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Art Exhibit Features the Mammoth & the Miniscule

Rich Egger

The new exhibit at the West Central Illinois Arts Center in Macomb highlights some works that cover an entire section of a wall and others that cover just a few square inches.

Mammoth to Miniscule: A Study in Scale will remain on display through November 22. The WCIAC is open Tuesday through Friday, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, and Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission is free.

One of the "mammoth" pieces is a painting of a grizzly bear by Phil Brevick of Hamilton.  It's roughly 4 feet tall and 6.5 feet wide, which is much larger than many of the pieces he had been working on.

"You're not as expressive when you're working small, whereas with a large piece you feel like you're putting more of your arm into the brush strokes and can be a little more wild and expressive with it," he said.

"This was just sort of a fun piece to play with."

He feels the piece conveys the power of a grizzly bear.

Brevick is a wildlife artist who took up art fulltime about a year ago. Before that, he worked in the advertising world while doing art on the side. 

He said he will have a solo show at the WCIAC in May, 2015.

Four miniscule pieces by Linda Peters of Camden are also included in the exhibit. She prefers to paint on a small scale.

Credit Rich Egger
Linda Peters of Camden feels it's easier to paint on a smaller scale. She says smaller pieces can work well as cards.

"I think I might find more trouble trying to paint huge," Peters said. "It takes a lot of space to do a really big thing. And if you want to take it to show somewhere, it's not real easy."

Peters teaches studio art even though she didn't take up the craft until she took a decorative painting class in Rushville when she was an adult.

"I compare it to cooking and sewing. You have some directions, you have a line pattern that you start with, you learn how to apply the paint, and you begin to learn. And from then on it's just a lot of practice."

Rich is TSPR's News Director.