Memorial Day Weekend “Music & Art” Opening of Lizz Ford’s Colorful Acrylics
As vivid and bold as summer colors in the beautiful Allegheny-Clarion River Valley, Lizz Ford’s exhibit of
dynamic, colorful, and large acrylic paintings will be in full bloom at the Red Brick Gallery and Gift Shop
in Foxburg beginning Memorial Day weekend.
Meet the Artist and enjoy an afternoon down by the river on Sunday, May 28 from 2:30 PM to 5 PM for
the exhibit opening and “Music & Art” wine and cheese reception featuring music by singer/guitarist Jeff
Powell of Lawyers, Guns and Money with his long-time singing partner, sister Jennifer Powell Lowrey.
Catering will be by Zack’s Farm to Table of New Bethlehem.
Ford’s large acrylic paintings with their contemplative and crisp style of visually bold imagery will be
exhibited in The Upstairs Gallery at the Red Brick Gallery from Friday, May 26 to Sunday, July 2 during
weekend hours: Fridays 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM, Saturdays 11:00 PM –7:00 PM, and Sundays 12:00 noon –
5:00 PM.
Lizz Ford is a freelance artist and graphic designer with a healthy obsession for large acrylic paintings.
Wanting them to be seen as clearly as possible, she chooses large scale canvases to create a cacophony
of visually bold and impactful imagery. Dynamic and colorful, Ford’s “Doom and Bloom” is a favorite in a
series that was awarded “Best in Show” in the Butler Art Center 2021 exhibition – and her “Bull in a
China Shop” which is epic, dominating a room, was best in show in 2022.
Choosing organic subject matter with a surrealist perspective, her body of work is both contemplative
and crisp. Lizz enjoys flirting with subtle challenges of perspective embedded within obvious beauty.
The result is work experimenting with idioms and moral dichotomy wrapped in flowers and leaves.
As a designer, Lizz works on her own line of digital metallic prints and various commissions ranging from
book covers to product packaging. As a lover of color palettes, she has experimented with pigments and
making her own custom paint. Empty walls don't stand a chance. She is currently designing labels for
Butler's newest coffee company Butler Coffee Lab, and book covers for Bookish Box. As a teaser, check
out her paintings on https://lizzford.myportfolio.com
A graduate of Allegheny-Clarion Valley in 2008, Ford credits her education to a rich childhood artistic
environment. While surrounded by artistic people, as a painter she is self-taught. Believing it is her job
to paint and the viewer's job to behold, she doesn't want to stand in the way of the viewer's
interpretation, offering immersive subjective experiences.
The “Music & Art” opening features guitarist and singer Jeff Powell, who has been singing professionally
since the age of 16, after joining a band in 1985. He has co-written and recorded three studio albums
with two different groups – the first, Clarion based rock band, Ask A Stranger, which released “Stranger
Things Have Happened” in 1991.
Jeff has recently been performing with Western PA rock band, Lawyers, Guns and Money, and an
acoustic trio called In Harmony – both of which play quite frequently throughout western PA and eastern
Ohio.
In 1995 Jeff formed the family acoustic trio, The 3 of Us, which was comprised of his sister Jennifer
Lowrey and their cousin Jerry Baum. They went on to record well received albums including “Allegheny
Hideaway and Sketches”. The RBG appearance brings Jeff back together with his sister, Jennifer Powell-
Lowrey for this performance. For twenty-five years, Jennifer Lowrey has taught music in the Allegheny-
Clarion Valley Schools and directed musicals there and at the Barrow Civic Theatre in Franklin.