Susan Powell Fine Art | Through 1/3 |Madison, CT

Winter Wonderland

Susan Powell Fine Art presents a holiday showcase of the gallery’s top talent

By Sarah Gianelli

Susan Powell Fine Art represents many top-tier artists in the world of contemporary realism, and four times a year, the gallery pulls out all the stops to showcase the full breadth of their talent. Winter ushers in the gallery’s Annual Holiday Show,featuring a selection of 75 large- and small-scale oils and pastels by 35 award-winning artists, as well as others emerging onto the scene.

Kelly Birkenruth, Frozen Funnies, oil, 12 x 12 in.

This year’s exhibition includes works by Thomas Adkins, Kathy Anderson, Del-Bourree Bach, Nancy Bass, Paul Beebe, Julie Beck, Peter Bergeron, Zufar Bikbov, Kelly Birkenruth, David Dunlop, John Falato, Vincent Giarrano, Tom Hughes, Jim Laurino, Laura Grace Mastrangelo, Anne McGrory, Jonathan McPhillips, Jim McVicker, Leonard Mizerek, Stan Moeller, Mo Myra, Cora Ogden, Larry Preston, Deborah Quinn-Munson, Jeanne Rosier Smith, Kyle Stuckey, Laura Westlake and Christopher Zhang. With subjects that range from bucolic landscapes and enchanting seascapes to exquisite still lifes, florals, wildlife, figurative works and cityscapes, Susan Powell Fine Art’s Annual Holiday Show has a piece that will speak to every collector.

Mo Myra, Fields of Plenty, watercolor, 20 x 30 in.

Among the show’s scenic landscapes is Bach’s Season Finale, which depicts one of the artist’s favorite farms in North Stonington, Connecticut. “I have painted it many times, in all weather, seasons and times of day,” shares Bach. “As this barn faces west, the way the late afternoon light hits it is spectacular on a crisp, late winter day. The pines on either side provide a theatrical touch and reveal the scene almost like a curtain opening on a stage set…There is work going on in the barn still, and I hope viewers will come up with their own stories and enjoy the view behind the curtain.”

Cora Ogden, Summer Pasture, oil, 36 x 34 in.

Another serene Connecticut landscape is Ogden’s oil Summer Pasture, which was inspired by hiking the beaches and paths along the shoreline. “I climbed a small bluff on the Lieutenant River where it meets the Sound and stepped into an incredible pastoral scene,” Ogden recounts. “Rough meadow grasses stretched toward the horizon, meeting majestic trees and old farm buildings. Overhead, an intense blue late summer sky filled with massive clouds swept in from the coast. I had to paint this quintessential New England summer moment.”

Del-Bourree Bach, Season Finale, acrylic, 8 x 8 in.

A master handler of light, Preston will be showing one of his signature citrus still life paintings. “I paint tangerines and other citrus often, and I usually put them in glass because I love the reflections and the light,” says Preston, who often places his subject against an inky background to draw attention to the fruit.

The idea for One for Tea was a vivid image in McGrory’s imagination long before she had the reference material to bring it to life on the canvas. She arranged her dragon teapot, one of her favorite objects to paint, on a table beneath bird feeders, turning the spout away so it wouldn’t appear in the composition. A few sprigs of winterberries from nearby completed the setup. “The chickadees in my yard are fearless and curious, quick to investigate anything new,” says McGrory. “Even before I placed seeds inside the pot, they were already fluttering in. I spent hours photographing and sketching as they came by for a snack. One particular chickadee kept returning, full of personality and charm. I caught him just as he landed, his wings not yet folded under, and he had the most confident attitude as he looked right at me.” McGrory incorporated gold leaf for its warmth and luminosity, to complement the soft golden tones of the bird's belly and to heighten the contrast with the vivid red of the winterberries. “I love combining pastel with gold leaf in my paintings to give a precious and majestic quality to the common birds we all see every day,” she adds. “My hope is to share with the viewer the beauty in nature that often go unnoticed in our busy lives.”

Anne McGrory, One for Tea, pastel and gold leaf, 10 x 20 in.

Myra’s Fields of Plenty is a picture of a backlit white cow drinking water in a winter field. “Some paintings have a way of finding you,” says the artist. “I was walking along a farm field with a friend to scope out a spot to plein air paint when this gorgeous white cow grabbed my attention. The light was bouncing off her while she drank water from the snowy field. The poetry of the moment reminded me of hard times in my life where even when things were rough, I still somehow got by with what I needed. My goal has always been to share the happiness and contentment I experience through watercolor.”