Gary White

FLORENCE, Wis. — Local artist Gary White is the new featured artist at the Wild Rivers Interpretive Center in Florence, Wis.

His pieces will be displayed in front of the waterfall mural. The rotating exhibit is designed to introduce residents and visitors to the area to artists who capture the beauty of wild rivers, lakes and forests.

White was born and raised in Tipler, Wis., and graduated from Florence High School in 1980. Art was always his favorite subject in school. He noted he had a lot of respect for Mr. Tedeschi, his high school art teacher who inspired and encouraged him to use his God-given artistic talent.

White is self-taught but likes to study the techniques of others. His favorite wildlife artist was Tom Beecham, the former Remington Calendar artist from the 1970s.

White’s paintings are mostly inspired by local wildlife and scenery.

There have been a few paintings of the Dakotas but mostly northern Wisconsin, he noted.

He also likes to paint nostalgic scenes and some sports-related material.

White paints mostly in acrylics on canvas but has painted a variety of other items as well.

He has also entered multiple duck, pheasant, turkey and trout stamp competitions in Wisconsin and other states as well.

The Long Lake, Wis., resident is married with two children and nine grandchildren. He also is pastor of the Long Lake Bible Church.

The Interpretive Center, 5628 Forestry Drive at the intersection of U.S. 2 and Highway 70, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

The Wild Rivers Interpretive Center provides local and statewide tourist information for visitors through a variety of brochures, guides, maps and advice. It contains exhibits suited to all ages, explaining the natural resources and history of the unique “Wild Rivers” area. It has many fish, mammal and bird mounts to observe, including a full-body albino buck mount.

The center’s gift shop offers educational books, T-shirts, souvenirs, puppets and other outdoor-related gifts and décor.

To view White’s artwork online, go to www.garywhiteartwork.com.