“50 Years and Counting: Paintings by Brad Bisbey,” through February 20

Exhibit: Through Friday, February 20

Reception and Q&A: Monday, February 2, 2 p.m.

St. Ambrose University's Morrissey Gallery, 2101 Gaines Street, Davenport IA

Works by a gifted area artist and educator will, through February 20, be on display in the Morrisey Gallery of Davenport's St. Ambrose University, the exhibition 50 Years and Counting: Paintings by Brad Bisbey showcasing the talents of the 1976 St. Ambrose graduate who is a signature member of the National Society of Painters and teaches acrylic painting at Davenport's Figge Art Museum.

Bisbey began drawing and painting at the age of nine and decided early on to pursue a career in fine art, particularly painting. A Moline High School alumnus, he graduated from St. Ambrose University in 1976 with a B.A. degree in Art. Bisbey also studied with renowned portrait painter Daniel Greene in Chicago. An oil painter for many years, Bisbey developed an allergy to oil paint and solvents and had to find another medium in which to work. Acrylic paint was a possible solution. After getting used to the acrylic, Bisbey says he wouldn’t return to oil paint even if he could. The artist, who lives in same Moline house in which he grew up, has paintings in private and corporate collections throughout the United States.

As Bisbey says in his Artist Statement: "For me, painting is a personal journey, a kind of visual journal of life around me. Anyone and anything is a potential subject, so I try to stay awake to everything around me. Whatever the subject, I want first to be competent with the process and the materials, but I am equally concerned with communicating how I feel about what is before me. I am always looking for that balance between reason and emotion in my work. I must first have an emotional connection with the subject because I know that if a subject touches me, it may touch another person as well. In the final analysis, my painting is both a search and a means of communication."

A 2 p.m. reception and Q&A session with Bisbey will be held on February 2 in St. Ambrose University's Morrissey Gallery, located in the lobby of the Galvin Fine Arts Center. 50 Years and Counting: Paintings by Brad Bisbey will be on display through February 20, gallery hours are Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is free. For more information, call (563)333-6444 and visit Facebook.com/CatichGallerySAU.