The distinct artistic visions of four Savannah women will be showcased in a new exhibit opening this month at City Market's Lobby Gallery.

The artwork of Sharon Dobbs, Betsy Haun, Carrie Kellogg and Andrea Stark varies from mixed media to watercolors to photography, but their mutual respect for one another is consistent.

And their individual visions are as different as their backgrounds.


Sharon Dobbs

Dobbs, as a teenager, was told that there was no future in painting, so she put it aside to begin a career as an RN.

"I've always been drawn to painting and I eventually started again," said Dobbs, 39. Now a teacher at Savannah Tech, she describes her artwork as constantly evolving:

"I'm in a growth period. My painting is definitely eclectic right now." Eventually, Dobbs hopes to combine her inclinations as a writer and her fantastical mixed media works into a children's book.


Carrie Kellogg

Like Dobbs, before becoming an artist, Kellogg pursued a more stable career as a lab technician in Indiana for 16 years. Eventually, her interest in her career subsided and she turned to painting classes as an outlet. Her still life assignments required that she take photographs of the things she wanted to paint. Photography seemed second nature to Kellogg, 43, and it quickly took the place of painting.

"I quit my job and I'm doing this full time. This has been a very good year for me," she admitted. Now a skilled photographer, she is the Savannah Art Association's featured artist this month.

In addition to 11 of her photos being included in an upcoming Savannah-themed coffee table book, Kellogg recently walked away with a blue ribbon from the annual Coastweeks Photography Contest and Exhibit.


Betsy Haun

Unlike Dobbs and Kellogg, Haun didn't experience the stability of a career until she discovered watercolors.

"I went through five careers," said Haun, president of the Savannah Art Association. Her background includes everything from grounds maintenance to dental assistant to landscaping. But even her myriad careers did not prevent her from finding her true calling.

"My father was an architect and an artist...He always liked watercolors," she explained. "Now watercolors are my passion."

But perhaps she would not have discovered her talents as quickly if it hadn't been for Dr. Chip Goldsmith, whose artwork inspired Haun, 42, to give painting a try.


Andrea Stark

Of the four women, only Stark's background seemed unavoidably destined for art. Born into a family of artists, the 57-year-old married into a family of artists. She studied fashion and art education in college, but this course was "interrupted" by her marriage to Phil Stark, also an artist. During 20 years of child rearing, Stark says she never really gave up painting. But it wasn't until recently that she's felt the confidence necessary to show her Impressionistic oil and watercolor landscapes publicly.