Local artist and instructor Eileen Strickland is featuring the work of seven blossoming artists who have been studying with her.

The oil paintings of Judy Allen, Adele Buytenhuys, Catherine Church, Shari Kiehling, Marilynn Ottman, Maija Willis and Ulrike Willis will be displayed at LeCoffee and Moore, located next to Hickory Tavern on U.S. 15-501, Southern Pines, Monday, May 23, through Thursday, May 26.

Eileen Strickland >is a locally recognized portrait artist. > >She is known for her exacting detail, vivid color and realistic style. She >creates >her >paintings >from photographs, and her medium preference is oil. >Her work includes portraits of people, pets, landscapes, seascapes, architecture and still life. >

Strickland has studied with local and >nationally known artists such as David Weaver, Luanna Winner, Peggy Baumgaertner and >Robert Way. >She is a member of Artists League of the Sandhills in Aberdeen, and exhibits in local art shows. >

After retiring in 2005, she became an art instructor at the Artists League of the Sandhills. She offers >private art lessons >to students in her studio, where she has taught 23 students whose ages range from 6 to 82.

"I encourage students to paint subjects that interest them," Strickland says. "I enjoy personally guiding a student through the entire painting process."

During her lessons, she walks students through basic information on materials, covering composition, techniques and how to adjust values and correct errors. She likes giving detailed demonstrations, especially in mixing paint and showing students the proper way to apply it. All classes are taught using an oil medium, and a full explanation is given for each layer of paint on their canvas.

Strickland feels that every student approaches the learning process differently.

"I encourage students to take notes, to think about paint selections before applying them on canvas and to take time to study a subject before picking up the paint brush.

"Having the right resources and teacher to guide you in the right direction is very important for any beginner in the art field," she says. "Most people learn better by watching others, and that is why I feel demonstrations are an important tool in teaching. One-on-one instruction gives students instant feedback on their work, and any questions can be immediately answered. I have found that repeating information during a class session is a wonderful tool to help students retain what is being taught."

Adele Buytenhuys began painting in 2001 while living in the Netherlands. She has painted with watercolor and acrylic media. Buytenhuys returned to the United States in 2002 and enrolled in an art school in Houston, Texas. She began with basic drawing, concentrating on negative and positive images. She completed a few colored pencil drawings before moving to California in 2005. She did not paint again until 2008 when she enrolled in an art class with four other students. It was in this class that she completed her first oil painting. Buytenhuys moved to North Carolina in November 2009 and began studying with Eileen Strickland.

Catherine Church has been painting since the mid-1990s, but she never had formal lessons. During the past few years, she has taken art classes from Sandhills Community College and from the Artists League of the Sandhills, in Aberdeen. Church began studying with Eileen Strickland in October 2009. During classes with Strickland, Church was instructed on the layout process of a subject, on how to choose colors for her palette, on painting using transparent layers of oil and on how to select frames for artwork. She won the Honorable Mention Award in a juried show for "Easter Bonnet," which was painted with Strickland's instruction. The portraits of Church's mother and father, Wilda and John Church, were painted from black and white photographs that were taken in the 1930s.

"I will be forever indebted to Eileen for her guidance and patience with me while studying the art of portrait painting under her expert tutorage," Church says. "She is a wonderful teacher and has brought so much pleasure and satisfaction to my life."

Judy Allen has been interested in art all her life and has taken several classes on the subject. She spent part of her sabbatical >from her university >teaching by taking art classes. She moved to the Seven Lakes area and has taken classes mostly in decorative painting or classes with an art group. She has never exhibited her work. Allen began her study with Strickland in January 2010.

Maija and Ulrike Willis had no prior art experience when they began their study with Strickland in October 2009, but say they have found art to be fun and exciting, and they enjoy painting a variety of subjects.

Marilynn Ottman graduated from college in 1995 with a degree in art history and English. >The majority of her studio art classes were in printmaking. She was interested in realistic art techniques and began her study with Strickland in November.

Shari Kieling began her art career in 1990 as a decorative painter. She attended a workshop in Florida and continued decorative painting for many years. Last October, she began studying with Strickland using oil medium on canvas. During the past few months, Kieling says she has found oil painting under Strickland's instruction rewarding.

"I am very proud of each student's accomplished work and increased level of painting skill," Strickland says.

Visit www.eileensart.net to view some of the work of these artists.