This spring, William Baczek Fine Arts in Northampton, Massachusetts, will present a group show featuring works in oil by Julie Beck, Larry Preston and Scott Prior. Each artist is a master of realism in their own right, but they bring diverse perspectives and techniques to their paintings, demonstrating the power of oil painting to capture the world around us. The three artists each provide a unique take on realism, offering viewers a journey through the tangible and the intangible, the familiar and the mysterious.
Larry Preston, Ascend, 2025, oil on panel, 20 x 16"Prior has painted the everyday moments of New England for more than 50 years, and Provincetown, Massachusetts, in particular holds special meaning for him. “In 1969, I quit my job as a dishwasher in a restaurant and hung my watercolor paintings on a fence on Commercial Street in Provincetown,” he says. “I have been painting ever since.”
Inspired by Edward Hopper, he transitioned from painting isolated landscapes to emotionally-charged everyday moments that play with the emotive power of light. One of his new pieces, Children with Glow Sticks at Twilight,exemplifies his keen sense of composition. It started as a simple seascape depicting the Provincetown harbor, but he felt something more was needed in the foreground, so he added a boat and children playing. “To balance the lights in the distance, I put glow sticks in the children’s hands,” he explains. The result is a whimsical scene that captures a familiar sense of nostalgia and wonder.
Scott Prior, Children with Glow Sticks at Twilight, 2024-5, oil on panel, 15 x 18"Prior’s Cabin with Two Towels shows a house at the end of a long walking path, two towels hanging on the line to dry as the day fades. “The New England landscape is small and intimate and directs our attention to things close at hand,” he says. In Prior’s work, even the most commonplace scenes carry stories that are waiting to be discovered and explored.
Larry Preston, Lemons with China, 2024, oil on panel, 14 x 24"
Beck approaches her paintings with an analytical mind and a poetic sensibility, drawing from her background in engineering, mathematics and design. “Traditionally, realists avoid tangents—where lines on separate planes align—because they can flatten an image and disrupt the illusion of depth,” she explains. But in her painting Idols, but Not Masters, Beck deliberately breaks that rule, blurring the division between objects while still preserving a sense of dimension. The image asks viewers to rely on abstract shapes and color to perceive the space—or simply lose themselves in the interplay of the objects on canvas.
Julie Beck, The Only Thing Louder than Destruction, 2023, oil on canvas panel, 20 x 16"
In her painting The Only Thing Louder Than Destruction, Beck explores the creative process as it goes from raw potential to something that’s been fully realized. She chose an oil can as the central image because it so aptly symbolizes the dual nature of creation. She says, “Oil has fueled progress, industry and innovation, yet it also carries a complex legacy of environmental and societal impact.”
Preston’s path to painting was circuitous. He pursued a career as a professional musician before he returned to his first love of the visual arts. As a self-taught painter, he draws inspiration from the tradition of Flemish still lifes, while still embracing a fresh and contemporary sensibility. His painting Lemons with China is based on a favorite arrangement of items and colors. “I use this combination often and always find something new every time I do,” Preston says. With the changing interplay between color and texture, a new perspective is revealed with every iteration of the arrangement.
Julie Beck, Idols, but Not Masters, 2023, oil on canvas panel, 12 x 12"
In Preston’s Ascend, a pair of worn work gloves break free from gravity and float into the air. “The inspiration came from the analogy of breaking free from having your hands tied and being unable to accomplish what you want to accomplish in life,” he explains. Ultimately, Preston’s still lifes highlight the overlooked beauty of simple objects—a single flower, a piece of fruit, a reflective ceramic surface—reminding viewers to slow down and appreciate the quiet elegance of the world around them.
Scott Prior, Cabin with Two Towels, 2025, oil on panel, 12 x 12"
Through their distinct styles and approaches, Prior, Preston and Beck demonstrate the enduring relevance and expressive potential of realism in painting. Whether through light-drenched landscapes, meticulously crafted still lifes, or thought-provoking conceptual pieces, each artist brings a unique vision to this exhibition.
The show opens on April 23, and a public reception will be held at the gallery on April 26 from 4 to 6 p.m. It will remain on view through June 14. —
William Baczek Fine Arts 36 Main Street • Northampton, MA 01060 (413) 587-9880 • www.wbfinearts.com
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