Gail Vail
"The book, Seasons on Lake Oconee, was thoroughly enjoyed. I don't normally buy these kind of books, albeit I'm a voracious reader. I'm glad I did though. It really does make you feel you have lived on the lake for a year and enjoyed the feelings, thoughts and experiences to be found here. Very well done. Bravo!"
P.S. We're going to gift it to a few friends as well."
- Note from a purchaser of Seasons On Lake Oconee
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Gail Vail has always felt a creative compulsion.
There has never been a time that she was able to resist the urge to pick up a pencil or a brush. It's a compassion impossible to explain, except as a type of escape. She uses art to make emotional connections in a world that can be so disconnected. To her, rich colors and the way they are combined determine the impact of a painting on the viewer as well as the play of light and dramatic shadows. Writing has also enabled her to provide a less visual way of expressing emotional connections and reactions to situations in everyday life.
Born in Nebraska, she earned a B.A. in Business and pursued a career in marketing and human resources with IBM. Her career ultimately brought her and her husband, Hugh, and children to Atlanta. Raising a family, combined with a professional career, sidetracked her love of painting and writing for a time. Now retired, she has again picked up her pen and her brush and feels
like the light has been turned on again. While she prefers to paint in oil, she also enjoys watercolor, acrylic and pen and ink. Her years in human resources and marketing armed her for the business side of her artistic endeavors and her ongoing studies under numerous professional artists and writers have helped hone the creative side.
Whether painting or writing (or editing or publishing), she focuses on subjects that move and inspire her and the final product is visual proof. She was driven to celebrate the beauty of the Lake Oconee area through the vast talents of the local writers and artists. After months of collecting the ideal poems and stories and pairing them with the most interpretive paintings, she eventually had to write a couple of poems to fill in the needed gaps. The resulting book is a true fete and has been warmly received. The second book, based upon the holiday writings of a noted area writer, also includes many of her paintings. It too has proved to be a publishing success. She has also had several articles published in area magazines and paintings published in three other books.
There are so many funny and frustrating incidents that happen along the path to publishing a book. I decided to paint a stained glass window for a piece in The Seasonal Heart ("Candles in the Window"). Feeling the need for bright colors, I began to play with various color combinations. As I stood back to look, I could make out the vague shape of a red heart. Excited and feeling the power of Divine intervention, I re-painted it, ensuring that the heart was more prominent. The finished painting was a good fit for the piece. When the author, George Heiring, saw it, he immediately exclaimed, "That's the cover!" I knew it was mission accomplished.
-Gail Vail
