Buffalo River Art Gallery

Community Spotlight: Buffalo River Art Gallery

The whiskey community is a beautiful thing. It is full eccentric, wonderful , and passionate people.

This passion manifests itself in multiple ways. Some amass huge collections of whiskey like one would collect baseball cards. Others, like Jamie Craddock, use their creativity and talent to share their passion in a unique medium.

Welcome to Buffalo River Art Gallery nestled in Gilbert, Arkansas, where one artist is using her talent to create truly unique and beautiful tributes to our favorite alcoholic beverage.

Jamie and I met up in a whiskey group online where she shared a beautiful picture of a Maker's Mark bottle she had created .

It struck me immediately. From the vintage newspaper to the individual lines of color that captured the raw spectrum and essence of the bottle.

We connected up and she was more than happy to share her whiskey experiences and with us in our first ever community spotlight. art

Q: Why don't you tell us a little about you and your gallery?

A: I've been a professional artist for over 4 years. Art is a second , no, third career for me. It's always been important, but it took me a while to have time for it to be priority.

I opened Buffalo River Art Gallery on Memorial Day weekend 2019. The gallery is located in a beautiful historic little town on the Buffalo National River.

The gallery itself is a restored 1920s house and we currently house art from 13 different artists.

Q: How'd you get started with art in the first place?

A: I'm a big fan of a great cocktail at the end of a long day. I had completed a wine related series, and while drinking an old fashioned on the porch, the thought of a classic cocktail series came to me.

I decided to paint them on the pages of a vintage dictionary using the words on the page as a fun part of the painting. For instance, the definition of "old fashioned" is in the background of the old fashioned painting.

I decided to challenge myself with painting a bottle and the Blanton's painting was the result.

What I am learning through creating these and sharing them with the community is that people all seem to have a whiskey "favorite."

Q: What is your favorite whiskey piece that you've done?

A: That's a great question, and a hard one to answer.

Right now, my favorite piece is the Maker's Mark bottle. It was a challenge to represent an iconic bottle correctly and I love the way it turned out.

Q: What is your favorite whiskey and why?

A: Another good question, and I think it depends on thesituation and my mood.

If I'm making an old fashioned, I'll probably go for Bulleit Rye. For sipping, I'm partial to Maker's or Buffalo Trace. For general mixing, I'm enjoying Heritage Distilling Company's Brown Sugar Bourbon, and I love that they can deliver to your door!

To learn more about Buffalo River Art Gallery visit Buffaloriverartgallery.com