The Portrait of an Artist and His Wife:
The Outer Banks Story of Glenn and Pat Eure
By Catherine Baldwin
here’s no one on this
T
beach quite like Glenn
Eure. Owner of Glenn
Eure’s Ghost Fleet
Gallery in Nags Head,
Glenn is unabashedly gregarious.
Wearing a red beret, a tribute to his
days as a Major in the 82nd Air-
borne Division, Glenn is always
quick with a joke, a song or a smile.
He laughs as he describes himself as
a “painter, a sculptor, a teller of tall
tales.” And he lists painting the
President’s balls among his greatest
artistic accomplishments (more on
that later). He’s eccentric, for sure,
but in a warm and wonderful way.
on vacation from Charlottesville. Self-portrait isn’t his only forte.
His wife Pat is the yin to Glenn’s
Glenn was smitten. “I chased her for Glenn dabbles in just about every-
yang. While Glenn is truly the face
a solid five years!” thing, from clown paintings to
(and the name) of the gallery, Pat
Over the past thirty years the
sculpture, but he’s most proud of
keeps everything running smoothly
pair have made a life by not only
his abstracts that poke and bulge
behind the scenes. She’s soft-spo-
supporting the local art scene, but
out of their frames as if they were
ken and gentle in her manner, and
by being the local art scene. The
trying to escape from the canvas. “I
clearly enamored with Glenn and
gallery hosts emerging artists of
woke up at 4 am dreaming about
his work. Pat calls herself a “Gallery
genres ranging from sculpting to
canvases partly framed,” he says.
Wife,” but Glenn makes it clear that
photography to woodcarving and
That middle-of-the-night inspira-
she’s quite a bit more important to
holds frequent poetry readings that
tion has become some of his most
the gallery than she lets on.
occasionally erupt in song or dance.
unique art pieces.
Pat and Glenn’s Outer Banks
In his gallery hangs a nude
Glenn is also well known for
story began in the mid-seventies.
portrait of himself—which he
his ink and brush drawings of
Glenn was hired by the Park Service
proudly points out—from a “Self-
moored boats with people’s names
to work as an “Artist in the Park.” On
Portrait” competition a few years
on them. “Do a drawing, put a
July 3, 1977, he opened Glenn Eure’s
past. Each year Glenn comes up
name on a boat—this is the high-
Ghost Fleet Gallery in the Beach
with a new take on the self-portrait
light of some people’s visit to the
Mart Shopping Center. “It was just
theme and showcases various sub-
Outer Banks,” says Pat. “Those pay
a hole-in-the-wall,” he says. Six
missions. This year’s theme was
the mortgage!” jokes Glenn.
years later he built the gallery on the
“Artist’s Self-Portrait Any Way You The Eures have worked hard to
corner of South Memorial and
Can Stretch It.” Glenn painted a advance the arts on the Outer
Driftwood in Nags Head, which is
scene on an irregular-shaped Banks. Glenn is a member of the
still open today.
stretched canvas from his younger First Flight Rotary Club, which was
At the time, Glenn was living
days when he was wooing Pat, sig- the driving force behind Icarus In-
the single life. “I was a wild and
nified by angels bringing them to- ternational, the non-profit group
woolly bachelor and artist on the
gether. He named it “Holo Holo to that sponsored the Monument to a
beach,” he laughs. And then one
Wen We Wuz – A Pleasant Journey to Century of Flight. He came up with
day Pat walked into his art gallery
Our Past.” the concept for the monument, and
Ms. Phyllis' Neighborhood
There were a few highlights to the
summer that Ms. Phyllis can recall,
but it was still much too short.
by Phyllis Cole to go home. Where has the summer
Visitors to Corolla got to enjoy
i there boys and
gone? Wasn't it just last week that
the weekly wine tastings and con-
H
girls and wel-
Ms. Phyllis was reveling in the burst
certs on the lawn at the Whalehead
come to my
of daffodils that heralded the com-
Club along with pony rides at the
neighborhood.
ing of spring? The summer of ‘08
Corolla Light Town Centre and
Ms. Phyllis is just
has been but a blur of driving up
weekly visits by a wild horse to the
starting to get used to all
and down NC 12 and avoiding the
Corolla Wild Horse Museum. Ms.
the new visitors to her neighbor-
traffic jams that accompany the
Phyllis hears that the new Corolla
hood and now it's time for them all
weekend “march of the minivans,”
also known as changeover day.
see MS. PHYLLIS page 28
6
NBS • Fall 2008 • www.northbeachsun.com
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