Local artist Leah Van Rees receives WHYY scholarship

Local artist and University of Delaware graduate Leah Van Rees recently received the WHYY Scholarship in honor of retiring board member Lynn Sharp.

It is a monetary award given to a graduating senior studying fine art at the university.

The award is intended to help the recipient fund his or her senior bachelor of fine arts show and to further the student’s future career as an artist.

Van Rees’s five-day exhibition included works inspired by the extensive Western landscape.

Her paintings depict large rock formations and emphasize the negative space between them.

Her primary focus was to create a single space that displayed the amalgamated fragments of a natural setting.

Her works can be seen at the Heidi Lowe Gallery located next to Dogfish Head Restaurant in Rehoboth.

A full portfolio as well as images from the show can be seen at web.mac.com/leahvanrees