Exhibits & Artist Talks
Avila Home Care is thrilled to exhibit the work of talented visual artists and host artist talks
for residents and their guests at local senior living communities.
Avila’s partners at Brightwood Club, Springwell Senior Living, Blakehurst Senior Living, and Brightview Senior Living Severna Park, are graciously hosting the first exhibits of Avila Art Makers. As part of these exhibits, residents learn more about the artists’ inspirations, who they’ve studied with, their methods, and the stories behind their treasured works of art.
As the Avila Art Makers exhibits and artist talks bloom, we look forward to bringing stunning visual art to the twenty-seven Senior Living Communities where Avila serves clients, and beyond! We would be honored to showcase artwork at your independent or assisted living community, as well as for your memory care, skilled nursing, hospice residents, and hospital patients. If you would like for Avila Art Makers to exhibit and speak at your community, please contact Gretchen Maneval, Director of External Affairs at gretchen@avilahomecare.com, or call 410-826-6100.
Click Here to See Wonderful Photos of Avila Art Makers’ Exhibits and Artist Talks
Meet the Avila Art Makers Artists!
Steve Bleinberger, Water Color Paintings
Steve Bleinberger paints “with sweeping strokes that role and undulate…a hopeful luminous sky moves easily from color to color, as the well-rendered boat attracts the viewer to the focal point.” At the cross section of realism and impressionism, Steve’s “sea and shore” watercolor paintings are continually striving to capture the ever-changing texture of the light, water, land and sky. His influences include Degas, Turner, Homer, Hopper, Thon and Maryland’s own Jim Iams. Growing up on Thomas Point, just south of Annapolis, Maryland, kindled in Steve a deep affinity for the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay. Steve discovered early on that watermedia is well suited to the fluid, ever-changing sea and sky conditions that first inspired him to paint as a teenager, and that continue to fascinate and enthrall. Steve received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Virginia Commonwealth University. An acclaimed artist, Steve is a prolific exhibiter and has won numerous prestigious creative and fine art awards, including numerous awards from The Maryland Federation of Arts. His pieces can be found in private collections, and recent exhibitions including: The Artists’ Gallery in Chestertown Maryland, River Arts in Chestertown, Maryland (People’s Choice Award), Queen Anne County Arts Council, and Annapolis Maritime Museum. Steve has had a long and fruitful professional career in the advertising, graphic design and film business, and has received prestigious local, regional and international awards.
Gretchen Ann Maneval, Post-Impressionist Oil Paintings
“The luminosity of Gretchen Maneval’s paintings are evocative of the Post-Impressionist era, with a touch of Fauvist flair. Gretchen has cultivated a vibrant painterly approach- landscapes dance with light, figures convey a sense of depth and spirit, and interiors vibrate with rich color and form.” Gretchen derives inspiration from many painters, including Fairfield Porter, Joaquin Sorolla, and Richard Diebenkorn. She began oil painting 35 years ago with Theresa Shovlin (formerly McDaniel) at Towson High School’s nationally renowned fine arts program (Class of ’92), where she received the prestigious United States Congressional Award for Creative Merit for a self-portrait which was exhibited in the U.S. Capitol Building, and she was selected for the Alex Cooke Memorial Mural Project and her original mural was installed at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Gretchen was awarded a Fine Arts scholarship to the University of Virigina (’96), where she studied visual art with Philip Geiger, along with an honors major in Political and Social Thought, and a minor in Urban Planning. During the late ‘90’s and early aughts while living in Washington, D.C., Gretchen studied and exhibited at the Washington Studio School, and at the Torpedo Factory Arts Center. After receiving her Master in City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) School of Architecture and Planning in 2003, Gretchen moved to Brooklyn, New York, where in her spare time she studied in the studio atelier of Andrew Reiss, formerly of the Art Students League of New York, while professionally she worked as an affordable housing developer. After moving with her family back to Baltimore in 2014, she studied with Matthew Zoll at Zoll Studio of Fine Art.
Carol Morgan, The Carol and Ken Collection
The extraordinary modern art collection of Carol Clark Morgan and Kenneth Steven Warwick has its origins in the 1930’s, when Carol’s parents, Jamie and Nanine Clark, met while they were both in college at Rice University in Texas. Jamie worked for the cotton merchant Anderson Clayton, and Nanine played her prized Stradivarius violin in the Houston Symphony Orchestra. After marrying and having children, they were moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil with their young family for Jamie’s work in Commodities. They became world travelers, charged with the task of learning all there was to know about coffee, cotton and sugar all over the globe! Nanine’s zest for fine art was ignited, and she began collecting art from all the places they travelled. After 8 years in Brazil and many trips abroad, Jamie was transferred to New York City, and eventually became President of the New York Commodities Exchange on Wall Street.
The family lived in Bronxville, New York and Water Mill, Long Island. Carol’s brother Jim attended Princeton University, followed by Harvard Business School. Carol went to Kent School for high school, and then earned two degrees in Psychology, and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Nanine became a Licensed Interior Decorator in New York, and worked for a large firm decorating offices and homes. After a few years, she was inspired to attend the Art Students League of New York, and became a prolific and renowned painter, selling her work all over the United States during the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. Nanine and Jamie continued to collect art, and during those years, Carol and her brother Jim’s interest in art and music also blossomed, having learned much from their intellectual, creative and adventurous parents.
Ken’s upbringing mirrored Carol’s, as his parents raised him and his two brothers and sister in New York City. They enrolled him in a competitive special public art and music elementary school, and encouraged his independent travels all over New York City to museums and operas starting at age 8! Ken soon exclaimed that he wanted to become a conductor, then he wanted to be a painter, and finally he decided upon architecture as his chosen field of study by the time he was 12 years old. Ken went to high school on Long Island, and subsequently completed a 6-year architectural degree from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.
Carol and Ken spent a large portion of their adult years (1960’s, 70’s and 80’s) visiting art galleries and music venues, leading seemingly parallel but separate lives, until they had the very good fortune to meet in 2001 (they even discovered that they had been buying similar paintings by the same artist before they met!)
In 2001, Carol was getting ready to retire from The Sheppard Pratt Hospital after 18 years working to build an Ambulatory Division consisting of Community Programs and Satellite Mental Health Centers, and raising a wonderful son. Ken was also nearing retirement and preparing to sell his firm after several years of working for RTKL in Baltimore, followed by 16 years running his own architecture firm, Beard, Warwick & Cornell in Washington, D.C.
Carol was the President of the Board at The School 33 Art Center in Federal Hill, and she was looking to expand the number of Directors on the Board. It was suggested that Ken might be a good Board candidate, given that he had been immersed in art and music for most of his life, his livelihood as an architect, and since he was retiring and would be transitioning to a slower lifestyle. As luck would have it, Ken accepted Carol’s invitation to join the Board!
Ken had recently purchased property in Betterton, Maryland on the upper Eastern Shore of Maryland on the Sassafras River, and was planning to build an art studio so he could begin his dream of pursuing fine arts. Meanwhile, Carol had been looking to buy a small home in the same area. They both coincidentally ended up living a block away from each other in Betterton, and were probably the only two single people in a town of 300 in peak summer season! Fate?
And so the story goes…they immersed themselves into the local art world. This was the beginning of a 21-year wonderful relationship, and a flurry of trips together to museums, art galleries, operas and music venues plus purchasing art together. In addition, Ken was able to build his studio and fulfill his dream of producing countless drawings.
Almost all of the pieces they bought separately as well as together, were by artists that they knew and became friends with. Ken was able to finish some residential architectural projects, including Carol and Ken’s homes. A twelve-year project completing St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C. was particularly gratifying to Ken. Carol and Ken also purchased a house together in Annapolis, which sat on The Cove of Cork, just off of the Severn River, and this was the most fun and pleasing project for both of them. They transformed a 1960’s mid-century ranch house into a fabulous contemporary home, every detail done with care and passion. Ken’s last architectural project was done at the very end of his life, a completely renovated condominium at Brightwood Club Senior Living. Ken wanted Carol to have a safe and lovely place to live once he had passed, and she does love it.
Carol and Ken’s story of the love of art, and of one another, is reflected in this rare and stunning modern art collection.
Trevor Twist, Oil Paintings
Trevor Twist, a passionate artist and educator, has dedicated his life to the fine arts, inspiring countless individuals through his teachings, leadership, and creative endeavors. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Trevor's journey in the arts began at an early age, culminating in a robust academic and professional career that spans various prestigious institutions.
Trevor pursued his undergraduate studies at Lehigh University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture in 2002, with a minor in Art and Architectural History and Religious Studies. His education continued at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he received a Certificate with Honors in 2006, focusing on painting, sculpture, and drawing. During his time at the academy, he was recognized as a Merit Scholar and served as a Student Ambassador, conducting interviews and portfolio reviews across the East Coast. His dedication to the craft further deepened with studies at Studio Incamminati under the esteemed Nelson Shanks, where he honed his skills in life drawing and portraiture.
With a strong foundation in the arts, Trevor began his professional career as the Assistant Director at the Sande Webster Gallery, where he not only excelled in sales but also curated exhibitions showcasing emerging artists. His passion for teaching soon led him to the Mitchell School of Fine Arts (MSFA) in Baltimore, where he currently serves as the Executive and Creative Director. Under his leadership since 2008, MSFA has flourished, tripling its enrollment and faculty while expanding its visibility within the community. Trevor has been instrumental in launching innovative programs, including an online platform for art instruction and the “Dare to Draw” after-school program, making art accessible to students of all ages.
In addition to his directorial role at MSFA, Trevor has contributed as a faculty member at Zoll Studios of Fine Art, where he hosts live figure drawing classes, and as the founder of the first after-school art club at Gilman School. His commitment to education extends to various substitute teaching roles, where he has nurtured artistic curiosity in middle and upper school students.
Trevor's achievements have not gone unnoticed. He has cultivated vital scholarship funding through the Polly Mitchell Scholarship Fund, developed comprehensive college preparatory curricula, and established a permanent art collection that includes works from renowned artists. His efforts have significantly enhanced the educational experience and artistic development of his students.
Through his innovative approach, dedication to teaching, and love for the arts, Trevor Twist continues to leave a lasting impact on the artistic community in Baltimore and beyond, nurturing the next generation of artists and fostering a deep appreciation for the fine arts.