A new exhibit in the Murchison-Lane Gallery of the Betsy Lovett Arts Center highlights the work of alumna artist Kathy Stark ’80 Bartram and is one of the few collections to feature public gallery hours.

Stark’s show centers around paintings she has created from her exploration of North Florida’s parks with her trusty yellow lab companion, Tanner. The extraordinary, large-scale paintings were installed in the Bolles Middle School Bartram Campus gallery over Spring Break and will be exhibited through the end of April.

Bolles Director of Fine and Performing Arts Laura Rippel said middle school art students will have the opportunity to interact with the art throughout the month and all Bartram students will enjoy taking in Stark’s inspiring paintings.

“We are thrilled as a community to exhibit Kathy’s pieces, they are stunning,” Rippel said. “To feature an artist of her caliber in our gallery is a real milestone for the School, and we are excited to invite Bolles families and the Jacksonville community to the Middle School Bartram Campus to enjoy this special opportunity.”

The public showing hours for the Kathy Stark Painting Exhibit in Murchison-Lane Gallery are every Thursday in April from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Bolles Fine and Performing Arts Department is hosting an opening event for the exhibit on April 17 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Murchison-Lane Gallery. The event provides guests the opportunity to enjoy the exhibit and visit with the artist. Stark will be signing books and discussing her works.

Stark was born in Jacksonville and attended the Bartram School before it was part of The Bolles School. In 1985, she graduated from Furman University with a bachelor’s degree in Studio Arts and then attended the University of Florida for post-baccalaureate studies. For four years after college, she traveled the Southeast working as set designer, art director and production illustrator for the motion picture industry before returning to Jacksonville to work as the youth director for First Presbyterian Church. Stark worked for another five years, painting, sculpting and designing for a company that creates environments for entertainment attractions, museums and zoos. About 14 years ago, Stark resumed her full-time pursuit as a professional fine artist. Breaking out from her long-preferred medium of oils, Stark began exploring watercolors for the first time since college and has a newfound energy and enthusiasm with this medium. She is especially interested in painting large even monumental watercolors of her beloved North Florida wilderness surroundings. Her work has been collected both privately and corporately and has been shown in museums and galleries primarily in the Southeast.