"Fig Tree at Callaway Plantation" by Laura Sleighter (left) and "Red Roof" by Peter Muzyka will be among the featured works at the Art Gallery La Place beginning November 13. The fall art show and sale, "Rural Georgia & the Vanishing South," opens at the Art Gallery La Place on Thursday, November 13. There will be a "Meet the Artists" reception, open to the public, from 6-8 p.m. with wine served. The show runs through Christmas.

The atmospheric show of landscapes of rural Georgia and days gone by features the paintings of local artists Peter Muzyka of Madison, Robert Battle of Milledgeville, Laura Connely Sleighter of Washington, Nan McGarity of Mc- Donough/Greensboro, and David Siffert from Greensboro.

"We're delighted to showcase local talent and Laura Sleighter is a welcome addition to the gallery," Anne Jenkins, the managing artist, said. "Laura is showing alongside established artists and I know she will continue to thrive as an artist in this environment."

Peter Muzyka and Robert Battle are well-known as painters of the vanishing South, and their work is evocative and beautiful, Jenkins added.

Muzyka paints primarily in egg tempera, a delicate medium much favored in the Renaissance period. Egg tempera is a painting process that uses egg yolk to bind pigments. The artist manufactures the paints by the process of mixing finely ground pigment, water and diluted egg yolk.

Battle's series of acrylic paintings concentrate on the farm areas around Sparta, Georgia. His vivid depiction of light accentuates the bucolic settings in great depth. His work has won awards at shows throughout the South.

McGarity spent part of this summer painting en plein aire all around North Georgia and has some mesmerizing works of art for the show. Painting "en plein aire" is translated from French and literally means painting out in the open - setting up your easel out in a field, with the owners permission, or roadside and painting the scene in front of you, Jenkins explained. McGarity noted she met some very interesting characters along the way and was awed by the simple beauty of the rural parts of Georgia.

Siffert was something of a child prodigy - the Museum of Art in Washington, D.C., bought one of his oil paintings when he was 14 years old. His medium of choice is gouache.

"Gouache is known for it's vivid color and a certain degree of difficulty in using it." Jenkins said. "David excels at it."

Jenkins will also be in the show. Her acrylic paintings mostly focus on the coast around Georgia and the shrimp boats in the marshes. The shrimp boat industry and it's way of life is fast disappearing, Jenkins noted, and she hopes she has captured the essence of this lifestyle on canvas before it is no longer around.

Also in the show are Jan Whyllson of Greensboro, folk artist Hannah Cohen of New Orleans. and Ronald Moore of Hartwell who does pen and ink sketches of places which in many cases no longer exist. Scenes of Athens and the surrounding area by Athens artist Will Eskridge round out the show.

The gallery is located at 7 East Square, Washington, and is open Thursday-Friday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. or by appointment.