Art teacher Louis Miller is currently displaying his personal artwork in a solo exhibit at the Sarasota Orchestra Harmony Gallery. Miller’s work has been on display since Sept. 8, and will continue to be on display until Oct. 30. His solo exhibit consists of 22 paintings of realistic wildlife.
This past summer, Miller decided to fill out an online application for the opportunity to display his work at the gallery. The Sarasota Orchestra Harmony Gallery accepts a mere six artists per year, and invited Miller to be one of the featured artists for the display.
In addition, Miller already has an ongoing display at the Ringling College of Art and Design, where he is an alumnus. He decided to take advantage of this recent opportunity though, because it is a great chance to “really get [his] art out there.” According to Miller, it is difficult to find space to display personal artwork, so this solo display means a lot to him.
Miller’s preferred style of art is realism, a style of painting that strives to fully capture the truth behind the subject without implausible elements. Miller’s displayed wildlife paintings are highly detailed and naturalistic, making them good representations of realism.
The paintings are on canvas, some from watercolor and others from oil paints. Miller enjoys painting wildlife portraits because he enjoys creating pieces of art that people find beautiful. “Wildlife is a subject that I like to paint,” he said. “There is a certain tenderness — a certain beauty that people are attracted to.”
Miller hopes this solo exhibit will benefit not only his own career, but those of his students. He believes that it will demonstrate the concept of capturing various details in their art and inspire them to go out and display their own artwork.
Though Miller’s pieces are on sale at the Sarasota Orchestra Harmony Gallery, selling them is not his main goal. In actuality, the presentation itself is not what is most important to Miller either, but it is how his art inspires others that he cares about. “I’ve never really shown my work before,” Miller said. “This is a big accomplishment, for this is my first solo show. I am certainly excited.”