Article and photos by Mary Ellen Graybill

The Jonal Gallery is located in an 1876 restored building at 653 Locust Street in Columbia, started by Dale Weibley, artist and owner and partner John Novak.  In the last five years, the gallery has been home for Dale’s pen and ink portraits or people and buildings – from Fabergé eggs, to the grates and facades of historic places, from commissioned portraits to botanical crocuses  to zinnias. Nothing has escaped his artist’s eye and pen. Even the “orbs” of ghostly inhabitants found at the 1876 dwelling were dispersed with a dose of “light, laughter, happiness and lots of art,” he explained during “A Night at the Gallery” talk on December 8.

Welcome to Christmas at Jonal Gallery!

Gallery proprietors, Dale Weibley and John Novak.

About thirty interested artists and shoppers attended the free talk, and enjoyed hearing the humorous stories of the two featured artists, who both are producing similarly styled and detailed works in graphite, commonly called pencils. Both Lancaster-based artist Elman Brown and Felton resident, Richard Chandler Hoff told anecdotes about how they succeeded with their art.

Richard C. Hoff meets with gallery attendees.

The two featured artists described different paths that brought them to the gallery.

Hoff, graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art, (BFA) and exhibited in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles and New York City while working in graphic arts.. His themes are scenes of American life from the 1940-1950 period. His approach is based on “non-derivative” sources, that is – he researches his storehouse of materials, from files of reference material and an Artograph DB400 projector to create such works as “Gas House” (1982) and “The Ramparts Stayed Home.” He uses computers to “digitize” the art at one point in the process of creating the original artworks in pencil/graphite. He spent most of his life as a graphic artist and created the logo for the Baltimore-based MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority).

Wife JoAnn said his art may be influenced by an idyllic childhood. She is the one with the “real job” while Richard is now the homemaker, doing the cleaning and spending retirement days working on artwork, very happily.

JoAnn Hoff enjoying the evening.

Born in 1945, Hoff shows drawings of corner candy stores, gas stations, diners, drive-in movie theatres etc where people gathered and shared conversation. He also portrays seaside boardwalks and amusement parks in the early 1950’s, inspired by happy childhood memories at the New Jersey seashore.

All is not light and happy, however. Some of the artwork displays an underlying quality which lets the viewer see surprising  elements such as a baby playing alone on a sunny front yard near a street, at a house with a neatly manicured hedge showing care. (“No.1 Elm Street Trilogy”)

“No thought of winter snow” by Richard C. Hoff. Graphite.

There is a well-thought out conscious selection of subjects in Hoff’s artwork.

On the other hand, Brown, a practicing Nichiren Buddhist who also draws in graphite, approaches drawing like writing a story. He is as surprised as anyone at how the drawing evolves, how the characteristics turn out.

“Sunrise” by Elman Brown. Oil.

“I can never think of settling down into a “career,” says Brown. His spiritual practice involves chanting of “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” is reportedly known to have a positive effect on the physiology and in the environment.

Brown attended Catholic schools, was a self-taught artist who studied comics, and came from a non-artistic family, he said. An oil set and “rapidograph pen” were his first supplies. He worked for two years on a graphic horror novel and did the art for that. His interest in fantasy continues in his subjects.

Both Brown and Hoff produce impressive works of art using pencil, or graphite. Hoff admits to adding a dab of oil to the pencil.

As the evening ended, the art enthusiasts enjoyed light refreshments, and laughed and talked about art and other things, Weibley said that he likes the idea of “being on the edge” in the art gallery business.

Ken and Chartheleda Kauffman discussing art and the artists.

“We like to find artists that are on the fringe so to speak, because it gives them an opportunity. Ultimately, it’s more exciting for me … and, it works! For some reason, it just works! I don’t know how to describe it. People coming back to the gallery do not know what to expect in most cases.”

Weibley continued, “It’s what we’re doing here … We are in business here for the last five years. These last 2 years, though, we’ve gone and added more general shows, where we have outside artists come in, most of the time. We changed our business plan … and, it’s been very very good. “

Dale Weibley engages art enthusiasts.

You can still see and buy some of Weibley’s pen and ink stipplings and watercolors on many beautiful topics at the Jonal Gallery and attend the next “Night at the Gallery” located on Locust Street.