Four different groups of artwork reflecting the diversity of the artistic community in North Georgia will adorn the Quinlan Visual Arts Center as it opens its new Winter Exhibition on Dec. 1.

“Our mission is to promote the working artist and advocate for them,” said Amanda McClure, executive director of the Quinlan Center. “But it’s also an opportunity for education, to show the community what’s going on in the art world right now with contemporary, working, living, breathing artists.”

One of the featured artists is Demorest resident Wei Lonewolf, a native of China who paints Western-inspired wildlife scenes and cowboy portraits.

“I think she’s going to be an artist to watch, because she’s brilliant,” McClure said. “I don’t even think she knows how brilliant she is.”

The exhibit also will feature work from Atlanta stockbroker-turned-artist Dawne Raulet. Her mixed media work is entitled “Out of East Africa” and is inspired by animals she encountered on her travels in Africa.

McClure said she is especially excited about the collection “Saving Grace: Photographs of Historic Rural Churches of Georgia,” produced by the group Historic Rural Churches of Georgia. The photographs are part of a recent book documenting old churches for historic preservation, published by the University of Georgia press. 

“The images really resonated with me,” McClure said. “Anyone who has driven through a rural community and has seen an old church knows it’s really powerful.”

The final display, called “Seeing is Believing,” features the work of seven artists who work in a collective in Chamblee. The abstract and realist paintings deal with the theme of the nature of reality.

The opening reception for the Winter Exhibitions will be from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at 514 Green St. SW in Gainesville.

McClure said she is constantly looking for new artists by attending festivals and gallery openings across the Southeast. She currently has shows booked at the Quinlan through 2019.

“What’s really nice is that in Georgia there are lots of pockets of working artists who are doing some really compelling work,” she said. “I’m looking for them, but the great thing is they’re also looking for me.”

The Quinlan is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The new winter exhibition will run through Feb. 20.

For more information, call 770-536-2575 or visit www.quinlanartscenter.org.