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Contact: Julie Navejar
kajam03@tamuk.edu or 361-593-2590

William Renfrow exhibit features 22 digital images

KINGSVILLE (March 8, 2006) — William Renfrow, retired art professor, will have an exhibit of his digital prints on display at the John E. Conner Museum at Texas A&M University-Kingsville beginning Saturday, March 11, and continuing through Monday, May 1.

Renfrow taught art at the university from 1961 until his retirement 43 years later in 2004. He taught mostly painting, drawing and art history and specialized in painting as a personal pursuit. However, in his retirement, he has taken up digital photography and with technical support from his colleague in the art department, Todd Lucas, has been able to move into this new area with some success.

Thus, his exhibit, Jungle Cactus in My Backyard and Other Digital Images, was born. The exhibit contains 22 digital color prints.

Photography, especially landscapes, has always been an interest for Renfrow. Moving into the digital realm has allowed him to re-experience many of the slides taken over the years by scanning them digitally and using graphic technology in an attempt to improve some of the original images.

The jungle cactus, sometimes called orchid cactus, is a plant imported from Central America that thrive on heat and humidity, making them ideal for South Texas. Renfrow has a number of different varieties, some of them quite large and some of them over 30 years old.

They have large, white blooms with touches of crimson and yellow that bloom at night.

Most of the images were photographed by lantern-light, often in the early hours of the morning. Sometimes in the late fall, some of the blooms will last into the next morning, but this occurrence is very rare.

The Conner Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call 361-593-2810.

This page last updated 10 March, 2006