FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship will host an opening reception for three of its artists on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 3 to 5 p.m.

The show, “In the Tradition of Realism,” will feature the works of Patricia Cameron, Stan Dowell and George Hinds. Music will be provided by Jeanine “Dr. Jazz” Normand, with refreshments by Joyce Burkhart.

The public is cordially invited to attend.

Cameron, a native of Georgia, moved to the Gulf Coast with her husband in the mid l980s. She is a painter of nature’s beautiful designs, expressing a deep connection to the natural environment.

She earned an associate degree in arts from DeKalb Community College. She was a member of the Dunwoody Fine Arts Association, and participated in many local workshops with artists-instructors such as Tony Couch and Clint Carter.

Since moving to the area, Cameron has been active in exhibitions along the coasts of Florida and Alabama. She has received awards for her acrylic and watercolor paintings in the Dunwoody Fine Arts Association, the Kelly Center for the Arts Festivals, the Beaux Art Show, the Okaloosa Shrine Fair and the Bay Annual Transparent Watercolor Shows of Panama City, Fla. She has won several purchase awards in these shows. Cameron’s most recent exhibits continue to be at the Orange Beach Art Center, the Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship and the Eastern Shore Art Center. Her recent painting, “River House,” was included in the book, “Fairhope and the Eastern Shore: A Painter’s Paradise,” published in 2008.

Dowell graduated from San Jose University with a major in fine art. In addition, he obtained a special secondary and general secondary degree in education.

He taught art for 12 years, primarily in the areas of painting and wood sculpture.

While working for his master’s in art, he was asked to coach track and field, an area in which he had extensive expertise.

His art students won awards yearly in art competitions and his track and field teams won eight Central California Section championships.

In 1987, he was named California’s Coach of the Year and was one of eight nominees for National Coach of the Year.

He coached gold medalists sprinter Lee Evans and hurdler Andre Phillips, as well as Alice Brown who ran on the women’s relay gold medal team.

He coached the Saudi Olympic sprinters who won the Asian games, and in the 1996 Olympics he coached Hadi Suwan Somali, who won a silver medal, the Saudi’s first Olympic medal.

Dowell’s still-life of boxing gloves was featured at the San Francisco citywide art show in 1962.

When he retired, he began to paint seriously again and was honored with having three works accepted by the Sacramento Educational Channel Six annual sale and fundraiser.

At age 79, after retiring from coaching for the third time, Dowell has returned to his art. He warmed up by painting his favorite dog, Colonel Pendleton.

He is particularly interested in the history of the American West. His favorite artist is Howard Turpning.

Hinds grew up in Hutchinson, Kan., a small town near Wichita. He attended Kansas State University, where he earned a degree in geology.

He was awarded his master’s degree in geology from the University of Wyoming with the assistance of the GI bill.

Hinds’ career involved exploration and contracting with major oil and gas development.  He was aligned with Photo Gravity, a Houston company offering gravity and magnetic photo geological mapping techniques.

The last 10 years of his career, Hinds was the owner/president of Photo Gravity.

While in Houston, he began painting with oils. In 1993, he retired to Fairhope where he continued to paint as well as to enjoy his hobbies of music and birding.

Hinds’ paintings have been exhibited at the Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship and the Eastern Shore Arts Center.

The exhibit will be on display through Nov. 1, and will be open to the public Saturdays, from 3 to 5 p.m., or by appointment.

The Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship is located at 1150 Fairhope Ave.