Art by Fran Thie will be on exhibit at the Art Market Gallery in downtown Knoxville during the month of November. Image courtesy of the artist.

Works by pastel painter Fran Thie and ceramic artist Bob Conliffe, both of Knoxville, will be featured in December in the Art Market Gallery at 422 S. Gay St. An opening reception will be held starting at 5:30 p.m., Dec. 4, during Downtown Knoxville's monthly First Friday Art Walk, with complimentary refreshments and guitar music and vocals performed by Matt Tillery.

Fran Thie regularly exhibits in juried shows across the Southeast and also previously participated in Artsclamation! and the Knoxville Museum of Art's event Artists on Location. While she also paints in watermedia, pastel is her specialty and is the medium featured in this exhibit. She is both self-taught and educated through classes and workshops led by prominent artists, among them Albert Handell and Richard McKinley. Her award-winning works, whether representational or abstract, always have their foundation in nature. Through intuitive use of color and texture she strives to transform an ordinary scene into a special place where both drama and serenity can coexist. Thie is a former president of the Knoxville Watercolor Society.

Robert Conliffe is retired from the Michigan automotive industry. An interest in pottery initiated his self-directed study of ceramics, which he followed with attending Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Oak Ridge Art Center and Pellissippi Community College. Much of his ceramic work has centered on wheel-thrown forms with added elements, which then are fired using the Raku process. For the last two years, he has focused on hand building clay sculpture and he is featuring the horse in his new sculptural work. “My portrayal of the horse is not a realistic representation,” he says, “but an attempt to give each sculpture its own personality.” Also a fine art photographer Conliffe is among a handful of member artists juried into the gallery in more than one medium.

Owned and operated by more than 60 professional regional Tennessee artists, the Art Market gallery, at 422 S. Gay St., is a few doors away from Mast General Store and next to Downtown Grill &Brewery. Holiday hours are 11 a.m. To 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Saturday; 11 a.m. To 9 p.m. Friday; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The gallery is wheelchair accessible and parking in the abutting garage and on the street is free on weekends and after 6 p.m. Weekdays. For more information,, call 865-525-5265, or visit artmarketgallery.net or facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery.