Lee Strickland lives in an art gallery, or so it seems. Her home in Little Neck is filled with her paintings of seascapes, animals, flowers and more.
“If it’s nature-made or God-made, I probably want to paint it,” she said.
Strickland is hosting a public art show Nov. 2-3 at her in-home basement gallery. More than 600 of her works of art, many matted and framed, will be up for sale, with limited edition prints beginning at $20.
The event is being organized by the Foundry United Methodist women’s group to help provide hurricane relief efforts through the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Winter coats will also be purchased for Lynnhaven Elementary School students.
Women’s group president Judy Mitchell said they are thrilled Strickland offered to “share her bounty with us.” Member Nicki Nixon praised the artist’s creativity, saying her paintings “speak to you.”
Strickland grew up during the Great Depression on a dairy farm in a small Minnesota town. Her paintings of piglets, horses, tractors and cows reflect that time in her life.
“As a kid, I learned to drive a tractor before a car,” she said with a smile.
She met her husband De in 1956 in the Washington, D.C., area. He was in the U.S. Marine Corps, and she worked for the Navy as a civilian. His job with the U.S. General Accounting Office in Norfolk brought them to the area.
Approximately 50 years ago, her husband’s family helped them build their home overlooking the Lynnhaven River, which no doubt has influenced many of her picturesque seascapes.
She kept busy working and raising their three children but found time to take several art courses at Tidewater Community College.
It wasn’t until she retired in 1987 after 24 years at the Social Security Administration that she began to paint, mostly with watercolors and some acrylics.
Since then, she has shown in and won awards in myriad art shows, including the Neptune Festival, Boardwalk, Stockley Gardens, Artisans in the Park and at the Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum. She was also featured at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library as a solo artist and is an invited artist at the Artists Gallery near the Oceanfront.
The only thing that keeps her from painting is gardening, Strickland said. Irises are one of her favorite flowers to paint: “I could do them in my sleep,” she said.
And her love for cats is obvious, as quite a few cat paintings grace the walls, one of which is named the “Meowna Lisa.”
“There’s just something about the fluffy fur on a cat and watercolors that go together,” she said.
Strickland said she is donating her artwork to give back to her church.
“I couldn’t have raised my children without the youth group,” she said. The Stricklands now have five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
She also wants to help those in need. “We are all Christians and we have to give, and this is just one way,” she said.
Plus, “I have plenty of art.”
if you go
What: Art Sale benefit
When: 2-6 p.m. Nov. 2-3
Where: Lee Strickland’s in-home gallery, 1301 W. Little Neck Road
Cost: Free admission
Info: foundryumcvb.org
