3 visual artists awarded $25,000 fellowships

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Three visual artists in Rhode Island have been awarded MacColl Johnson Fellowships.

The $25,000 grants were awarded to the three winners - Eric Telfort, Kelsey Miller and David Barnes - this week by the Rhode Island Foundation, the Providence Journal reported.

Telfort, who teaches illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, works with digital software to illustrate graphic novels, as well as oil paints.

Miller makes prints and often uses words from newspaper headlines or weather reports in her pieces. She teaches printmaking and drawing at Wellesley College.

Barnes creates paintings which depict scenes that allude to action like the aftermath of a riot or a landscape covered in debris. He teaches painting and drawing classes at Bristol Community College.

The fellowships are named after Rhode Island natives Robert and Margaret MacColl Johnson, who were dedicated to supporting the arts. The foundation has been awarding fellowships since 2005.