativity at our group exhibition New Year, New Art! This special show features a fresh collection of works that have never before been exhibited in our gallery, highlighting the innovative visions and evolving voices of our community of artists.
From vibrant new experiments to refined explorations in style and subject, each piece invites viewers to embrace the energy, curiosity, and possibility that a new year brings. Join us in celebrating new beginnings, new perspectives, and new art!
The opening of this show will take place at Arts on Main on Friday, January 2nd from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM. Light bites will be served and wine + beer will be available for purchase. Live music will be performed by Stella Haile. The show will be on display until Saturday, January 31st. The gallery is open Wednesday - Saturday from 12-5PM.
Thank you to Arts on Main’s January Exhibit Sponsor, Will Grant!
Live music will be performed by Stella Haile at First Friday!
Singer/Songwriter from Hampton Roads.
Stella Haile is a singer-songwriter based in Newport News, VA. Known for her deeply relatable lyrics and soul-stirring performances, Stella’s music draws listeners into her world, with a voice that’s impossible to forget.
With three singles already streaming and a debut album on the horizon, Stella is carving out her place in the music world. Her songs explore emotions, from growing pains to triumphs. The perfect mix of heartache and hope, delivered with authenticity and grit.
Stella is currently writing and recording new music while performing live at venues across Virginia. Her latest single, Pessimist, invites listeners into an intimate moment of peace alongside anger, showcasing her ability to capture vulnerability through acoustic melodies. Stay tuned for her upcoming album release and sign up for exclusive updates, show dates, and more.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Beth Anne Booth
Beth Anne Booth’s work is grounded in healing, spiritual connection, and personal transformation. Using abstract expressionist techniques, she taps into the subconscious and explores the inner landscape through intuitive, meditative mark-making. Her return to painting followed two profound life events: her journey into sobriety and a double-lung transplant. These experiences became catalysts for healing and inspired two major bodies of work.
The Breathe Series emerged organically as a way to process the physical and emotional depth of undergoing a transplant, honoring the sacredness of breath and life itself. Following that, the Awakening Series reflects the spiritual principles that have guided her recovery—surrender, aligned action, humility, and inner growth—offering a visual narrative of her ongoing journey.
At the heart of Booth’s practice is a desire for connection: with self, with others, with nature, and with the Divine. Her paintings are not only personal expressions but also acts of service—intended to resonate, uplift, and inspire. For Booth, painting is a purpose and a devotion, a commitment to creativity, presence, and transformation.
Find Beth Anne’s work here: https://healingwholerva.com
Barbara Brecher
Barbara Brecher is an award-winning fiber artist and graphic designer and the owner of I Felt Fine DESIGN, a fiber design studio. Over the last 20 plus years, she has worked to develop a unique felting process. Through her innovative dying and painting techniques, and thoughtful, creative designs, Barbara makes it possible to quite literally wear a piece of art! Combining both silk and wool, each piece displays a lively range of vivid color and captivating texture.
Barbara turned to felting after she bought her first computer for her graphic design studio. Before computers became the tool of choice for graphic designers, she spent her days using hand-held tools including markers, paper and pencils. Once she realized she would be sitting in front of a computer designing her work, she searched for a tactile outlet for her creative talents.
In 1990 she was introduced to felting and has been working in this medium ever since. Using silk as a base, she layers wool and silk on the base and attaches everything together by wet felting the materials together. She hand-dyes many of her fabrics.
Find Barbara’s work here: https://ifeltfinedesign.com/
Gloria Clifford
Gloria Clifford, has always had a deep love for the ocean and tropical habitats. As a professional painter, she chooses a brilliant color palette to capture the attention of her audience. Gloria does this to get an urgent message of the plight of endangered and threatened species across to her viewers.
As a SEASONED LICENSED ARTIST, Gloria Clifford's brilliantly colored images are also featured on products within many local retail shops. Her creative images and artistic talent has quickly spread across the globe within the licensed world, specifically within the Home Decor Industry.
Find Gloria’s work here: https://www.gloriaclifford.com/index.html
Thomas Ema
Thomas Ema is a Virginia Fine Artist capturing dramatic light to make the ordinary look extraordinary.
“Having grown up in Williamsburg, Virginia, I have a deep appreciation for history and enduring values.” My passion for painting began while a fine art major at Virginia Tech painting watercolor landscapes of the Blue Ridge Ridge Mountains. After transferring to the Kansas City Art Institute, my artistic training found its sharp focus studying Bauhaus design and receiving a BFA (Design) in 1979.
In 1982, I moved to Denver, Colorado and started and managed my own design firm for over 30 years. In 2006, I began taking oil painting classes and exhibiting at the Arvada Art Center, The Art Students League of Denver and the Denver Art Museum. I have also taken several workshops with renown painter Tim Horn in Scottsdale and Monhegan Island in Maine.
In 2016, I moved back to Williamsburg to pursue painting on a more full time basis. I enjoy revising places first discovered in my childhood and recall taking art classes at the Twentieth Century Art Gallery before I started first grade. I hope you enjoy the images of
places I have returned to revisit with a designer’s eye.”
Toy Fowler
Toy is a Virginia artist that began his studies with local tidewater artist Jack Clifton at age 10. He pursued his degree at Virginia Commonwealth University art program where he received a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts. He later studied at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia where he attended numerous classes and workshops with Robert Liberace, a selected Living Master at the Art Renewal Center and board member of the Portrait Society of America. He also attended workshops with Patricia McMahon Rice and Tina Garrett, a Living Master at the Art Renewal Center. His work has been selected multiple times as finalist in the Portrait Society annual Members Only competition and as a semi-finalist in the Art Renewal Center’s annual salon.
Mary Ellen Huennekens
Mary Ellen Huennekens lives in Saluda with her husband. She has three children and five glorious grandchildren. She is retired from Virginia Commonwealth University where she was an assistant professor in the School of Education. She enjoys community volunteer opportunities, reading, and making quilts. She began sewing at age 12 and made her first quilt many years later. Upon retirement she started Seahorse Quilts, a small cottage business creating and selling fiber art. Mary Ellen shows her work in galleries in Richmond, Kilmarnock, Urbanna, and surrounding counties. Her quilted wall hangings have won awards at Arts in the Middle Fine Arts Festival (Urbanna) and the RAL Gallery in Kilmarnock.
Nancy Jacey
“Every day I wake up inspired by the world around us: the colors, details and elements that make up our surroundings. I am fascinated by life’s details, and I like to reflect this in my everyday life and in my career as an artist. I constantly study and photograph the world around us and use these references and experiences in my artwork and in my teaching. I like to vividly capture these personal interactions and bring them to life for my audience in large-scale oil, acrylic and colored pencil paintings. I want my work to tell a story that intrigues my audience and invites them into the piece as the narrative unfolds. Each piece has its own story that relates to personal situations and specific moments in time.”
Find Nancy’s work here: https://www.nancyjacey.com
John Maples
“To witness an interesting or memorable scene, capture it, and then translate that vision onto canvas is one of life’s great rewards. As a realist painter, I draw inspiration from the Hudson River School artists—their mastery of light, form, and feeling continues to guide my own work. My goal is for each painting to evoke a sense of connection, allowing viewers to experience the same memories and emotions that inspired me. Art, for me, is the means by which I revisit and share meaningful moments—whether they arise from an adventure, a place, or a treasured object.”
Heather Salvador
“I make abstract, expressive paintings driven by bold color, movement, and texture. Painting grounds me and puts me in a state of flow, where each piece becomes an experiment in emotion and curiosity. My work isn’t about realism — it’s about energy and the freedom to be different.”