Meet the 5 artists with working studios on the second floor of our downtown New Bern gallery.

Susan Cheatham
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I am a founding member of Art on the Neuse – a yearly art festival in Oriental, NC, and the Coastal Carolina Plein Air Painters - Artists participating in once a week outdoor painting locations. We organize locations in three counties and participate in Plein Air events all over North Carolina.
For a decade, I have has studied with Susan Sarback, a Sacramento California artist, who has her own school of Color and Light. She teaches a technique called” full color seeing”. Susan uses this process to create paintings using color notes. Color notes can be like musical notes if you turn the notes into colors. The world never looks the same again after your eyes begin to be sensitized to full color seeing. You see the world like a child, fresh and new.
My passion is color and light connected with the creative life force energy within us all. I have a degree in Environmental Design from NCSU and I was a Landscape Designer in Raleigh for 20 years. I teach therapeutic yoga and I am a Reiki Master and practice many types of healing using universal healing energy . The practice of yoga is limitless so I combine yoga, art, therapy, and energy work to help students empower themselves to teach them to heal all the layers of themselves.

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Brenda Gear

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With a professional background in finance and insurance, my early artistic endeavors were considered more craft than ‘art’ generated from an early necessity to make my own paper dolls, Barbie doll clothes and dollhouses from cardboard boxes and any scrap fabric and wallpaper found around the house. Even without actively pursuing ‘art’, I found my business notes full of doodles and ornamentation as pen and paper was still the medium of communication at that time.
I began painting well into my 50's. I was the youngest of a talented family that did not recognize or support education in the arts. Somehow we found an outlet as we grew older, each us in our own way. It was gratifying to finally discover the creative outlets of drawing, watercolor and acrylics. I have experimented and taken various local workshops to find my artistic avenue of expression and will continue to expand my world and vision of art. It is inherent in my nature to create.
Abstract mixed media is what I enjoy the most. I rarely have a preconceived design plan, only an image or thought that has passed through my mind. I love the fluidity and organic process involved in abstract work. Because of my propensity to 'collect', I love claiming found objects and using items of sentimental value as ornaments in my abstract works. Working with natural elements also provides inspiration in many of my artistic creations.
I am currently a member of Community Artists Gallery and Studios with works on exhibit in their downtown New Bern gallery. I have studios both in my home and in the CAGS Studio Annex located on the second floor at 309 Middle Street, New Bern. I am active in the Twin River Artists Association. My work can be viewed on my website, www.brendagearartworks.com"

Heide Lock

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Heide Ann Lock moved to New Bern from Connecticut where she was a member of the Society for Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN). While a member of SCAN Heide participated in member shows and was accepted into many juried shows. She has been working in Acrylic and Oil paints and enjoys both mediums. Her work has been shown in Connecticut venues and is in private collections across the country. In looking for a place to retire, New Bern topped the list due to its charming downtown, friendly neighbors and vibrant arts community. She is thrilled to be a part of The Community Artists Gallery and Studios (CAGS) and enjoys the camaraderie of painting with this fun group of artists.

Belinda Scheber

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Belinda and her husband moved from the hectic metropolis of Washington DC area to New Bern. The beauty of the coastal area of eastern North Carolina invigorated her love to express God's beauty in painting. She does not have a formal education in art, however has taken lots of classes over the years. She studied surface design at the Corcoran School of Art (Washington D.C.) studied with Joseph McGurl, Mike Rooney and Kathy George. Belinda does hold degrees in Geology and Geography (George Mason University, University of New Mexico) and she retired as a civil servant and cartographer from the US Army.
Belinda is a member of the Community Artists Gallery in New Bern, NC In addition she is a member of the online gallery Daily Paintworks of which a lot her art work can also be seen: https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/belinda-scheber-5923.
Her choice media is mostly watercolor and presently working on the technique of master “pouring watercolor”. Her favorite subjects to paint are elements in nature, and still lifes.

Joyce Stratton

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My paintings are abstract mixed media on wood panel or cotton rag museum board. I incorporate acrylic paint, gesso, ink, oil pastel, charcoal, graphite and collage elements. For me the process is problem solving, adding and subtracting and always showing a history of the process through layering.
The most important elements in my work are texture and expressive line. A painting begins with a word or phrase as the impetus and then becomes process driven. Complex and quiet, I hope meditative and thought provoking.
Bio: I’ve been painting for about 25 years, moving from representational watercolor to abstract mixed media. For me it was a good move, a perfect fit. I am basically self taught. though I have attended many workshops over the years. I have been awarded four residencies to the Cill Rialaig project in the west of Ireland. I have won numerous awards and have been published in The Best of Watercolor. The Palette Magazine. International Mixed Media Artist and Artist Magazine.
My work can be found on my website www.joycestrattonstudio.com and City Gallery in Greenville NC