Land and Sea Connections

Copley Society of Art in Boston celebrates maritime art in a new national exhibition on view now.

The tradition of maritime art will be on full view from June 17 through July 18 at Boston-based Copley Society of Art in its new national exhibition Connected Land and Sea. The show is inspired by the New England coast but includes artwork from artists around the entire country. Participants, including members of CoSo as well as non-members, were selected by renowned marine artist Donald Demers from more than 450 entries. The art, including oils, pastels, sculpture, porcelain and photography, is a range of thematic interpretations. Paul Garnett, Windjammer Pommern – Helsinki – 1930, oil, 24 x 30"

Included will be works from Daniel Ambrose, Serena Bates, Ray Crane, Bill Farnsworth, Tom Kallechey, Anna Kasabian, Charlie Longtine, Maria Lungo, Heather Patterson, Deborah Quinn-Munson, Janine Robertson, Jeanne Rosier Smith and Ginny Zanger.

Cindy Crimmin’s painting Aquamarine and Pearl was derived from a reference photo she took at the beach. The day started with low clouds and unexciting waves, but soon it developed into “the perfect day.” She says, “As artists, we find beauty all around us. Of course, as a New Englander, I find this particularly true of our Northern coastal areas. Sometimes it is the flashy beauty of brightly colored shoreline roses or the diamond sparkle of a sunlit sea. Sometimes the beauty we see is quieter, gentler, even a little understated—more the beauty of the semiprecious stones: aquamarine or pearl. This sea was the latter, moody skies and soft drift of waves and foam.”Cindy Crimmin, Aquamarine and Pearl, pastel, 24 x 30"

A classic marine scene is Paul Garnett’s Windjammer Pommern – Helsinki – 1930. Explaining the work, of which he used black-and-white photos and color references to accurately reproduce the ship, Garnett says, “Having spent many years recording the great wooden sailing vessels from history, I thought I’d like to paint one of the also beautiful steel wind ships that carried cargoes to the far corners of the earth, and Pommern was one of those.
I decided to portray my composition vertically as I thought it would dramatically demonstrate the awe-inspiring heights on the masts of this fast and majestic vessel.”Sam Vokey, Shadows and Light, Sun and Moon, oil on linen, 24 x 30"

When Sam Vokey saw the theme of the show, his mind went to an oil sketch he painted on Cape Cod years ago. The memory of standing on the beach was so vivid he could recall the breeze, the smell of the sea and roar of the surf. It combined for his painting Shadows and Lights, Sun and Moon. “I have painted there many times over the years and watching a catboat sailing up into Pleasant Bay at the end of a summer day is very much a part of the scene. Sandbars in this area are constantly shifting and these boats draw very little water and can raise their centerboard and rudder blade to slide over the shallows,” says Vokey. “However, it is the golden hour light that is really the subject of this painting and I used the small oil study to get the correct values between the shadows and light, and warm and cool colors. The rest was from my memories of a favorite place on a glorious day.”

Along with serving as the jurist, Demer will select the prize winners for the show including the Alden Bryan Award for an oil landscape and the Gazzola Family Award for watercolor. The show will be on view in the Upper Gallery at Copley Society of Art’s showroom. —

Connected Land & Sea
When: June 17-July 18, 2021
Where: Copley Society of Art, 158 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
Information: www.copleysociety.org