2025 Montford Garden Tour Inspired Local Artists

For the first time in the event’s history, the Montford Garden Tour included artists painting “en plein air” at each of the tour properties. Below are the wonderful paintings they created. If you are interested in purchasing a painting, please contact the artist directly using the website link provided.

Bee (B) Adams 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 painted at “Agnes’s Playground”.

Agnes’s House
Acrylic, 12”h x 16”w
$385
www.BAdamsArt.com
beeadams50@gmail.com

Sue Dolamore began her creative journey in 2014, and 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 painted at “Hillside Creeper” garden.

Squirrelless
Watercolor and pen, 16”h x 12”w
SOLD
www.suedolamore.com
suedolamore@aol.com

Cheryl Keefer is an avid plein air painter who 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.”  Cheryl painted in “Surprise!” garden.

June in the Garden, Flint Street
Oil, 11”h x 14”w
$700 Framed
www.cherylkeefer.com 
www.cherylkeefer.com/contact

Mitchell Lee Kolbe 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.  Mitch painted at “Stairway to Heaven” garden.

Montford Garden Tour 2025
Oil, 11”h x 14”w
$1,500 Framed
www.mitchkolbe.com
Mitchell Kolbe – Contact the Artist

Montford Gable
Oil, 12”h x 9”w
$1,100 Framed
www.mitchkolbe.com
Mitchell Kolbe – Contact the Artist

Donny Luke discovered his passion for watercolor after a 40-year career as a professional architect.  Donny mainly paints local WNC landscapes and scenes from his travels across North America.  Donny painted at “The Right Garden”.

The Wright Inn
Watercolor, 12”h x 16”w
$650 Framed
www.donnylukewatercolors.com 
dlukearchitect@gmail.com

Sandra Brugh Moore uses watercolor to capture the beauty of nature in fleeting moments of light. “I want to share the feeling of tranquility I feel in the landscape with my paintings.”  Sandy painted at “Pan’s Paradise”.

Pan’s Paradise
Watercolor, 12”h x 16”w
SOLD
www.sandramooreart.com 
Ncsandram@gmail.com

Claire Simpson Jones strives to capture the impact nature has in our lives. Her award-winning work reflects her deeply rooted passion for our natural environment. Claire painted at the “Then and Now” garden.

Tranquility
Watercolor, 9”h x 11”w
$300 Unframed
$400 Framed
www.clairecsimpsonjones.com 
https://www.clairecsimpsonjones.com/contact

Back Yard Garden
Watercolor, 9”x11”
$275

www.clairecsimpsonjones.com  
Claire Simpson Jones – Contact the Artist

Anne Walker Strutz 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 painted at “Tire-Less Garden”.

A Gardener’s Palette
Pastel, 24”h x 16”w
SOLD
www.annestrutzfineart.com 
Annestrutzfineart@gmail.com

Montford Garden Tour Poster

Zoe F. Schumaker paints to celebrate the beauty in nature and the importance of preserving it.  Her colorful paintings include an ensemble of media, most often with pastel in the featured role.  Zoe created the artwork used in the 2025 Garden Tour poster.

Garden Visitors
Pastel, 15”h x  11”w
$425 Unframed, matted to 20” x 16” standard frame size
$550 Framed
www.zoeschumaker.com
pastelsbyzoe@gmail.com