Eluster Richardson has been passionately pursuing art since he was in elementary school, viewing his latest oil painting works in this exhibit serve as a confirmation that he has achieved his dream of being an artist.

TIFTON — The newest exhibit at the Syd Blackmarr Arts Center sees the works of six different artists brought together in an examination of the two varied art styles they explore.

Among the first exhibits of the Syd in 2024, “Water and Wood” combines the two-dimensional paintings of Eluster Richardson with the woodturning works of five local woodcrafters, placing the art mediums side by side for patrons of the Syd to engage with throughout the month.

The idea for the exhibit came to Tifton Council for the Arts member Lisa Gibbs nearly a year ago, where, while working on another exhibit using art lent by Tifton’s Citizens’ Art Collection, she found a watercolor piece by Richardson and a woodturning work from local artist Steve Woodham being placed together, and was awestruck by the beauty of their synergy.

“Over the last year or two, we’ve had a lot of interest at our fall arts event in turned wood–the high-end craft side of it,” Bruce Green, Syd interim executive director, said. “And historically, for decades we’ve had interest in paintings. This happens to be the [exhibit] that features the human interest in the ‘water’ side–the aquatic scenery as well as the flora and fauna that exists along a waterfront, riverfront, a marsh, or a bay.”

The gallery opened Jan. 14 at 11 a.m., with a reception held later that day from 2 to 4 p.m. to allow patrons to converse with the artists and learn more about the art on display.

Richardson’s work depicts the lakes and waterfronts of the area surrounding his hometown of Tallahassee, the oceans and coastline of “The Forgotten Coast” just south of it, and the people and culture that populate those parts of Florida.

Having mastered his craft and pursued his passion for over sixty years, Richardson hopes that his work in the exhibit will help its guests understand that he has achieved his dream and assure them that they can pursue and attain their dreams as well.

“I tell the students I speak to a lot that life is like a book,” Richardson said. “You may be at the first chapter of the book, or you may be at the last chapter, but somewhere in that book, somebody is going to call on you to do something that you love to do, and you gotta be ready for it–it’s gonna come one way or another.”

Accompanying his paintings are the works of local woodturners in the community, each of the five having submitted five of their best works to complement Richardson’s art and one another’s craft.

From bowls and urns to game boards and sculptures, all made with different types of wood and different methods of woodturning, the works of these woodcrafters brings a variety of style, substance and inspiration to the exhibit.

“I’m mainly inspired by the wood,” said Paul Horst, one of the woodturners participating in the exhibit. “I see the piece of wood and I say, ‘Okay, well what can I make out of that?’”

With the pieces often taking dozens of hours to complete, many of the woodturners are eager to display what they could do with their craft, not only desiring to provide beautiful works for the patrons of the exhibit, but show them the potential of their art and its medium.

Indeed, several of them hope to convey the possibilities one could achieve through working with wood.

“You can’t really tell what’s underneath the bark,” said woodturner Dave Richards. “There’s so much beauty in wood, but [people] don’t get a chance to see–they cut down a tree, and it’s out of the way, burned or rotted, but inside of that tree is gorgeous, gorgeous, it’s like a tapestry. So many times the wood may not look like much on the outside, but it’s really like a canvas.”

The “Water and Wood” exhibit will be on display at the Syd, free and open to the public, until Feb. 4, from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, contact the Tifton Council for the Arts at (229) 382-3600.