Our Artists – Plein Air

Montford Gardens to Inspire Local Artists in June

For the first time in the event’s history, the Montford Garden Tour will include artists painting “en plein air” throughout Montford. An artist will paint in or around each of the tour gardens for approximately 2-3 hours. While exact painting times may vary due to conditions and the needs of the artist, you should be able to see most artists painting sometime between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Feel free to approach the artists and see what they are creating!

The final completed works will be shared on the garden tour website and will be available for purchase through the artist.

Below is the line-up of the artists participating in the Garden Tour’s inaugural plein air painting event. As you can see, we have a very talented, accomplished group of artists representing a diversity of media and styles – the perfect complement to our beautiful neighborhood gardens!

Bee Adams (www.BAdamsArt.com) creates dynamic, colorful paintings that simultaneously tease and delight the eye. Her paintings are vibrant celebrations that allow the viewer to encounter the familiar anew as it is presented in exuberant colors with masterful execution. Bee was active in the Denver art scene for over 40 years. Then, while living in Brussels, Belgium, she took particular joy in capturing the intricate buildings throughout Europe. Thirteen years ago, she relocated to Western North Carolina, where she paints a variety of local scenes. Bee’s work can be found at Asheville Gallery of Art in downtown Asheville and Re.Imagine Gallery in Fairview, NC.

Sue Dolamore (www.suedolamore.com) began her creative journey in 2014 after her youngest daughter’s graduation. She immersed herself in painting, fostering a thriving plein air community that grew from a dozen to nearly 400 members. Her leadership in exploring Asheville’s landscapes fueled her rapid artistic growth, leading to the opening of her River Arts District studio in the Warehouse at 170 Lyman St. in 2019.  By 2021, Sue’s artistic voice had crystallized into a distinctive style. Starting with abstract color studies, she seamlessly integrates representational imagery into her compositions, often starting with bold and spontaneous lines. Sue teaches this technique and nature journalling at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.

Cheryl Keefer (www.cherylkeefer.com) is an avid plein air painter, painting predominantly in oils.  She delights in the way seasons, atmospheres and changing light alter and enrich scenes and views. “My paintings invite an emotional response in viewers. I want to spark memories. I want to stimulate the viewer’s imagination.”  Small studies from life are often a gratifying step toward larger studio landscapes.  Cheryl has a BS in Art Education and Masters in Art History from University of Alabama.  Locally, she is represented by Woolworth Walk in downtown Asheville and Seven Sisters Gallery in Black Mountain.  Her working studio/gallery is the Warehouse Studios building on Lyman Street in Asheville’s River Arts District.

Mitchell Lee Kolbe (www.mitchkolbe.com ), originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, has been a professional artist since age fifteen.  He attended the Art Students League of N.Y.C. on a National Art Merit Scholarship before working in the fields of graphics, illustration, murals, sculpture, and fine art. Presently Mitch works from his home studio in Fairview, N.C., and a studio/ co-op gallery at 362 Depot St. in Asheville’s River Art’s District.  Mitch is represented through the Grand Bohemian Hotel Art Gallery in Asheville, N. C., and the Chris Clark Gallery of Banner Elk, N. C.

Donny Luke (www.donnylukewatercolors.com) discovered his passion for watercolor after a 40-year career as a professional architect. On a trip out west in 2016, he came across an exhibition of renowned Western Art watercolorist Don Weller at a small gallery in Moab, Utah.   “I was struck by his mixes of color, subject matter, and stylistic realism.  Western art has always fascinated me.”  Returning home, Donny purchased a set of watercolors and began his artistic journey.  Donny mainly paints local WNC landscapes and scenes from his travels across North America.  His work can be found at Trackside Studios in the River Arts District.

Sandra Brugh Moore (www.sandramooreart.com) uses watercolor to capture the beauty of nature in fleeting moments of light. “I paint in layers, using the inherent transparency to depict the transitions between light and dark, sky and land, clouds and air. I want to share the feeling of tranquility I feel in the landscape with my paintings.”  Sandra has a BA in Art Education and taught art in West Virginia before moving to WNC.  She loves painting the local landscape and is an active member of the Asheville Plein Air Painters. Her paintings can be found at Asheville Gallery of Art in downtown Asheville and Trackside Studios in the River Arts District.

Claire Simpson Jones (www.clairecsimpsonjones.com) strives to capture the impact nature has in our lives. Her award-winning work reflects her deeply rooted passion for our natural environment. Claire’s sensitive naturalist paintings draw from her many travels abroad and 27 years living in our beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. Claire holds a BFA from Florida Atlantic University and is a signature member of the Watercolor Society of North Carolina. After working in graphic design, illustration, and a career teaching high school art, Claire is now painting fulltime. She is represented by Blue Moon Gallery (Brevard), Twigs and Leaves (Waynesville), and Trackside Studios in the River Arts District.

Anne Walker Strutz (www.annestrutzfineart.com ) is an artist in motion, infusing movement and energy into her paintings.  “We tell a story by creating an illusion of space, feelings, dimension, a fleeting moment, for our viewers.”  Anne holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, and a Master Pastelist with the International Association of Pastel Artists.  Anne’s work has been featured in  Pastel Journal and the Artist’s Magazine, where she is also a recurring author.  Anne teaches throughout the US and locally at the Lucy Clark Gallery in Brevard, NC.

Montford Garden Tour Poster Artist and Plein Air Event Organizer

The 2025 Garden Tour poster was created by Montford resident Zoe F. Schumaker, who is also coordinating the tour’s plein air event.

Zoe F. Schumaker (www.zoeschumaker.com ) paints to celebrate the beauty in nature and inspire its preservation.  Her colorful paintings include an ensemble of media, most often with pastel in the featured role.  Zoe’s artwork has been featured on a CD cover,  wine label, interpretative signage at an ethnobotanic garden in northeast Georgia, and commemorative prints for the WNC Nature Center.  Zoe is a Member of Excellence of the Southeastern and Appalachian Pastel societies and a juried member of the international organization Artists for Conservation. Her paintings can be found locally at Trackside Studios in the River Arts District.