Artist Zach Rowatt created a chalk pastels drawing titled “The Steps Ahead.” Photo provided.

Arts center exhibit to feature works of Goreville artist

“Imagined Divides,” an exhibit featuring the works of artist Zach Rowatt of Goreville is planned from Jan. 20 through Feb. 12 at the Shawnee Hills Arts Council’s Anna Arts Center. The arts center is located at 117 W. Davie St. in Anna.

An opening reception for the exhibit is planned from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, at the arts center. The reception is open to the public. Admission is free. Refreshments will be served.

The arts center shared that the “Imagined Divides” exhibit is “a culmination of illustrations of the environment using chalk pastels fixed on paper.”

The exhibit is scheduled to be open for viewing on Thursdays, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; on Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and on Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.  

“At the time of this display I will have spent over four years trying to better understanding and illustrating the environment.  I started drawing during a period of transition and there is nothing that has not continued to change in that time,” Rowatt said.

The artist said he mainly works with chalk pastels fixed on paper. His art work predominantly is begun in the field, “where I get the value in each piece down.” Rowatt said he finishes pieces at home, “where I continue to build and blend the color.”

“Southern Illinois is, and has been, the most difficult environment I’ve worked in through a plein-air fashion, which is a result of the quick tendency of light to shift through the forest’s trees and over and around bluffs,” he said. 

Rowatt was born and raised in Normal. He graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in geology.  

From there, he followed opportunities and went to Oregon, North Dakota and Minnesota, where he also had ample inspiration for varied landscape work in his free time before coming back to Illinois.

The artist lives in Goreville with two cats. He works with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Vienna, providing technical conservation planning assistance in Johnson, Massac and Pope counties.  

Outside of work and art he enjoys staying active, reading, music and pursuing other creative endeavors.

Groups that may want to see the exhibit can contact Lee Hackney by phone at 904-625-1109 or by email vabchlee@gmail.com to arrange a date and time for viewing.  

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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