Frames and Things Holds first First Friday Art After Dark of 2023

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

Frames and Things in the Cove Terrace Shopping Center has held First Friday: Art After Dark for the past 20 plus years, and this past Friday, the frame shop held the first event of 2023 featuring artist Dean Pate. 

After a two-year plus hiatus starting in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Frames and Things restarted the monthly event in September 2022. Following the long holiday season, the event kicked off again on January 6, 2023. Owner Joe Friddle said that the first artist of the year, Dean Pate, was someone who had just moved to the Killeen area. 

Friddle and his wife, Debra, took over from the previous owners and kept up with the First Friday events with the intention of highlighting local artists. The event serves as a way to show off what the artists have to offer and also allows local residents a chance to socialize with the artists. 

“That’s a way we can spread the word of what people do, and people look forward just to come in here for this First Friday, and like right now, they get to have a little wine, have a little something to eat,” Friddle said. “They can listen to music, and they can talk to the artists. They can walk around and look at all kinds of things because what we have to show off tonight is not necessarily all of what he’s got.” 

Friddle added that several other artists had work on display throughout the store that was also available for sale. 

As guests mingled, they enjoyed a selection of finger foods and had a variety of wines to choose from, all at no cost. Each guest also received a raffle ticket for a drawing later that evening for several different prints or framed pieces of artwork, including some from Pate. Live music was provided by Scott Taylor. 

Pate spoke briefly to the crowd during the event, introducing himself and touching on his different styles of art. Pate moved to Killeen three months ago from Salado. He said he was told that the Killeen area did not have an art community. 

“To my surprise, the art community here is a lot stronger than what anything or anything I experienced there,” Pate said. “That’s testament to everybody I’ve seen in a few shows that I’ve been here on First Friday and to the crowd that’s here tonight.” 

Pate said he won his first art competition in second grade, and art has been a part of his life ever since. 

“I was told that if I wanted to be an artist, I needed to pick a medium and pick a style and stick to it, and that’s the one piece of advice that I chose not to follow,” Pate said. “That’s why you’ll see oil paintings. You’ll see pastels here, drawings; you’ll see watercolors, acrylics. You’ll see different styles from palette knife to brush work, dry brush, wet, but having experienced all those different styles and mediums, you’ll often find that I cross the different styles into the different paintings. You’ll find palette knife work in a watercolor, which you don’t see a lot. You’ll find stains in oil paintings that are like watercolor stains. That’s because I’m always intrigued about how paint is going to work.”

When asked if he could choose a favorite painting, Pate said, “Ones I do with brushes.”

“That goes back to pick a style, pick a medium,” he added. “I can’t do it. My mind doesn’t work that way.”

Pate added that he appreciated the First Friday Art After Dark set up, because he was allowed to bring whatever paintings he wanted from his collection. His work includes patriotic, military themed paintings to oceanic watercolors and more. 

Dean Pate’s website can be found at https://deanpatefineart.com/. 

The next First Friday Art After Dark will be February 3, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with featured artists Sheri Wilson and Mike Matthews.