Memories of West Buncombe Farm. Calvin Edney, artist
As communities across the country mark America’s 250th anniversary, Twigs & Leaves Gallery will honor three veteran artists during downtown Waynesville’s First Friday on July 3, from 5–8 p.m. The gallery is managed by Marine Corps veteran Tiffani Watts.
The evening will spotlight the work of Calvin Edney, a US Army veteran who works in oils; Tobias McGregor, a US Coast Guard veteran and oil painter; and Aaron Best, a woodworker and US Army veteran. Visitors can also enjoy live music and complimentary small bites.
McGregor’s oil paintings draw heavily from the natural world and a lifelong connection to the water. He grew up in Ipswich, MA, on the Ipswich Bay. “I’ve always had a love for the water—I want to be around the water, on the water, in the water,” he says. “When I first started to paint, I was living in Key West and I was painting the oceans.”
As a child, McGregor’s parents wanted him to be an artist and encouraged his drawing skills. He took to music instead, and didn’t return to painting until he was in his 50s. After moving from the coast to Western North Carolina, his focus shifted from the marine world toward birds and wildlife. He primarily works in oils, a medium that offers flexibility and room for experimentation.
Eddy. Tobias McGregor, artist
“You can correct a lot of mistakes,” he says. “When you work with watercolors, what’s down is down. And with acrylics, they just set up too fast. With oils, you can work on one part of a painting, and the other part dries, so…you can correct the mistakes.”
McGregor doesn’t begin with a drawing—he goes straight to putting paint on wood panels. He generally paints from memory rather than an image.
“I don’t think much of it when I’m painting it,” he says. “I use pictures of birds to be accurate, but as far as nature goes, I kind of make that up. And as a painting evolves, I sometimes add things that I see in my head. And if I can see it in my head, I can paint it. If I can hear it in my head, I can play it.”
Music continues to influence his artistic process. McGregor says he often alternates between painting and playing music to maintain momentum. “I’ll take a break from painting and I’ll just play music in order to keep the creativity going,” he says.
He is currently working on a painting featuring a Great Blue Heron moving through marsh grasses alongside a kingfisher. Following recent cataract surgery, McGregor says he has become even more immersed in fine detail and texture. “You have no idea how wonderful it is to see again,” McGregor says. “I get lost in the detail of the painting.”
For McGregor, painting remains less about reaching a destination and more about continual growth. “It’s a journey,” McGregor says. “It’s just trying to get a little better at every painting, and it does.”
To learn more, visit TwigsAndLeaves.com.
