Original acrylic paintings by Ocean Pines resident Gary Miller will be featured at Burley Oak during the 2nd Friday art stroll, this week, and on Monday during a benefit for the Atlantic General Hospital Foundation.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(April 12, 2018) Ocean Pines artist Gary Miller will display paintings influenced by the colors, moods and sounds of the islands during a 2nd Friday exhibition at Burley Oak Brewing Company in Berlin this week.

Adding a fundraising component, Miller will donate 10 percent of sales from the show, which will remain on display all month, to the annual Atlantic General Hospital Penguin Swim.

“I paint acrylics and I do a lot of stuff that’s kind of New Orleans-based and a lot of Caribbean-based things,” Miller said. “There will be a lot of variety of artwork in different styles that will be there.”

Additionally, Miller said the Atlantic General Hospital Foundation, which provides philanthropic support for the nonprofit hospital, would host a guest bartending event at the brewery on Monday, April 16 at 6 p.m.

Original acrylic paintings by Ocean Pines resident Gary Miller will be featured at Burley Oak during the 2nd Friday art stroll, this week, and on Monday during a benefit for the Atlantic General Hospital Foundation.

Guest bartenders from Fager’s Island will donate tips and Darin Engh will provide live music. The event will also feature a 50/50 raffle and a raffle for a “basket of cheer,” and Burley Oak will donate 10 percent of the bar proceeds.

The fundraiser will benefit the Healthway Drive Community Garden, a community partnership between the Atlantic General Hospital Foundation and several local organizations and nonprofits.

Miller has been a proponent of the foundation and the Penguin Swim for more than a decade, helping to raise more than $90,000 during that time.

“When we first moved down here 12 years ago, we had a mother-in-law who was living with us who was elderly and, between her and me and my wife, we had various procedures at AGH,” Miller said. “So, we got to know the people there and how kind and how good of a facility it was.”

Inspiration struck while Miller was onboard for a Ravens Roost event and he saw an ad for the annual Penguin Swim.

“Being on a bus going to a Ravens game and talking about fun things to do after a couple beers, my wife said, ‘well, hey, we ought to go jump in the ocean and raise some money for the hospital,’” Miller said. “Another friend said, ‘if you do it I’ll do it’ and pretty soon we had a team together.

“Each year since then, as part of the Ravens Roost, we have done fundraisers and raised quite a bit of money for the hospital,” he continued. “It started as a fun thing to do and then got a little more serious, and we’ve been pretty successful with it. I think at this point we’re somewhere over $92,000 [raised] over the last 10 years.”

For more information on Miller’s art, visit garywm.wixsite.com/millers-original-art.

For more information on the Atlantic General Hospital Foundation, visit www.atlanticgeneral.org/Foundation.