The Byrne Gallery is proud to present The Best of Summer, an exhibition for the month of June 2025 by five talented local artists: Craig Arnold, Miguel Diaz, Caroline Cutrona Hottenstein, Thomas Wharton and Carolyn Marshall Wright.

This exhibition will feature scenes celebrating the joys of summer in a range of artistic media. Caroline Hottenstein works in watercolor on paper, as does Carolyn Marshall Wright, who also uses other water-based media including acrylics. Craig Arnold, Miguel Diaz and Thomas Wharton are all oil painters. Please come enjoy their celebration of the return to a season of vibrant color!

The exhibit will be on display from June 4th through June 29th, 2025. There will be a reception for the artists on Saturday, June 14th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  The exhibition and reception are both open to the public and everyone is cordially invited to attend.

Craig Arnold

Craig Arnold is currently retired from the University of Maryland, College Park having worked there as an Assistant Director/Academic Advisor for the School of Music. While having enjoyed his administrative work at the university, his passion has always been for painting and drawing, which has occupied his spare time over the years in addition to running marathons and traveling the world. He has shown his work at Artomatic’s May 2009 show and at Touchstone Gallery’s August 2013 Minisolo show. Mr. Arnold has two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Maryland: a B.A. in General Studies from 1981 and  a B.A. in Studio Art from 1990.

Craig writes about his art, “I’ve always been inspired by the awesome spirituality of nature and the depth and breadth of its beauty. With that in mind, I endeavored in my earlier years to capture that sense of power in nature by painting panoramic landscapes of expansive vistas with atmospheric conditions such as a storm over a wheat field or the full moon in winter. Then in 2010, I turned my eye from the outward vastness to the inward minute intricacies of nature, specifically that of delicate flowers. I began painting large 36” x 36” paintings of a single flower with the intent of highlighting the detail of its parts, the subtle gradation of color and light, and the delicate texture of the petals.  By enlarging a single flower to a grand scale, it becomes the object of greater scrutiny and adoration. I was often asked whether I was emulating Georgia O’Keeffe. While I certainly find her work inspiring, I did not set out with that intention. And yet in this journey, I have become mesmerized with the fleeting beauty of the flower and have worked at capturing its essence in several other configurations.”

Miguel Diaz

Venezuelan American artist Miguel Diaz’s work is found in private collections in the United States, Latin America and Europe. Miguel grew up in Caracas, and since boyhood spent hours sketching his favorite subjects on paper, especially nature and the human figure. He enrolled in the Studio of Maestro Antonio Galeandro to study composition and portraiture and later joined the Studio of Maestro Pedro Centeno Vallenilla, a recognized figure of the 20th century visual arts in Venezuela. In 1998, Miguel studied under internationally known Maestro Peter Von Artens.

Miguel earned top honors in two international competitions and has been awarded prizes in the local community exhibits in Middleburg. He has exhibited in Caracas, Miami, Puerto Rico, Atlanta, New York City – as well as in Middleburg and Leesburg. His work hangs in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fox Hounds and Hunting of North America – with special thanks to the patronage of Mrs. Jaqueline Mars.   

Caroline Cutrona Hottenstein

Caroline Cutrona Hottenstein is a native Northern Virginian. At an early age, art was part of her life.  Her mother was a fashion illustrator in the 1940’s, and her grandfather was a sculptor.  She has an AA ’71 from Marymount University, a BA ‘73 in Graphic Design and an MFA ’76 (thesis in etching), both from American University. A free-lance artist since 1973, she has worked in various media. Caroline has taught in the Fine Art and Fashion Merchandising programs at Marymount and free-lanced at National Geographic’s Book Service Department. 

As a botanical illustrator since 1986, her artistic observations have been expressed through traditional watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite techniques. Other artistic interests include landscapes, still life, historical and nature subjects. She has taught classes, lectured and presented programs related to art and textiles. Caroline is represented in Carnegie Mellon’s Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation and is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists.     

Thomas Wharton

Thomas Wharton studied at The Art Student’s League of New York, The New York Studio School, The New York Academy of Art, The Grand Central Academy, Parsons, School of Visual Arts, and The National Academy of Design. His work has won many awards, including The West Virginia Governor’s Award, The Georgie Read Barton Award, The Katlin Seascape Award (twice), the Windsor Newton Award, and the Richard C. Pionk Memorial Prize for Painting. He has been included in the Art Renewal Center’s Annual Salon, and his portrait work has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence by The Portrait Society of America, where he now has been given Signature Status. He has shown at the National Arts Club in New York,, The Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, the RJD Gallery, Ille Arts Gallery, the Christine Frechard Gallery,The Salmagundi Club, the Dacia Gallery, The West Virginia University Museum of Art, The West Virginia Cultural Center, Tamatack, Stifel Fine Arts, ETC., the Bloomfield Richwood Gallery, Paragon Fine Arts, 33 Contemporary in Chicago, and the Nutting Gallery.

His work is included in the Cultural Archives of the state of West Virginia, and his children’s book art has toured museums throughout the United States, and is included in the permanent collection the Mazza Museum of International Children’s Book Art. His paintings have been included in many publications, including American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, International Artist, and Poets and Artists magazines, as well as the book, 21st Century Figurative Art: The Resurrection of Art. His work can be found in private and institutional collections throughout the United States and Europe.

In addition to his work as a fine artist, he is a published children’s book author and illustrator (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), and had a distinguished and successful career as a designer, illustrator, art director and creative director in New York City. His clients included Cambridge University Press, Citibank, MasterCard, Princeton University Press, the New York Stock Exchange, Lifetime Television, Starwood Hotels, Clarins, Shiseido, Simon & Schuster, and New York University.

Carolyn Marshall Wright

Carolyn is a favorite of the Byrne Gallery. Her abstract paintings are an emotional response to the world which, in their turn, evoke a positive and enduring emotional response in the viewer. She seeks to “Paint from the inside out” – to quote painter George De Groat (1917-1995) founder of Chromatic Expressionism. She is a signature member of the Virginia Watercolor Society, a member and past president of Potomac Valley Watercolorists and a frequent exhibitor in juried exhibitions in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Her work has been hung in the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, in the World Bank, and is in numerous private collections around the world.  

The Byrne Gallery is located at 7 West Washington Street in Middleburg, Virginia. Gallery hours are Monday and Tuesday by appointment only, Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Contact the Byrne Gallery for more information at (540) 687-6986 or byrnegallery@aol.com.