Artist Corner - Three Rivers Art Gallery

Meet The Artists

The talented people behind the work on our walls

Every piece at Three Rivers comes from an artist with roots in the Smokies. We're proud to share their work and their stories. Get to know the people behind the paintings and drawings that fill our gallery.

Karen Whitaker

I am most inspired by God’s handiwork in nature and in His creatures within their everyday habitat. I feel challenged to translate the beauty of that onto the canvas. It is my joy to be a part of this process. I’ve been drawn to the outdoors throughout my life, and the perfect setting for exploring and cultivating art is right here in Bryson City and Western NC. I have the pleasure of creating in my home studio which overlooks the Great Smoky National Park.

Bonnie and Jere Smith

Bonnie started her journey in stained glass, making lamp shades and small pieces. Over the years the work has evolved to become larger and more creative. Her hanging stained glass panels are designed considering the color and texture of the glass and is often influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School of Design. She uses a combination of clear and opaque glass. The panels are encased in hand-made frames of wood made by her woodworker husband, Jere Smith. They also collaborate to make one-of-a-kind wood sculptures that highlight the natural shape of the wood and its simplistic beauty. Pieces feature cutout areas inserted with stained glass. Standing sculptures range in size from 3-6 feet in height. Smaller sculptures to use on a table or shelf are 12-18 inches high
* Work is signed with the letters “TR” which is for the flower Trillium.

Vicki Van Vynckt

Artist Vicki Van Vynckt has always been inspired by the beauty of nature, particularly sunrises and sunsets. Painting for her is an expression of gratitude for the gifts we have around us. Vicki has been creating oil paintings for 30 years and studied fine art at the University of Southern Indiana. After graduating with a degree in fine art, she moved to Minneapolis and took classical drawing and plein-air painting classes through The Atelier, a fine art school that taught nineteenth century French painting and drawing techniques. Vicki soon began teaching oil painting classes through adult community education, as well as
out of her studio. She has exhibited her work in over 60 exhibitions. She currently is represented by galleries in New Mexico, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Her paintings hang in private collections across the United States.

Commissions are welcome. For those interested in learning to paint in oils, she offers small group lessons.

Christine Schlagter

Christine Schlageter is an award winning artist specializing in acrylics. Her art is moderncrealism with attention to detail in her depiction of animals and nature. From whimsical tocmore serious her art* Work is signed with the letters “TR” which is for the flower Trillium.

Eric Johnson

I think of my work as playful despite the hard edges and sharp corners that define it. The finished idea is meant to be softer than the many harsh pieces that make it up. My work is based primarily on what was on my mind that particular morning and rarely anything more. The fluidity of the process is appealing and rewarding If the finished piece does evoke an emotional response, it goes on the shelf and may possibly become something else.

Denae Templeton

Denae has fallen in love with the Smoky Mountains and her art reflects that love. Danae works primarily in a unique blend of watercolors, water soluble markers and soft pastels while she continues to experiment with oil and acrylic paint as well. With this creative multimedia process, she prefers to paint plein air, bringing her sketchbooks to various local sites to capture the beauty of a particular day or hour. The final paintings are displayed in reclaimed and refinished fames with custom mats to set off their color palettes.

Jon Houglum

Jon has dedicated his entire adult life to teaching and painting. He has created stunning collections of museum-caliber artworks. Jon’s variety of paintings and his professional expertise in the composition, drawing and painting of many subjects through elements and principles of a fine oil painting, in the traditions of the old masters, display a masterful and accurate rendering of his subjects.

Doug Cavanah

Florida native, Doug became interested in photography in high school. Following his graduation from Western Carolina University, he worked as a newspaper photographer for the Tampa Tribune for a decade. In 1999, Doug began channeling his efforts toward fine art photography. At the age of 10, his son Cory began following in his father’s footsteps, and his love of photography continues. Their work reflects their love of the outdoors and their unique shooting style combines dramatic lighting and strong compositions. Using light and weather as the “paint” of their photographic palette, their photographs possess a powerful life size dimension.

Brian Hannum

Brian is a mathematician by education, engineer by profession, and artist by passion. However, with all of Brian’s skills and capabilities, it has been his innate curiosity of varying perspectives and nature’s haunting beauty that has proven singularly constant through-out his long and celebrated life. Indeed, Brian has spent over six decades photographing the world around him.

Curt Reffner

I am a self-taught artist, continuing to learn to express myself in my art. I have taken private lessons and workshops to acquire knowledge and experience to sharpen my skills. I primarily paint landscapes in oil on canvas and panels. I try to recreate my emotions of the places I have trekked in person. When I am creating a painting in my studio, I want to convey that feeling to the viewer.

Allyson Gernandt

Allyson’s life and work are about Energy…the energy of stones, of the earth, of feeling nourished and healthy, of being familiar with the environment. It is about helping people “find their stone” and notice how the design of stone interacts with them. Most of her pieces are one-of-a-kind. Allyson has been a silversmith for 25 years, is an expert Wild Foods enthusiast, a Water Dowser, and an instructor of nutrition and all things “well being”.

Jenean Hornbuckle

Jenean was born in Cherokee, NC in 1957. She painted every paint-by-number the local Five & Dime in Bryson City sold. She saw her first tube of oil paint in a high school art class, about the same time she was realizing she was born in one of the most uniquely beautiful areas of the U.S. “I instantly knew I was in the right place to be a landscape painter”.

Joanne Kephart Bleichner

My oil paintings and drawings express my focus on the extraordinary in the ordinary of my subjects. A composition of rocks or tree limbs, the line of a path, the twist of a plant or a shoestring. Drawing evolves to a painting built of many rhythmic and subtle brushstrokes embracing natures true colors.

L Marie Nichols

I’ve always loved the birds, flowers, butterflies, and little critters around me as I grew up in the Snowbird range of the Great Smoky Mountains. I work in several mediums, including acrylic, watercolor, and colored pencils. Birds are my specialty, but there is a picture everywhere if you take the time to look!

Greg Vaeth

Greg lives on a small farm in Haywood County with his lovely wife, Danielle, for nearly 20 years. He works primarily in watercolor and pen/ink, with occasional acrylic, out of a home studio. His subject matter is rooted in the outdoors and Appalachian culture and history. Think: bears, Fly Fishing, Cherokee, cowboys, and the rugged, beautiful landscape. Greg’s work is on view at locations throughout Western North Carolina and has been collected across the US, Europe, and Japan, with select pieces available in limited print runs. He takes commissions, teaches watercolor locally one to three times a year, and brings a sharp design eye to everything he makes. Greg holds an Illustration/Graphic Arts degree from Syracuse University and spent years in the t-shirt world, work that continues today through design and production for local businesses

Gayle Haynie

Gayle Haynie is a glass artist from Michigan who moved to the south in 1999. She has worked with glass since 1990 and has enhanced her education by continually taking workshops and classes from some of the best known names in the industry.

Gabe and Roz Waldman

We are Gabe and Roz Waldman and we live in Bruson City, NC. We have a woodwork shop and produce wooden quilt hangers, shelves and decorations with a local theme and farm house style. Gabe has been doing woodworking most of his adult life as a hobbyist and Roz majored in are and worked as a teacher. Together we produce one-of-a-kind pieces to enhance your cabin or home.

Turned and Burned

Turned and Burned began with two brothers, a love of wood, and a shared dream. Russ Hart grew up with sawdust in his veins, honing his skills building high-end cabinets and developing a passion for working with raw, green wood and reclaimed boards full of character. The lathe became his favorite tool — a way to transform what others might overlook into something beautiful. After years of balancing his craft with a steady job, Russ decided it was time to turn his passion into a full-time venture. Jason Hart came to woodworking from a different path. His creativity first showed up in visual arts during high school, but life took him in another direction, and he never pursued art as a career. Watching his brother work with wood gave Jason a way to reconnect with that creativity — a chance to express himself and make something meaningful with his hands. What started as a hobby soon became a partnership, a way to turn his artistic vision into a living. Together, the Hart brothers bring their unique experiences and shared love of wood to every piece they create. They transform what’s worn, weathered, or overlooked into art — carrying on a legacy of craftsmanship, creativity, and heart.

Tom Szewc

Tom Szewc was a master of many trades—cooking, carpentry, fly tying, and bonsai—but his true passion was painting and drawing, particularly the human figure. Born in Philadelphia in 1951, Tom discovered his love for drawing at a young age while watching Jon Gnagy on television. His artistic journey continued at Jules E. Mastbaum High School, where he studied graphic design and applied arts, leading to an early career in commercial art. He later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Philadelphia College of Art, refining his skills in figure painting through intensive study with Arthur de Costa at the Philadelphia College of Fine Art. Additionally, he explored landscape painting and the expressive use of color under the guidance of Wolf Kahn.

Freelancing as a graphic designer and mural painter allowed Tom the freedom to travel across the United States, painting and exhibiting his work. He showcased his art and won awards in Southern California, painted murals for celebrities, instructed at art centers, and participated in numerous exhibitions in the Chicago area. In 2013, Tom relocated to Western North Carolina, where he fell in love with the region’s natural beauty.

In 2022, Tom was diagnosed with throat cancer. Despite numerous trials and treatments, he valiantly fought the disease until he passed away in May 2024. To honor his memory, the Thomas E. Szewc Foundation was established with a mission to provide college scholarships for students pursuing Tom’s passion—painting and drawing. This initiative is funded through tax-deductible donations from the sale of his remaining artwork. No salaries will be taken; 100% of the profits will go toward these scholarships.

Are You a Local Artist?

We’re always looking for talented painters, illustrators, and craftspeople with ties to the Smokies. If you’d like to show your work at Three Rivers, we’d love to talk.