THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 19, 1995 TAG: 9505180282
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEXIS SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
When Sentara Leigh Hospital asked Preston Powers to decorate the walls of the maternity floor and give it that homey feeling, it took lots of old-fashioned legwork - poring through catalogs and making call after call to find the right artwork.
Now when Powers receives a request for a specific style of art, he can find it in seconds by the push of a button. Then he can order it, frame it and have it ready in a much shorter time. No more trips to the Chrysler Museum, scouring art galleries or scouring catalogs.
The new service is called ``Art Information,'' a color laser disc gallery on computer that can be found at his business, Quality Art and Frame Designs.
It only takes minutes to perform a computer search by artist, title, color, style, size or price.
To find something by local artist Tom McLauchlin, simply find his name in the catalog, punch in a number and the computer brings up examples of his work.
McLauchlin's art is submitted to Art Information by his publisher, Newmark, of Louisville, Ky. Margot Rowe from Newmark said the system has brought new business from galleries that would otherwise not have known about some artists.
Art Information updates the catalog and disc every three months and sends it to 300 customers internationally, including ones in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, from its home office in Denver, Colo.
Powers, the former owner of the Village Gallery, said, ``I wanted a way to keep a very large inventory in a much smaller area with a lower overhead and Art Information was the perfect answer.''
Quality Art and Frame Designs is one of two stores in the Hampton Roads area to offer this service and there are only four businesses statewide. The other local one is in Hampton.
Powers is also using his color disc gallery to select local artists to decorate the walls and create a regional mural at the Norfolk International Airport and has also picked art work for lawyers, doctors, hospitals and banks.
Powers can be reached at 456-0176. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Preston Powers' business, Quality Art and Frame Designs, is one of
two stores in the Hampton Roads area to offer ``Art Information,'' a
color laser disc gallery on computer that is used to find artwork
for decorating.
by CNB