Art in the Village features 50-plus local artists

Nicki Cochran definitely isn’t the only person in Alabama with an affinity for art that features elephants. But her reasoning might be slightly different than most. 

Yes, she had family members with ties to the University of Alabama.

“I was introduced to the world of college football by my aunt, who was an Alabama cheerleader in college,” she said.

But there was a second reason — a bigger one.

“My parents were missionaries in South Africa when I was growing up,” said Cochran, who paints under the name Art by Nicola Jeanette. “For me, the elephant represents this dual identity of being South African but also American.”

Some of those elephant artworks will be on display May 6 at Art in the Village, an annual event put on by the Mountain Brook Art Association.

The event, in its 42nd year, will be held at Mountain Brook City Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will include both indoor and outdoor exhibits.

Cochran, who is serving as show chair for the first time this year, said Art in the Village will feature more than 50 artists who all live within a 25-mile radius of Mountain Brook.

“One thing that’s pretty unique about our show is that it is all members of Mountain Brook Art Association, a community that meets throughout the year,” she said.

That makes the show a great experience for those who attend, Cochran said — if they want, they can move past simply selecting an art piece to actually working with the artist to create a special custom piece for their home or even a matching set. 

“It’s much easier to coordinate since the artists live right here locally,” she said.

The show has been popular ever since its first year, when students of area artist Ron Lewis decided to make their art available to the community.

“They were out at the school one Saturday and had their paintings out, some of them propped up against trees,” Cochran said. “It worked out pretty well for them, and they enjoyed doing it and said, ‘Let’s create a group around it.’ That’s how they founded the Mountain Brook Art Association, and it’s just grown since then.”

In the 1980s, artist Janet Sanders moved to the area and was “very key in really helping to make it into a more organized production,” Cochran said. “She’s been pretty much the main show chair since then.”

That is, until she handed it to Cochran this year to start the process of passing the torch to a younger generation of artists. But when Cochran talks about the event, she’s quick to list off the names of others involved in the group effort.

“We want to build on the success of the past and continue to grow and make sure the information gets passed on so the show can continue to do well,” Cochran said. “We want it to continue to be the blessing it is to all the artists in the group.”

This year’s show will feature 20% more artists than last year, she said. “That provides a lot of variety for people to see.”

Visitors will see everything from abstract art to hyperrealism. 

Cochran herself uses a pallet knife to create her elephant paintings as well as others, including another of her favorite subjects — deer.

“For me, painting deer has to do with biblical symbolism,” she said, noting that she loves creating works that portray the peace she has in Christ. “When I paint doves, deer and lambs, I am striving to convey the symbols I see in the Bible and how they relate to my life.”

Every artist at Art in the Village offers something different, she said. 

Lewis, who will also be at the event, paints scenes in traditional style in watercolor, acrylic and some oils. Sanders paints local scenes and buildings, as well as animals and scenes from her travels, in oil and acrylic in representational impressionist styles.

Both Lewis and Sanders have won awards for their work.

Christi Bunn, the association’s president-elect, has a wide portfolio of architectural commissions and has recently branched out into pastels. 

“She’s amazing at it,” Cochran said. 

Carol Carmichael — who paints scenes like farm animals, still life and children playing on the beach —  uses a lot of white and paints in oil representational impressionist style. 

Cathy Phares, the current association president, paints “beautiful oil and acrylic scenic impressionist paintings that are soothing and peaceful,” Cochran said.

And that’s just six of the 50-plus.

“If I were to describe all their work and how amazing it is, I could go on and on,” she said.

She hopes to do that on Instagram in the days leading up to the event. Individual artists will be featured using the hashtag #ArtInTheVillage2023.

All artists and volunteers for the event have also been invited to enter a floral competition and create a work portraying a floral arrangement done by Mary Ashley Twitty, owner of Fox and Brindle, a local boutique and floral design shop.

“It’s a fascinating thing, because you get to see this whole variety of different floral paintings,” Cochran said. “We will also have a recreation of that arrangement at Art in the Village.”

 Art in the Village is a free event with free parking and is pet- and family-friendly. All exhibits are handicap accessible. For more information, visit mountainbrookartassociation.com/2023/03/08/art-in-the-village-2023.