Bailey/Pohl

P Bailey, Andre Pohl Acrylic Art

Our Story....so far...

A long, long time ago. In a country far, far away. There lived a man, longing for a new life in a far and distant land. Should he forsake everything and everyone he knew to travel in search of a new life? It was one of the biggest decisions he would ever make, should he go for it? He should and did. Andre arrived in America, first living and working in Kentucky, then moving to Mississippi finally settling in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Andre was unable to bring many worldly possessions with him, but he was able to bring his passion for dance. (Yes, dance.)
In the meantime, there lived a maiden in Birmingham, Alabama. (OK, it was me.) With the same passion for dance! (for those of you who have met me, yes I said, dance.)
The man from the distant land, met the maid at ye ole country dance club, they danced and they talked (which was no easy feat, at that time Andre's accent was really, really strong. And so was mine!)
He began to teach me French, (the language of love) and I began to teach him Southern (the language of...my people)
After a little while, the man from far, far away and the local maiden became husband and wife and later moved from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham.
Over the next few years we danced in contests, dance groups and even hosted the 44th National Square dance convention, Country, Western division. East, West coast swing, Cha, Cha, Cha (Which Andre thought was Cat, Cat, Cat.) and the Waltz. Finally, age, fatique and injuries started to plague us and we eventually gave up dance altogether.
Now don't worry there is a happy ending to this.
Not long after that, Andre started taking art classes. He took a few workshops and the next thing you know he was producing some pretty good art work. At that time I had a family owned gift shop that was heavy into framed art. One day I said to Andre, "You know I think that I would like to try to sell your art in my store." But Andre discovered he was very attached to his work and was not sure how he would feel to let go of his creations. He told me that I could take only one painting of one of our cats. (yes, we love animals and we currently have, two dogs, five cats and a rabbit.)
Ok, I jumped on the chance and took it away quickly before he could change his mind.
The painting sold almost immediately, not for a great sum but enough that he was happy and so he began to paint a few select works for me to sell in the store.  His art has changed over the years but to this day, he still paints some things that he just cannot bear to immdiately part with. Sometimes he has to keep it for a year, sometimes just to enjoy them a few extra months will do and some he just cannot let go .
After a couple of years of his "hobby selling" an event occured that would change everything.
After September 11, 2001 store sales waned and so did my interest in the business. Several months later we closed the store.

For the next couple of months I wandered around the house trying to decide what to do with my life. Then one night I had a dream. In the dream I was staring at a blank canvas on an easel. I was  talking to myself and asking over and over again "What should I do, what should I do?
And out of the canvas came a clear, strong reply, the voice said just one word, "Paint!"
The next day I woke up with more enthusiasm I had felt in many months, maybe years. I could think of nothing else other than painting. (Even though I had never really painted in my life, I used to draw for hours and hours as a young girl, but I had stopped that as soon as I grew up and entered the " adult world".) I dug out an old peice of mat board, rumaged through Andre's paints then I sat down and by the end of the day I had managed to paint a crude bowl of fruit. When Andre came home that evening and saw what I had done. He brought me a canvas and said, "Don't ever paint on mat board again, that painting is too good, it deserves to be on canvas!" Wow, what a great compliment! ( Ain't love grand?) That boosted my confidence. I was on cloud nine and I began to paint from the time I got up in the morning until 8 or 9 pm.  I took a few local classes for the first couple of years and I painted 40 hours a week or more!  Andre was always right there encouraging me every step of the way. He took classes with me, invested in supplies and encouraged me to apply to art shows. (Of course I don't think that he imagined that I was going to also fill out show applications for him and throw us both head first into the professional art world! Remember his aversion to parting with his art? He is much better now.)
Even though I now believe that I was born to be an artist, without Andre, his encouragement and support I don't believe that I would have found my calling (so to speak) and have the opportunity to live this dream life (please don't wake me!) as a professional artist today.

Please take a look at our art. We hope that you enjoy browsing the collection as much as we enjoy producing it.

Pam Bailey

PAM BAILEY

Pam Bailey, was born and raised in the South, Georgia and Alabama, currently resides in Alabama. She describes her work as suggestion and form.

A full time, self taught artist she has won numerous awards and paints exclusively in acrylic. She has been experimenting with new techniques, using liquid transfer clay and plastic film. She participates in many juried art shows throughout the South each year. She is represented by the Willis Gray Art Gallery in Decatur, AL. You can find her paintings in a book that premiered in Dec 2007, “Birmingham Hoover Sketchbook”, by Indigo Publishing.

Pam’s paintings are in private collections all across America and in Puerto Rico. Australia, Canada, Ireland and the UK. Recently her work was added to the permanent collection in the Guntersville Museum of Art.

She is a member of the Mountain Brook Art Association and of P.A.C.E. (Patrons Artists Council East.)

Pam is inspired by crowds of people, massive activity and at the same time the total absence of it too. She is attracted to painting cityscapes full of people and activity and in total opposite interiors, cafes and street scenes devoid of all life.

“In my paintings you are either quietly waiting for something to begin or it is happening at breakneck speed. And that, to me represents life.”

22 x 28 original painting on
gallery wrapped canvas by P Bailey

Pam Bailey

Resume

Summary of

Education

Self - taught

Honors & Awards

State of Alabama Award, 56th Annual Fairhope Arts & Crafts, Fairhope, AL 2008
Presidents Purchase Award, Piney Woods Art Festival, Enterprise, AL 2008

Best of Show, PACE 30th Annual Art Show, Birmingham, AL 2008
First Place, Mixed Media 30th Annual PACE Art Show, 2008
First Place, Acrylic painting, 30th Annual PACE Art Show, 2008
Merit Award, Mountain Brook Art Show, Mountain Brook, AL 2008
Citizens Award, 1st Sunday Art Monday, Scottsboro, AL 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
First Place Trussville Spring Art Show, Trussville, AL 2007
Purchase Award: South Bank Trust, Guntersville Art on the Lake, Guntersville, AL 2007
Merit Award, Arts Alive, Florence, AL 2007
Second Place, Fayette, AL 2007
Purchase Award, Fayette, AL 2007
First Place, Artscape, Pell City, AL 2007
Second Place, PACE Art Show, Birmingham, AL 2004, 2005
Third Place, Chalaka Art Show, Sylagauga, AL 2004. 2005

Professional Memberships

Mountain Brook Art Association : Food Vendor Chairman 2007, 2008.

PACE Art Club:1^st Vice-President 2005-2006, President 2006-2007 and 2007-2008

Bibliography

Featured Artist The Daily Sentinel, Scottsboro, AL 2003-2006
Featured Artist: The Clarion Newspaper, Scottsboro, AL 2006
The Cahaba Journal, two page feature, Birmingham, AL 2005
The Cahaba Journal, full page feature, Leeds, AL 2008
Over the Mountain Journal, two page feature article 2003
NBC 13 News. Art work featured (Magic City Art Connection) April 27, 2008. 12,5 and 10pm
The weekly arts calendar, Birmingham News, Black and White, AL.com several mentions yearly.
Alabama Tourism web site.

Museums & Collections

Permanent collection Guntersville Museum of Art 2007
Permanent collection Ozark-Enterprise Community College

Exhibitions:

Solo Shows

Leeds Arts Gallery, Leeds AL, 2008
St. Vincents Art Gallery, Birmingham, AL 2004
Medical Center East Art Gallery, Birmingham, AL 2005,2007
Brookwood Medical Center Art Gallery, Birmingham, AL 2007

Groups Shows:

Medical Center East Art Gallery, PACE Show, Birmingham, AL 2005,2007
Kennedy Douglas Center for the Arts, Florence, AL 2007,2008
Hoover Library, Bluff Park Preview Show, Hoover, AL 2007
Cultural Alliance, Mountain Brook Member Show 2007
Decorators Showhouse, Mountain Brook, AL 2007
Montgomery Museum of Art, Christainburg, VA 2007
Pinchgut Creek Gallery, Trussville, AL 2004
Vann & Young Building, Birmingham, AL 2004

Juried Art Shows

ONB Magic City Art Connection, Birmingham, 2007,2008
56th Annual Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival, Fairhope, AL 2008
Piney Woods Art Festival, Enterprise, AL 2008
Gum Tree Festival, Tupelo, MS 2008
Jerry Brown Art Festival, Hamilton, AL 2008
Mountain Brook Art Show, Mountain Brook, AL 2004-2008
Energen Art Show, Birmingham, Al 2005-2008
Arts Alive, Florence, AL 2007
Bluff Park Art Show, Hoover, AL 2007
Atlanta Arts Festival, Piedmont Park, GA 2007
River Arts Festival, Memphis, TN 2007
Fayette Arts Festival, Fayette, AL 2007
Guntersville Art on the Lake, Guntersville, AL 2007
Artscape, Pell City, AL 2007
Kentuck Festival of the Arts, Kentuck, AL 2007
Yellow Daisy Art & Craft Show, Stone Mountain, GA 2006
Blue Light Art Show, Birmingham, AL 2006

Other Art Shows

Riverchase Loves Artists, Riverchase, AL 2007,2008
Jasper Art in the Park, Jasper, AL 2007
Avondale Art in the Park, Avondale, AL 2004,2006

Representation

Willis-Gray Art Gallery, Decatur, AL

Publications

Birmingham-Hoover Sketchbook, Indigo Publishing, 2007

André Pohl

André Pohl was born from a typical middle class family in end of WWII Belgium where he received the then Latin & Greek based traditional education followed by a training as a physical therapist, which he has been practicing since.

He immigrated to the US in 1990 and began to draw during his spare time and moved his way towards painting in 1998 .

In 2004 he became a US citizen.

Except for a few informal workshops and local classes he is essentially self taught. After a short period in oils, he now mainly uses acrylics. He began as most artists painting a large variety of subjects. Some of his favorite subjects are: Animals and Clouds. He is currently painting landscapes. Andre says “ I think that as an artist I must immerse myself in my current subject, in order to really grasp it, I try to paint one subject at a time hundreds of times. Right now my subject is the land, sky and trees.”

André joined the group of all those who for any reason did not get the opportunity to express

themselves in art at an earlier period in their lives, only to do so at a later stage.

He is a member of the Mountain Brook Art Association and PACE (Patrons, Artists, Council, East)

He participates in many juried art shows throughout the South each year. His work can be found in

Private collections across America and Canada. He is currently represented by the Willis-Gray Gallery in Decatur, AL.

11 x 14 original painting on
Masonite (board) by Andre Pohl

Andre Pohl

Resume

Summary of Education Self Taught

Honors and Awards

2nd place Acrylics, PACE Art show, Birmingham AL 2008
Honorable Mention PACE Art Show, Birmingham, AL 2008
Merit Award, Mountain Brook Art Show, Mountain Brook, AL 2008

3rd Place Fayette Art Show, Fayette, AL 2007
Purchase Award, Fayette Art Show, 2007
Citizens Award Scottsboro Art Show, Scottsboro, AL 2005
1st Place PACE Art show 2004
3rd Place PACE Art show 2005
3rd Place Chalaka Art Show, Sylagauga, AL 2004, 2005

Memberships

Mountain Brook Art Association.
PACE Art Club, Treasurer 2006-2007, 2007-2008.

Bibliography

Featured Artist The Daily Sentinel, Scottsboro, AL 2003,2004,2005,2006
Featured Artist The Clarion Newspaper, Scottsboro, AL 2006
The Cahaba Journal, two page feature, Birmingham, AL 2005
Over the Mountain Journal, article 2003
The weekly arts calendar, Birmingham News, four to six times yearly.

Exhibitions

Solo Show

Levite Jewish Community Center 2008
St. Vincent’s Art Gallery, Birmingham, AL 2004
Medical Center East Art Gallery, Birmingham, AL 2005,2007
Brookwood Medical Center Art Gallery 2006

Group Shows

Medical Center East, PACE show, Birmingham, AL 2005,2007
Pinchgut Creek Gallery, Trussville, AL 2004
Vann & Young Building, Birmingham, AL 2004
Kennedy-Douglas Center for the Arts , Florence, AL 2007, 2008
Cultural Alliance Mt. Brook Member Show 2007
Montgomery Museum of Art, Christianburg, VA 2007

Juried Shows

ONB Magic City Art Connection, 2008
Piney Woods Art Festival, 2008
Jerry Brown Art Festival 2008
Gum Tree Art Festival, Tupelo, MS 2008
1^st Sunday Art Show, Scottsboro, AL 2003-2007
Mountain Brook Art Show, Mountain Brook, AL 2004-2008
Energen Art Show, Birmingham, AL 2005-2008
Blue Light Special, Birmingham, AL 2006
River Arts Festival, Memphis, TN 2007
Artscape, Pell City, AL 2007
Art on the Lake, Guntersville, AL 2007
Florence Arts Alive, Florence, AL 2007
Fayette Art Festival, Fayette, AL 2007

Representation Willis-Gray Gallery, Decatur, AL.