Photo: BROOKE WOLFE/ The Sanford Herald
Work from artist Forrest Greenslade on display at the Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro.

PITTSBORO Input the idea of a wildlife subject into the artistic minds of Forrest Greenslade and Juan Pons and expect very different, but complementary results.

For Pons, a native of Puerto Rico and wildlife photographer with 20 years of experience, expect a crisp, bold, realistic photograph capturing the natural environment and behavior of a frog, owl or bison. Greenslade, however, processes the thought with a dash of fantasy and mythology as he turns out a textured, lively vision in the form of an acrylic painting or metal sculpture.

"We realized we do a lot of wildlife, but in much different perspectives," said Pons, standing besides friend Greenslade inside the Carolina Brewery, where both men are displaying their works in the exhibit "Force of Nature" through the end of November. The pair are showing as part of the Chatham Artists Guild's bi-monthly exhibitions at the Brewery to bring local artistry to an untraditional gallery setting.

As obvious as it is to separate each artist's work from the other along the brewery's restaurant wall is it to understand the forethought and history that is brought into each artist's work. But as different as the works are, the artists both found it to be an ease to work the two styles together for the "Force of Nature" exhibition.

"It suddenly hit me," said Greenslade of the idea to merge. "So we both started working independently (for the show)."

Although Pons' exhibition covers years of travels to Yellowstone National Park coupled with photographs from Chatham County, Greenslade started from scratch the beginning of the summer to produce the wildlife pieces he exhibits at the restaurant.

At his Pittsboro studio, Greenslade began "mass producing" wildlife, such as his metal sculpture owl inspired by the Greek goddess Athena and a set of textured paintings imagining animals at a bar for happy hour. The end result was a welcomed change from some of Greenslade's other works, as he continually tries to evolve and challenge his work as an artist.

"When we first got here... I was like "How are we going to hang this in a coherent way?'" said Pons. "But it came together very quickly."

The pair also share a far different approach into becoming an artist. Pons discovered his love for photography after being sent to a Waltham, Mass. boarding school in the 1980s, drawing inspiration from a photography teacher and continuing to work as a photographer on the side while pursing a career in software/computer engineering.

Greenslade began experimenting with masks and three-dimensional sculptures more recently after working for years as an executive at Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, The Population Council and Ipas, an international women's health organization.

The brewery exhibition marks the first time the pair have been featured exclusively together in a setting that is about as non-traditional as the "Force of Nature" show.

"It works really well for the brewery and the artists guild," said Greenslade, who said the guild has provided revolving pieces at the restaurant since its opening in Pittsboro last year to reach audiences who may otherwise not attend an art gallery. "Each show we sell a few things, but we never set it up as a sales venue."

As part of the exhibition, an artists reception will be held at the Carolina Brewery from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday as an opportunity for the public to speak with the artists and browse the "Force of Nature" show.

swymer@sanfordherald.com