July marks the peak of the summer season on the East Coast and it’s especially festive in the picturesque towns that populate the New England seaboard and the quaint islands around it. It’s a beloved time of boating, barbecues, fresh seafood and long days at the beach. The colors are bright white and cerulean blue, with salty breezes, sunshine, sparkling seas—and a high time for galleries to highlight the incredible artwork they have to offer.
Mayflower Beach in Dennis on Cape Cod. Photo: MOTT MOTT
The artists and galleries featured in the following pages will transport you to the most quintessential New England locales like Martha’s Vineyard, Provincetown and Chatham on Cape Cod, the bucolic shores of Truro, Massachusetts, the rugged beauty of New Hampshire and even the rocky coastline of Maine. So, if you can’t make it to the East Coast this summer, sit back, allow the art in the following pages, which celebrates its beauty and creative spirit, to lead the way.
+ + + + + + + + + + + +
Photo courtesy Provincetown Office of Tourism.
Provincetown Office of Tourism
330 Commercial Street Provincetown, MA 02657
tourism@provincetown-ma.gov
www.ptowntourism.com (508) 487-3298
Provincetown, Massachusetts, is special for many reasons, but ask any artist what attracts them to this former fishing village and chances are they’ll say something about the light, which has been drawing creative visionaries to the tip of Cape Cod since the late 19th century.
Yet there’s much more to Provincetown’s status as America’s oldest art colony than that. Certainly, the fact that it punches far above its size has something to do with it. With just over 3,600 year-round residents, the number and quality of its cultural venues is beyond impressive. It’s why so many artists and art lovers return to Provincetown every year—especially in the summer, when the population swells to nearly 20 times off-season numbers. Summer is the liveliest time to participate in the weekly Friday evening gallery strolls along the entire three-mile length of Commercial Street but the art calendar is packed year-round. The Fine Arts Work Center, one of the country’s foremost artist residency programs, showcases the work of its visual arts and writing fellows from the late fall through spring. In addition to its permanent collection featuring the likes of Edward Hopper and Helen Frankenthaler, there’s always something new to see at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, from regular juried shows of work by member artists to special exhibitions of photography and sculpture.
Photo courtesy of Provincetown Art Association and Museum.
Photo courtesy Provincetown Office of Tourism.
The Provincetown Commons, one of the newest additions to the cultural landscape, hosts open studio events and exhibitions for both local and visiting artists. Exhibition-quality art can also be found in many other public spaces around town, from Town Hall to the walls of inns and restaurants.
When it comes to creativity, then, it’s not just the light that makes Provincetown so special. You might say it’s something in the water, too.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + +
Gallery Antonia, Toormore Cottage, Ireland, oil on linen 16 x 22" by Sue Gilkey.
Gallery Antonia
1291 Main Street Chatham, MA 02633
(508) 469-4020 domonic@galleryantonia.com www.galleryantonia.com
Gallery Antonia, located in Chatham, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, has been presenting beautiful art since opening in 2010. Owner Domonic Boreffi has enjoyed working closely with his local arts community, and his gallery has been a staple at events like the Winter Art Series hosted by the historic Chatham Bars Inn.
Gallery Antonia, Spindrift, acrylic on panel, 9 x 24", by Del-Bourree Bach.
“We are fortunate to have an increased year-round arts scene and thriving art associations such as the Creative Arts Center in Chatham,” says Boreffi.
Gallery Antonia features many local and regional artists, working in oil, watercolor and acrylics. This summer, the gallery’s exhibitions will showcase award-winning artists Ann Hart, Mark Horton, Elizabeth Lazeren, Barney Levitt, William R. Davis and Del-Bourree Bach. The gallery applauds Bach for his recent accolades from the Hudson Valley Art Association, Connecticut’s Lyme Art Association and the Salmagundi Club in New York City.
Gallery Antonia also offers art consulting services for both residential and business clients. Please visit the gallery’s website for details about their upcoming exhibitions.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + +
West Wind Fine Art, A Newfane Victorian , VT, 2001, oil, 12 x 20", by Richard Schmid.
West Wind Fine Art
Walpole, NH, (603) 499-6838
kristen@westwindfineart.com www.westwindfineart.com
Kristen Thies of West Wind Fine Art is proud to represent the renowned late artist and teacher Richard Schmid, his partner Nancy Guzik, as well as artists Kathy Anderson, Daniel J. Keys and Judy Stach. Her inventory also includes rare oils by the late artist Timothy R. Thies.
West Wind Fine Art has shown paintings by Richard Schmid and his protégés since 1998. “Schmid’s art and knowledge has influenced countless artists for decades,” says Thies.
The gallery is excited to announce a show titled Inspiration featuring the paintings of Schmid, Guzik, Stach and Timothy Thies on October 7 and 8. Inspiration is comprised of Schmid and Guzik’s oils inspired by their New Hampshire home and gardens, Schmid’s iconic landscapes of Vermont and Connecticut, New Jersey seascapes by Stach and landscapes by Thies, who is well remembered for his timeless paintings of Cape Cod and the Islands.
West Wind Fine Art, New Dawn Rose Arbor, oil, 30 x 24", by Timothy R. Thies.
Thies also handles oil painting commissions for Daniel J. Keys, commissions of classical portraits by painter Cynthia Feustel and delightful animal portraits by Johanne Mangi.
“Scenes like this are yet another reason why I live in New England,” wrote Schmid about Newfane Victorian, VT, the piece featured here. “The moment I first saw this rambling old farmhouse I saw it as a painting, and returned one morning after a light snowfall with my canvas and brushes.”
+ + + + + + + + + + + + +
Louisa Gould Gallery, Waiting for You, oil, 32 x 48", by Linda Besse.
Louisa Gould Gallery
54 Main Street Vineyard Haven, MA 02568
(508) 693-7373 lg@louisagould.com www.louisagould.com
Louisa Gould Gallery celebrates 20 years on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The gallery represents over 50 artists, ranging from local and emerging to established international artists. The gallery showcases a range of fine art, contemporary art and marine art in a wide variety of mediums that include original oil paintings, bronze sculpture, fine porcelain and ceramics, glass sculptures and chandeliers, jewelry, photography and mixed media. The Louisa Gould Gallery is one of the premier galleries on the Vineyard and offers a large selection of artworks ranging from small works to very large format.
Louisa Gould Gallery, The Alabama, oil on birch panel 32 x 24", by Sean Roach.
Given the range of styles, price points and size, collectors are sure to find a piece for their own home as well as smaller works for gift giving. The gallery also provides design advice, home viewings and installations.
Located in the heart of Main Street in Vineyard Haven, conveniently only a half-block from the main ferry terminal, the gallery is open daily in the summer and long weekends during the rest of the year.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + +
Janis Sanders, Shallows & Sun, oil on panel, 40 x 40". Photo credit: Image-Tec, Methuen, MA.
Janis Sanders
info@janissanders.com www.janissanders.com
Salt air, salt spray, the sweet smell of summer grass, verdant marsh, an old house at the water’s edge, wind in your hair, sun on your face.
These elements draw artist Janis Sanders outdoors, to the grassy dunes of Truro, Massachusetts, the calm marshes of the North Shore, to the rugged cliffs of Maine.
Sanders says, “Many of my paintings are done in plein air, a method introduced in the mid-1800s by Boudin and other French artists and pursued vigorously by the impressionists, a name coined by an art critic in response to Claude Monet’s work, Impression, Sunrise, 1872.”
Janis Sanders, Sun & Roses, oil on panel, 36 x 36". Photo credit: Image-Tec, Methuen, MA.
Each of Sanders’ works is done as spontaneously as possible, with only minimal blocking in of forms. He begins each painting with the sky which, to him, is the most important element.
“The sky is light, some days slightly purple, sometimes hazy cream, clear aqua, rosy, peach, celadon—we are immersed in it,” he says. “Sky is the key to determine the entire atmosphere of the painting, and visually and practically provide the backdrop for other objects in view. My self-assigned task for each work is to convey the ethereal thing of light in paint, as the sun casts its breath on the world.”
Sanders paints vigorously, expressively and physically, applying paint with a palette knife in blocks of color, smoothing and blending minimally to keep the paint fresh and communicate the essence of the scene.
“I take tremendous joy in the attempt and the subsequent sharing of the result with you,” he says.Sanders is represented by several galleries including Alpers Gallery and Chatham Fine Art in Massachusetts, and Camden Falls Gallery, The Gallery at Somes Sound and Maine Art Hill in Maine. —
Powered by Froala Editor
