Artist Reception At Fayetteville Public Library

Join artist Sean Fitzgibbon at the Fayetteville Public Library, Thursday, July 12th at 5:30pm in Walker Community Room for an artist reception and sneak peak at his upcoming graphic novel project What Follows Is True: The Baker Years. A documentary graphic novel set in at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Spring, AR in the 1930s.

Through July 15th, Sean's painting and collage series Altered Perceptions will be featured in the library's Reading Room on the second floor of the library. This series is composed of drawn and painted, interconnected images that explore concepts of mystery and perception incorporating many visuals observed through traveling.

Sean's current project, What Follows Is True is a combination of gallery art and narrative storytelling with a local setting.  Focusing on the Norman Baker years (1938-1939) of the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Sean has been working with writer Kevin Brown to tell the story of these dark years as a documentary graphic novel.

"I first became interested in this story after visiting the Crescent Hotel and going on their evening ghost tour with my co-writer, Kevin Brown," explains Fitzgibbon.  "The tour guide discussed the ghost sightings that have made the hotel famous, but the most interesting story to us was not the ghosts, rather the story of Norman Baker, a fraudulent "doctor" who turned the hotel into a cancer clinic in the late 1930's."

Fitzgibbon found the story too unbelievable to be true. "Skeptical, I ventured to the local library the next morning and learned that Baker and the cancer hospital were among some of the darkest years in Eureka's history." The two began collaborating ever since, and new fully painted pages and panel sequences will be featured at the reception for the first time. This will be a public sneak peek at the upcoming graphic novel.

"What Follows is True is a marriage of my gallery art and graphic novel illustrations," shared Fitzgibbon. "Using painting and mixed media, Kevin and I are revealing Norman Baker and the Crescent Hotel's story which demonstrates that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction."

Artist Sean Fitzgibbon exhibits work in galleries and art centers throughout the US, recently including solo exhibitions at Pittsburg State University Gallery (Pittsburg, KS), Jasper Community Art Center (Jasper, IN), Old Firehouse Art Center (Longmont, CO) and Illinois Central College (Peoria, IL).  He has illustrated books and teaches at Northwest Arkansas Community College.

Original art and prints will be available for sale at the reception, with 10% of art sales benefiting the Fayetteville Public Library NEH Challenge grant.

Visit seanfitzgibbonart.com for more information on artist or to learn more about the book visit http://followsistrue.blogspot.com/ <http://followsistrue.blogspot.com/>

Photo Caption: Sean Fitzgibbon's illustration for What Follows Is True: The Baker Years, a graphic novel project documenting the Norman Baker years of the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

WHAT:  Artists' Reception for Sean Fitzgibbon at the Fayetteville Public Library

WHEN: Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 5:30pm

WHERE: Fayetteville Public Library, Walker Community Room, 401 W. Mountain St., Fayetteville

To schedule an interview about this event, call Willow Fitzgibbon, Reference Manager at479.856.7210 or email wfitzgibbon@faylib.org