Preston King: Georgia State Parks

South Georgia artist Preston King fills the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta with nearly 40 pastel paintings of nine Georgia State Parks. King spent more than a year traveling, painting on site and working from photographs to document the parks, and describes himself as a colorist who pushes the seasonal color of each landscape. The artist says the project pairs his love of painting with a conviction that Georgia's state parks are underappreciated and underused. The show anchors the Turner Center's newest round of summer exhibitions, which also features nationally recognized mosaic work by Julie Mazzoni, abstract fiber art by Cat Babbie, and the return of the center's popular People's Choice Photo Contest. All of the exhibitions remain on view through July 29, 2026, with public voting in the People's Choice show open through July 10.