Brown out - Artist exhibits his work Saturday

Roger Brown is no stranger to Cape Girardeau, but his artwork is, or will be until Saturday, when an exhibit of his paintings opens at Saint Francis Medical Center. Once the Saint Francis exhibit ends on Sunday, Brown's work will be the focus of an exhibit at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri starting Sept. 3.

Brown is a Nashville-based landscape painter whose parents, Dale and Earlene Brown, live in Cape Girardeau and who lived here himself for a brief period in the 1990s.

On return visits to Cape Girardeau to visit his parents and other relatives in the area, Brown has painted Southeast Missouri landscapes like Duck Creek in Stoddard County and areas around Jackson, but would have never exhibited his work here if it was not for his father.

Dale Brown has been volunteering at Saint Francis Medical Center since 1996 and would show photos of his son's artwork to Pat Miller-Williams, Saint Francis' Volunteer Services director.

"He's quite a proud papa," Miller-Williams said. Impressed with Roger Brown's artwork, Miller-Williams asked Dale Brown if his son would be interested in exhibiting his work at Saint Francis.

Because Roger Brown would have to bring his paintings from Nashville to Cape Girardeau for an exhibit, Miller-Williams contacted the arts council about holding another exhibit of Brown's work after Saint Francis' weekend exhibit ended.

Roger Brown agreed to exhibit his work in Cape Girardeau and the arts council agreed to hold an exhibit of Brown's work and now the public will get to view 32 of Brown's paintings at Saint Francis and the arts council.

And at Saturday's opening reception, one lucky raffle winner will walk away with one of Brown's paintings.

In addition to offering people a chance to preview Brown's work before it gets to the arts council, this weekend's exhibit at Saint Francis is also a fund raiser for the Saint Francis Auxiliary, which will use the proceeds for the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.

Miller-Williams said she hopes people come out and support the event, but she can already be assured that Brown's family will be in attendance.

"We've been looking forward to it for quite some time. Everybody's excited about it," Dale Brown said.

Including Roger Brown.

"It will be fun to get all the relatives together. It will be a big family reunion," Roger Brown said.

Tickets to the exhibit will be available from the arts council at 334-9233, Saint Francis Medical Center gift shops at 331-5820, and the volunteer office at 331-5166, or at the door.

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182