The inaugural Shore Craft Beer Fest: Chincoteague will not only feature all and only local beer, but also will be an arts-driven event. Local artists will paint scenes of the beer festival all day and sell them (along with selected other work) at the festival after party. We will update this page as more artist submit bios, but we are expecting as many as 10 artists to participate in the event. To stay up to date, subscribe to our Craft Beer Newsletter or bookmark this page.
Although born and raised on the Jersey Shore, the peace and beauty of the Eastern Shore drew Candy Giard and her husband in 2002. Giard does most of her painting in oil or soft pastels. She first took part in the CCA Plein Air in 2010 and loved it. Since then she’s taken part in the Paint Snow Hill, Berlin and Ocean City as well as taken trips to New Mexico, England, Germany and Maine. When she is not painting, Giard enjoys her other passion as a personal trainer and sports nutritionist helping others reach their goals.
Mary M. Back has been in the art field since age 13 when she won an award for painting a picture of the holy family in elementary school. She has tried every media: watercolors, oil painting, pastels, acrylics, pottery and sculpture and keeps coming back to watercolors, oils and pottery. She uses whatever media will best develop what she wants to accomplish. She loves the nautical scenes because she lived on the water most of her life. She either paints the water or items found in and around the water. She is known for her sculptured pottery of fish and her Lewes Harbor watercolors.
She always looks for scenes that have a lot of color and value changes with lots of shadows and bright light. She also makes her own glazes and loves to find that great glaze formula and the beautiful color schemes that make a painting pop. Mary took many painting and pottery courses in college. After retiring, she went into the arts full time. She worked for a potter for several years and went to many art classes and workshops including Caroline Jaspers, Erlinda Fitzpatrick and Sandee Sanders for oil painting; Tom Jones, Rodger Dillon, Steve Rogers, and Dorothy Braum for watercolor; Ramon Camarillo and Van Gilder for pottery, to name a few.
Mary has taught many classes and workshops in all mediums: She taught sculpture at Lake Placid Art League in Florida, She taught Pottery at Highlands Art League in Florida, Art Institute and Gallery in Salisbury, Maryland, and Marina Building in Captains Cove, Virginia; She taught Watercolor at Sea Colony, Delaware, Bethany Library in Delaware, in her studio in Greenbackville, Virginia; and, She taught Oil Painting at Captains Cove, Virginia and Coral Trace in Edgewater, Florida. and in her studio in Greenbackville, Virginia.
Mary has received several awards for her watercolors. Her work can be seen at the Boston Art Museum; the Center of the Arts at 94th Street in Ocean City, Art Institute and Gallery in Salisbury, Maryland, The Discovery Center in Pocomoke, Maryland, Flamingo’s on Canal Street in New Smyrna Beach Florida; and, Pizzazz on the Bay in Fenwick Island, Delaware.
Margaret E. Bradach has been a highly respected painter and jewelry maker here on the Eastern Shore since moving to Gargatha in 2006. Well known for her highly evocative paintings in oil, acrylic, and watercolor, she has been juried into shows in Salisbury as well as Ocean City. Her prize winning paintings capture life on the Eastern Shore in all its forms, colors, and richness. She is a member of the Eastern Shore Art League and has studios in Onancock and Chincoteague. Her work can be seen at the Blue Crab and Sundial Books on the Island.
