Greg Dickinson, an alumnus of Mount St. Clare College, will display his artwork in Ashford University’s Cortona Art Gallery October 30 through November 17.

            The exhibit, “Pop Goes the Painting,” will feature Dickinson’s acrylic and watercolor paintings.

            “I have made myself a mission to put my art education to good use wherever feasible, from having major art exhibits in the region to designing and painting murals in the area,” Dickinson said.

            Dickinson’s first major achievement in art occurred when he was a junior at East Central High School in Miles, IA in 1976. When he won second place in a statewide drug abuse prevention poster contest, he received the award from Governor Robert Ray.

            He attended MSC, receiving an AA degree in 1981 and then transferred to Mount Mercy College where he earned his BA in art two years later.

            “It was during my senior year at Mount Mercy that I exhibited my paintings for the first time in my portion of the senior thesis exhibit in the spring of 1983. For my part of the show, I displayed acrylic paintings, including my first works of local television news anchor people and Nabisco cookies,” he said.

            After graduation, in the spring of 1984, Dickinson showed his artwork at Mount St. Clare College for the first time. That summer he displayed some of his pieces at the Rock Island Summer Festival. “It was here that the late Lloyd Schoeneman discovered my work and he suggested that I submit slides of my works to the then-Quad City Arts Council for their 1985 schedule.” The Council included his works in its schedule and he exhibited the paintings at its gallery in July 1985.

            Since that time, his artwork has been on display throughout the area, including Augustana College, Moline Public Library and the Clinton Art Association’s River Arts Center.

            In addition to conventional paintings, Dickinson uses his artistic skills in other ways. In 2005, he was one of the artists who designed and painted one of the Clinton Sesquicentennial’s six-foot fiberglass lighthouses. He has designed and painted several murals in the area and recently worked on one at Clinton’s Poltergeist Pub.

There will be an artist’s reception for Dickinson on Thursday, Nov. 9 from 4 until 6 p.m. in the Gallery.

 The Cortona Gallery, located on the second floor of the University’s Clare Hall, 400 N. Bluff Blvd., is named for Sister Cortona Phelan, OSF, former president of Mount St. Clare College and former president of the Sisters of St. Francis.  She influenced the quality of education at the College through her teaching of American history and her love of the arts for many years.  She also served as MSC Academy Principal and as Dean of Students at the College.

The free art gallery is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays and for private showings by appointment. For further information, interested persons can call 563.242.4023.