Macon Magazine

1 0 8 M A C O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 9 New York, where he worked construction, before enrolling in graduate school at the University of Georgia. As a graduate teaching assistant in Athens, Ladson had the pleasure of teaching undergraduate classes as well as traveling to Italy, where he also taught for a semester. He remained in Athens after achieving his Master's in Painting and Drawing, until he decided to return to his roots in 2005. "I found myself very alone in Athens after graduate school. My friends from the program had all left town," he said. "I had seriously considered moving to New York City, but I decided to come home. I think I made the right decision." For the next two years, he used his artistic and practical work experience on a new Macon venture –renovating an older home where he eventually would live with his family and create his studio. His move to Macon has proven to be a fruitful one, but Ladson said his biggest challenge is the lack of available art supplies in the area, a common conundrum for local artists. Despite that challenge, Ladson knew he wanted to live here and paint professionally while exhibiting his art throughout the Southeast. e chance to do so came "out of the blue" when e Blue Spiral Gallery in Asheville, N.C., asked him to exhibit with them. e gallery directors had seen Ladson's work in a regional edition of the publication, New American Paintings, and immediately recognized his talent. Since then, Ladson has displayed his art nationally – in galleries stretching from Raleigh, Spartanburg and Huntsville, Ala., to New York and the NuArt Gallery in Santa Fe. Most recently, Ladson's art was displayed in the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga as part of the fourth installment of the "Hunter Invitational," a gallery showcasing noteworthy artists in the Southeast. e repeated exhibitions have kept him busy, and he described his creative process as "ugly and frustrating," with six paintings going at once. "I'll rotate them out, then one day I'll flip one out and it's done," he said. "I'm only finished when I'm 100 percent, and I know

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