Paintings by Greg Skrtic on display at NOVA-Manassas

Acrylic paintings by Greg Skrtic are on exhibition in Colgan Gallery at the Manassas Campus of Northern Virginia Community College until Sept. 24. Free and open to the public.

Colgan Gallery is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Contact Rosemary Gallick at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information about the exhibition and reception.

Skrtic’s artwork reflects the influence of the culture, people and events of all the places he has lived. He grew up in Florida and earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Texas Tech University and another degree in art education at the University of North Texas. He then joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Botswana to teach art in a small village on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. Skrtic and his wife later lived in Yemen and then Lithuania where their son was born.

The family moved to Virginia several years ago and Skrtic currently teaches art to elementary school students in Fairfax County. He creates art whenever he can.

“For me, painting is an obsession,” Skrtic said. “When I begin a painting, my obsession is red, angry, creative and passionate. Red is the time I am more than likely to experiment with new techniques and color combinations, working with broad strokes. As I settle into the painting, my obsession turns to green, calm, deliberate and sedulous. Green is when I am more analytical about the work, keeping an eye to compositional concerns and aesthetics.”

He takes inspiration from many sources, both natural and man-made. “I use patterns from patchwork quilting, carpet or wallpaper designs just as readily as from a seashell, leaf or seed pod. Incorporating these patterns into the overall composition in a way that they can co-exist in harmony is a recurring theme in my work.”

See more of Skrtic’s paintings at http://gregskrtic.pixels.com/index.html .