June 2nd – July 2nd

Artists Statement:

During the pandemic years, I longed to find places of peace and serenity.  To escape from the solitude, constant anxiety, and sadness that was omnipresent.  With lockdowns in place, I turned to nature and found soul-saving beauty in places that were empty of humans but filled with life and nutrients.  The Marshes, Swamps, Fens, and Bogs of Massachusetts provided me with calm beauty, and peace.  

A Walk in the Reeds is the body of work that culminated from time spent in the beautiful wetlands where I sketched, photographed, and found inspiration.  Exploring textures, colors, and organic compositions, I used soft pastels on paper because of the tactile feel and energetic mark-making.  Exploring washes, textured grounds, and a color palette that was new to me, I endeavored to capture the beauty of common places in an uncommon way.

Feelings of hope, serenity, clarity, and inspiration are what I want the viewer to take with them from this body of work.  Seeing color that is barely there yet vivid and bright, and to have a new perspective and appreciation for these quiet places that are so important in our Massachusetts eco-system. 

About the Artist:

Donna Roy is a Western Massachusetts artist who began her love of painting while studying privately with a local oil painter when she was ten years old. During weekly studio sessions, she learned traditional foundations of composition, perspective, color theory, and design.  This foundation cemented her love for painting and her creative journey.

A graduate of UMASS with a BFA, Donna continued her exploration of art through several mediums, including glass fusing and enamel painting.  During the last ten years, she developed a line of post-consumer glass and copper garden sculptures.

Learning to thrive in a pandemic, Donna pushed her passion for color full circle and found her home with soft pastels.  Addicted to vibrant color and energetic marks, her paintings center on New England landscapes and local natural beauty.  Her award-winning paintings have been exhibited in local, national, and international juried shows.

These days, you will find Donna visiting local farms, rivers, and trails with her trusty camera in search of inspiration, painting Plein Air, or in her small home studio creating pastel paintings inspired by beautiful New England character.

PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome for the gallery. Masks are appreciated indoors.

May 5th – May 30th

Opening Reception Thursday, May 5th from 5 PM to 8 PM

Artists Statement:

I paint contemporary oil landscapes that hover between observation and abstraction. Although the subject matter is obvious, I simplify shapes and explore paint application techniques to form a somewhat abstracted result. I am constantly amazed how little information is needed to understand and feel the complexities of nature. What appeals to me most is creating a sense of balance, harmony and calm. My method is to think about what I love about any given landscape and then decide how to portray that in paint. I consider the combination of composition, color, values and paint application that will help to reach the objective. Once all the thinking and initial planning is done, the fun and intuitive part begins. To start, I generally treat the surface with a mid-tone of color and complete a monochromatic underpainting. I then add and subtract color with abandon using a variety of tools including brushes, cheesecloth, squeegees, fingers, scrapers and palette knives. The final stage is to sit back and listen to the painting as it tells me what it needs.

About the Artist:

I have been painting for 22 years, starting as a novice with no formal art training. Until roughly five years ago I worked exclusively in watercolor, before expanding into oil painting. Over the years I have studied locally with Louise Currin, Lynn Peterfreund, Richard Yarde, Budge Hyde and Chris Labich. The recent upsurge of online courses has provided the fantastic opportunity to study with artists from around the country and world, including John MacDonald, Paul Foxton, Al Gury, Mark Russell, Christine Lafuente, Charles Muldowney, Shushana Rucker and Kassem Amoudi. The generosity of each of these mentors in sharing their knowledge, creativity and encouragement with students like me is remarkable. Through their instruction I have honed my approach to composition and painting, explored new subject matter, and experimented with different tools and techniques. I have presented in a variety of group shows around the Pioneer Valley, including at the Court House in Northampton, the Burnett Gallery, the Hosmer Gallery, and the Hope and Feathers Small Works Shows. One real joy of my art practice is the group of friends I have made. Working with and learning from other artists is a gift. I have been meeting weekly for over 15 years with four friends in the Main Street Painters. I also belong to the Amherst Plein Air Society and the Still Life Oil Painting Network onView the Show Online.

RSVP HERE

PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome for the gallery. Masks are appreciated indoors.

March 31st – April 28th

Opening Reception Thursday, April 7th from 5 PM to 8 PM

Artists Statement:

“Close to Home” is an exhibit of paintings capturing my feelings and impressions of the beauty in nature here in New England. There is such a lovely glow of the early morning light on a mountain, the sparkle on the river or sunlight shining through the trees.

When not painting I love being outdoors; hiking, kayaking, skiing, mountain climbing, and gardening. My paintings reflect my deep connection to nature through color, light, and atmospheric perspective. I choose to paint in oils because it offers richness through applying the paint in different textures and thicknesses which adds depth and interest.

About 

Maggie Hodges lives in Amherst, MA, and is a Plein Air artist. Her passion for the arts began as a young child in Philadelphia where was exposed to the arts by her mother who was a sculptor. In high school, Maggie studied drawing, printmaking, and calligraphy with Illustrator Barry Moser. She received her BFA degree with a concentration in Graphic Design from Syracuse University. She became a designer for Hasbro and Spalding Sports and then after having children, she designed and sold children’s clothing.

More recently she developed a passion for painting. She has taken numerous workshops and classes to help develop her knowledge and style. She travels to Plein Air events and is a member of the Amherst Plein Air Society. View prints by Maggie Hodges.

PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome for the gallery. Masks are appreciated indoors.

March 3rd – March 28th

Artists Statement:

Painting in different mediums of watercolor,  acrylic, and oil encourages new avenues of exploration. With a flat surface and a little paint, I combine the wonder and discovery of childhood with experiences I’ve gained over time.

By initially exploring abstract forms the paint determines the image’s composition and formal relationships.  I become the observer of my own painting and then expand upon what the paint has already provided. Using this method I get to enjoy the image as a viewer and author. As the artist, I actively enhance the journey the paint has taken me on. Then as I get closer to completing the painting, I delve into the technical aspects of more realistic elements. It is my turn to balance out the composition and influence the viewer’s experience.

The common thread of this exhibit is the interplay of the paint’s and the artist’s contribution. I get to be both the observer and the creator of each painting.

About Sharon Loehr Lapan:

Sharon has degrees in fine art and special education. She has lived and taught across the country in western Massachusetts, Delaware, Utah, and Missouri. Now back in Massachusetts, Sharon is a resident artist at the Sawmill River Arts Gallery. She enjoys working in the mediums of oil, acrylic, and watercolor.

PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome for the gallery. Masks are required indoors. 

January 14th – February 28th

Artists Statement:

My work takes the form of a visual allegory which pulls from the endearments of craftsmanship and reaches to the ethers of spirit and folklore. Regarding the freedom of a fixed moment and the constrictions of eternity, the work ebbs and flows between the familiar and the foreign.

I cultivate inspiration from historical and personal narratives that are visually coded in handmade objects. I consider my process an act of remembrance through amplifying histories documented through textile, craft, and accessible means of expression. My work conveys human experience without a corporeal body, believing that the depicted body invites subjection from the viewer. In capitalism, the body carries burdens of identity, of objects, and of labor. My work encourages a release from our own lived experience, and into the subconscious mind; where we are free to associate with multiple overlapping narratives and tales – free of linear time and analytical thought. I document the maker and show their hand and mine. While the hand is often purposefully concealed and forgotten, I choose to meditate on the process, the material, the context and the story; asynchronously remembered and felt across barriers of language, body, time, and space.

About Mairead Clifford Dambruch:

Mairead Clifford Dambruch is a painter and a weaver. She is a failed multitasker and an amateur rug collector. She walks fast and paints slow. Painting, for her, is an extension of the self; a living document that absorbs a spectrum of energy and sentiment from the maker. She is a teacher of art to all ages. Her work is informed by research in the fields of cultural textiles, anthropology, folktale, and the sustainable and ethical practices of herbalism and farming. She believes in building upon the roots of other’s learned labor. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2020 at the School of Art of Carnegie Mellon University.

PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome for the gallery. Masks are required indoors. 

November 4th – November 26th

Artists Statement:
“My years of traveling in Nordic and Baltic countries, and living in Minnesota, has inspired the creation of my current body of work. I have been researching and documenting historic textile patterns and folk art designs as source material that I reinterpret and re-contextualize through mixed media and folk painting approaches. Through this creative process, I explore and celebrate, the intersection of art, craft, and heritage.”

From the Artist:

Born in 1961 in Oberlin, Ohio, Alison Aune grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts where her father was a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts (UMASS). She and her two sisters grew up on Blackberry Lane playing in the woods and meadows and her New England roots remain steady and deep to this day. Her parents, both from Minnesota, actively supported her love of art, music, and theater.

Alison received her BFA in painting and art education at UMASS, studying with Professors Wang Hui-Ming and John Grillo, and with Professor Robert Sweeney at Amherst College. After living in Sweden and Berkeley, California, Alison finished her MA in painting at the University of Minnesota Duluth with Professor Deborah Howard. Later she worked on an MFA in painting and art history at Ohio University in Athens, before working on her dissertation in Norway to complete her PhD in Comparative Arts.

In 1991, Alison returned to Minnesota with her husband Jon Hinkel, proprietor at the Tight Squeek Press, where she raised three wonderful children, taught art with children at Summit School and the Duluth Art Institute, and worked at the University of Minnesota as the education coordinator at the Tweed Museum of Art. Since 1999, Alison has been the area chair and Professor of art education in the UMD Art & Design Department.

PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome. Masks are required indoors. 

October 4th – October 29th

Artists Statement:
“At first unexpected storms threaten to overwhelm. Deep isolation slowly yielded to bonding walks. We explored local environments more deeply, learned to see with new eyes, and found unexpected solace – All residences of a pandemic year. “

About Ruth Rinard:
After careers in academe and health sciences, Ruth became intrigued with the freshness of pure pigment and the tactile possibilities of pastel. When she realized she could use her drawing skills within the painterly framework of pastel, she never looked back. Ruth has studied painting with Christine Labich and exhibited work with the Connecticut and New Hampshire pastel societies. 

PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome for the gallery. Masks are required indoors. 

Learn more about Aaron Becker

See originals, prints, and books online 

PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome for the gallery. Masks are required indoors.