FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5 MAY 2010

Frank LaLumia, president of the Plein-Air Painters of America, announced today that two artists have been added to the ranks of PAPA’s current 28 Signature Members. “We are proud to include two of America’s top painters in our group. John Cosby, from California, and West Fraser, from South Carolina, are both committed to and celebrated for their plein-air paintings, as well as for studio works,” LaLumia said. “Cosby and Fraser will add new dimensions to PAPA exhibitions and workshops in terms of philosophy, technique, and subject matter, while upholding the standards by which the group has operated since its inception in 1986.”

 
JOHN COSBY. Born in California in 1955, Cosby worked in the communications field before beginning his painting career in the late 1980s while sailing three years in a rebuilt classic Herreshoff sloop on Eastern Seaboard waterways. Based in Paso Robles, CA, Cosby paints in locations around the world. He was a founding board member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association and is a member of the California Art Club. Cosby painted in PAPA exhibitions in 2001, 2003, and 2004, and is represented by James J. Rieser Fine Art, Carmel, CA; Redfern Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA; and Tree’s Place Gallery, Orleans, MA. Among his recent awards are the Collectors Choice at the 2009 Laguna Art Museum Invitational, CA; and the 2007 First Place at the Heritage Art Show, San Juan Capistrano, CA.  Additional information available at cosbystudio.com.

WEST FRASER. Born in Georgia in 1955, Fraser was raised in Hinesville and later Hilton Head Island. After college he worked as an illustrator, beginning his fine art career in watercolors in the early 1980s. Based in Charleston, SC, Fraser began working on-location in oils in 1990, committing himself to capturing both the rich fabric of urban life and the unspoiled natural environment throughout the world. His work is found in nine museum collections, including six solo museum exhibitions in the Midwest, Southeast and California. His work has been the subject of several books, including Charleston in My Time: Paintings of West Fraser, accompanying a 2002-2003 traveling exhibition of the same name. He is a member of the Salmagundi Club, American Society of Marine Artists, California Art Club, and the Oil Painters of America. Fraser painted in PAPA exhibitions in 1997, 2003, 2005, and 2009, and is represented by Claudia Heath Fine Art, Charlotte, NC; Helena Fox Fine Art, Charleston, SC; Irene Morrah Fine Art, Greenville, SC; and Palmetto Bluff Gallery, Bluffton, SC. Additional information is available at westfraserstudio.com.