This September, the Washington Society of Landscape Painters (WSLP), one of the oldest and most esteemed artist organizations in the Greater Washington D.C. Area, returns to Easton, Maryland, where three fine art galleries will host its annual group exhibition, Sense of Place.Roughly 60 new paintings by 32 select member artists will be showcased across Studio B Art Gallery, Troika Gallery and Trippe Gallery, all situated within one walkable block, from September 4 through 30.
Historic downtown Easton. Photo by Lynn Smith.
Executed in oil, acrylic and pastel, many works in the exhibition celebrate the beauty of Eastern Shore, from its coastline, harbors and marshlands to its farms, architecture, trees and beaches in diverse styles that range from the traditional to the contemporary. “Membership to the society, held to a limit of 40 elected active artists, guarantees that any show by the group is filled with stunning work,” explains Jill Banks, WSLP publicity chair. “The organization was formed back in 1913 because members shared a joint love of painting in plein air together. Today, artists within the group work in both the studio and plein air, in multiple genres and a variety of representational styles ranging from realism to impressionism.”
Jill Banks, Ship Shape oil on linen panel, 24 x 18 in.
Banks will be showing her harbor scene Ship Shape at Trippe Gallery, along with fellow WSLP members Trisha Adams, David Diaz, Freeman Dodsworth, Lynn Lewis, Lynn Mehta, Lisa Mitchell, Mary Pritchard, Edward Reed, Nancy Tankersley, Amy Waldrop and Meg Walsh.
“For Ship Shape, I returned to a favorite subject in Key West to capture it from life, on location,” Banks explains. “The challenge was to get enough accomplished in between its multiple charters each day, while also satisfying the ship’s crew who directed me to many of the vessel’s details. A trip on one of the schooner’s sunset cruises fully convinced me of its majesty.”
Moments Like This is a lovely floral still life of roses by exhibiting artist Trisha Adams. “In [this painting], the subject is barely lit,” she explains. “It does not demand attention, yet it rewards attention. Judicious slashes of red and scattered sparks of cerulean quietly wait. The painting evokes a feeling of calm, a stillness like that of meditation, a practice I have recently taken up.”
Kim Hall, The Red Boathouse, oil, 12 x 16 in. Trisha Adams, Moments Like This, oil, 20 x 16 in.
Lynn Mehta will also be presenting a floral piece, titled Sunflowers in a Silver Vase, in the artist’s signature impressionistic, highly textural style.
A rustic barn awash in warm light and cool shadows is the subject of Mary Pritchard’s pastel Looking Through, Autumn Gold,the most recent addition to series designed to reveal a landscape within the landscape. “The viewer’s eyes move from light to dark to light as a dramatic arrangement of farmyard structures frame the glow of the late afternoon autumn sky and fields,” explains Pritchard. “The vibrant colors and flexible nature of the pastel medium enable [me] to portray both the density and sharpness of the farm buildings as well as the delicate luminosity of the distant landscape.”
Lynn Mehta, Sunflowers in a Silver Vase, oil, 14 x 11 in.
Heading In by Meg Walsh depicts a lone boat returning to shore at dusk, in hues of blue and purple, and fading warm light. “I’m lucky enough to live along a river in the Chesapeake Bay, and water is a constant theme in my work,” shares Walsh. “Skies are another favorite subject, so this scene of my husband heading home on his boat was one I was really excited about painting. I used a triad palette of cobalt blue, manganese blue, gold ochre, Indian red, terra rosa and a hint of cadmium red light.”
Just down the street at Troika Gallery, visitors will find another 15 paintings by WSLP members Jacalyn Beam, Jean Brinton-Jaecks, Marietje Chamberlain, Christine Drewyer, John Eiseman, Kim Hall, Harry Jaecks, JoEllen Murphy, Barbara Nuss and Sara Linda Poly.
Jacalyn Beam titled her harbor scene Holiday for a few reasons. She explains: “First, the sailing boats nestled beside each other are red and green. Second, a holiday is a period of time where normal work is typically suspended and I suspect, when sailing, the owners feel they are on holiday. When I see a sailboat in real time or in a painting like Holiday, I smile. These boats remind us of all of the fun, stories, laughter and good times everyone experiences when sailing.”
Top: Jacalyn Beam, Holiday, oil on linen and Baltic birch panel, 11 x 14 in. Bottom: Barbara Nuss, Dawn’s Early Light, oil, 12 x 16 in. Mary Pritchard, Looking Through, Autumn Gold, pastel, 18 x 18 in.
Dawn’s Early Light by Barbara Nuss is a scene captured during a past paint-out in Easton. “Just before sunrise…I discovered these weathered barns with their warmly lit windows and knew I had to paint them,” says Nuss. “Bathed in the soft predawn light, they spoke of the timeless rhythms of life on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. I’m drawn to places like this because they remind me that some things endure, even as time moves on. Sometimes the most ordinary scenes become the ones we remember long after we’ve left them.”
Kim Hall painted her show piece The Red Boathouse earlier this summer. Also on display at Troika Gallery, the scene depicts a creek off the Rappahannock River in White Stone, Virginia.
Twenty-four Sense of Place paintings will hang at Studio B Art Gallery, including those by WSLP members Alison Barry, Lani Browning, Hiu Lai Chong, Carol Cowie, Bernard Dellario, Pattee Hipschen, Betty Huang, Chris Rapa, Jean Schwartz and Robert Thoren.
Chris Rapa, Laundry Day Lake Bolsena, oil on panel, 24 x 30 in.
Emerald Coast by Studio B Gallery owner Betty Huang whisks viewers to foreign lands. “While painting in Croatia, I was captivated by the extraordinary beauty of its crystal-clear Adriatic waters,” Huang explains. “The vibrant emerald and turquoise colors were unlike anything I had ever seen, and the remarkable clarity allowed me to see the rocks and seabed beneath the surface. After returning home, I was inspired to create Emerald Coast as a way to capture that unforgettable experience…I hope viewers can feel the tranquility, wonder and timeless beauty of this magical coastline.”
Like many of Jean Schwartz’s paintings, Black Pond Sunset depicts the landscape around her home near the Potomac River. “I hike the trails through the woods to the river and one of those trails leads to this beautiful, hidden pond,” she says. “The atmosphere here in Virginia can be humid and lends itself to diffuse light which can be especially lovely early in the morning or in the evening. This painting captures a moment on one such beautiful summer evening on the pond.”
Top: Betty Huang, Emerald Coast, oil, 40 x 30 in. Meg Walsh, Heading In, oil on linen, 20 x 16 in. Bottom: Jean Schwartz, Black Pond Sunset, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 in.
Chris Rapa and a small group of fellow society members spent 10 days painting the medieval hill towns of Umbria, Italy. Her painting Laundry Day Lake Bolsena depicts a scenic fishing village in the region. “Walking through the quiet residential streets of the town, I was struck by how colorful the buildings were,” she says, “and delighted to see that even the laundry appeared to have been color coordinated for our visit.”
Sense of Place kicks off with an opening reception on September 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. during Easton’s First Friday Art Walk. The full exhibition can be viewed on the WSLP website; works are available for purchase through the host gallery. —
Washington Society of Landscape Painters: Sense of Place
When: September 4-30, 2026
Where: multiple locations, Easton, MD
Information: www.wslp.org
Sense of Place Galleries
Studio B Art Gallery
7B Goldsborough Street, Easton, MD 21601
(443) 988-1818, www.studiobartgallery.com
Trippe Gallery
23 N. Harrison Street, Easton, MD 21601
(410) 310-8727, www.thetrippegallery.com
Troika Gallery
9 S. Harrison Street, Easton, MD 21601
(410) 770-9190, www.troikagallery.com
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