Beaches, birds, harbors and more will be spotlighted in paintings during the 18th annual exhibition Summer in New England at Susan Powell Fine Art in Madison, Connecticut. The show, one of the gallery’s most popular events, will include more than 70 works by Del-Bourree Bach, Paul Beebe, Peter Bergeron, Zufar Bikbov, Neal Hughes, Tom Hughes, Anne McGrory, Leonard Mizerek, Deborah Quinn-Munson, Jeanne Rosier Smith and George Van Hook.
Anne McGrory, Surf Chasers, pastel, 15 x 33"
“All reflect in rich detail summer moments, and the beauty and unique character of New England,” says gallery owner Susan Powell. “We’re looking forward to having an opening on Friday, July 9. Artist Jeanne Rosier Smith will also be giving a painting demonstration of one of her seascapes in the gallery garden.”
Tom Hughes will exhibit his work Under the Oaks, which was painted last summer in Ispwich, Massachusetts, while visiting the area with a fellow artist. “He looked in a direction at right angles to where I was looking and did something totally different. This approach is right up my alley, it’s always so interesting what each artist chooses to paint,” he explains. “The foreground and its rich design possibilities became a key part of my painting. We worked on site for three or four hours, then I finished the painting in the studio over several months.”
Tom Hughes, Under the Oaks, oil, 30 x 36"
A day following a group of sanderlings in Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport, Massachusetts, inspired McGrory’s painting Surf Chasers. “They moved as a group perfectly synchronized, but then one, then another, would break away from the group and briefly change direction,” she says. “The bird facing the incoming water was one of these, often striking out on his own while never moving too far away from the group. Another seemed to be in charge when it was time to move on down the shoreline. I used several different reference photographs to compose this piece, looking to portray the sanderling group as a whole and at the same time capture the individual characteristics and personalities of each bird.”
Jeanne Rosier Smith, Unexpected Joy, pastel, 20 x 60"
Mizerek is fascinated by schooners under sail. “That special moment when light touches everything and changes it,” he says. “In Breaking Light at Sea, golden atmospheric light peeks through the moving clouds, reflecting through the sails and shimmering on the water. The schooners moving in soft breezes and the harmonious palette produces a deeply tranquil moment.”
Leonard Mizerek, Breaking Light at Sea, oil, 12 x 16"
Unexpected Joy, by Smith, was inspired by a special time of day. She explains, “Low morning light illuminates rising waves like secret, momentary gifts: for just a few instants with every beautiful wave, a stained-glass masterpiece assembles, shifts and then shatters. As an observer on the beach, I feel an unexpected joy at being allowed to see these little miracles whenever I catch a glimpse of them.”
Summer in New England will be on view through August 8. —
Susan Powell Fine Art
679 Boston Post Road • Madison, CT 06443
(203) 318-0616 • www.susanpowellfineart.com
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