From Italy to Maine – The Recent Paintings of Stan Moeller at Sylvan Gallery

Sylvan Gallery features paintings by Stan Moeller of York, Maine, opening on Tuesday, September 10 and continuing through Sunday, October 13. The public is invited to a reception to meet the artist on September 26 from 4 to 7 p.m., coinciding with the evening of the Wiscasset Art Walk. The subjects of Moeller’s latest paintings demonstrate the range of his skills and interests, encompassing paintings from his travels to Florence, Italy, to paintings of figures in the landscape and to Maine’s coastal views. His work is either completed on-site, “en Plein air,” or back in his studio, where he utilizes sketches and videos as memory devices for the larger-sized paintings. The gallery will also be displaying the work from its regular roster of contemporary fine artists.

In “Red,” at 24 x 30 inches, a sunlit, fashionably dressed redheaded woman leans back from acafe table in Florence, Italy. Her skirt matches the color of her hair, and her black-framed glasses echo her black and white striped top. Moeller pays close attention to the objects on the yellow tablecloth: a cell phone, a wine glass, an almost finished cup of cappuccino, and a stylish white clutch bag. While the figure and cafe table are bathed in sunlight, they are juxtaposed against the patterns and textures of a background cast in shadow. Stan painted the entire scene from a unique angle, viewing it from his hotel balcony, looking down on his subject. The sense of realism, and an underlying narrative, are conveyed while also maintaining a painterly quality. Stan painted several studies of the same subject before painting this larger painting in his studio and allows that he loves painting the figure from interesting angles, which can be both challenging and rewarding. Additional paintings from trips to Italy include “Cosmetici,” at 20 x24 inches, where Moeller creates a wonderful, intimate composition of women in a cosmetics shop. Shop assistants, clad in black with concentrated expressions, demonstrate products on beautifully attired clients who study the results in handheld mirrors; and “The Hat Makers Shop -Florence,” at 14 x 11 inches, is a delightful plein air study of a view into a shop where hats and mannequins are abundantly scattered throughout. The brushwork is lush, expressive, and vibrant, and the hat maker can be seen at work in the back of the shop. Moeller adds rich details to these paintings that capture the atmosphere of the settings. Stan’s paintings of Maine reflect his long familiarity with the Maine coast, in particular, Monhegan Island. “Surf Behind Gull Rock,” at 12 x 16 inches, is a dramatic painting of a up-close view of crashing waves and jagged rocks. Moeller captures the raw force and intensity of the ocean with rich textural brushwork. His understanding of how the water is a reflecting board for the colors of the sky gives the waves their color palette of varied blues and greens, and the rocks are deep violets and greys with some rich earth tones reflecting the energy of the sun.

There is a confidence behind his brushstrokes, and it’s remarkable how he can communicatethe untamed nature, atmosphere, and rugged beauty of Maine’s iconic coast.In “Looking Out on the North Atlantic,” at 12 x 16 inches, “Walking on the Rock,” at 24 x 18inches, and “Watching the Waves,” at 12 x 16 inches, Moeller uses his skill in painting the figure to create evocative scenes of man in harmony with nature. There is a meditative quality to these works, a feeling of introspection. The paintings focus on solitary figures exploring the coast, or, as in “Watching the Waves,” two figures are seated on rocks, absorbed in the brilliance of the sun rising above the ocean. Moeller has a gift at drawing us in, and we feel as if we are there, experiencing the same salt air and feeling a sense of awe and respect for the natural world.

Moeller brings his own experiences to his paintings and shares that while he’s outpainting some place like Lobster Cove (“Looking out on the North Atlantic”), he “not only sees a young woman looking out to sea, but maybe subconsciously recalls art, movies, books, or poems about someone waiting for their love to return from sea.” It is no wonder that there is a sense of poetry in Moeller’s paintings.

 

 

 

Another painting of note is “Gulls on Pause,” at 14 x 18 inches. Moeller creates a dynamic composition of gulls perched on jagged rocks with a central larger gull in the foreground staring right at the viewer. A lobster boat and a close-cropped image of a distant island are in the background. As our eye circles the gulls, we’re aware that they are the subject and that Moellercaptures their untamed nature in an equally untamed environment. Moeller again creates arealistic painting but one with an expressive force, as he captures the unique experience ofMaine’s coastal landscape. Stan Moeller studied art at Western Michigan University but took the advice of an instructor from NYC who told him, “If you really want to be an artist, get out of here (college) and go paint.” This day, Stan believes it is the very act of painting that is the best instructor, to paraphrase one of his heroes, the Spanish painter, Joaquin Sorolla y Basstida. Stan and his wife, Tammy, moved to York, Maine, almost 30 years ago. He has been teaching plein air painting workshops on Monhegan Island for close to 20 years as well as workshops in Tuscany and the South of France. Stan has taught oil and acrylic painting courses at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester and a master class in “En Plein Air Figure in the Landscape.” His paintings havebeen featured in American Art Collector, Southwest Art, and International Artist Magazine. Notable awards include the Marine Environment Award for Best Depiction of Wildlife in its natural Habitat at the 25th Annual International Marine Masters Art Exhibition at the MaritimeGallery at Mystic Seaport as well as a month-long residency by Les Amis De La Grande Vigne,in Dinan, France (Brittany), where some of his paintings are now housed in the Museum’spermanent collection.

For more information, call Ann Scanlan at 882-8290 or go to www.sylvangallery.com. Also, findSylvan Gallery on Instagram and Facebook. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday,10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday is by chance or appointment. Sylvan Gallery is located at 49 Water St., Wiscasset, on the corner with Main St. (Route 1), next to Red’s Eats.

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Paintings attached: