At the Corner of Swim and Main by Susannah Haney, water-soluble oil on panel, 8” x 10”
At the Corner of Swim and Main by Susannah Haney, water-soluble oil on panel, 8” x 10”

 

Sylvan Gallery in Wiscasset is celebrating their 16th year of representing a diverse group of eighteen exceptional contemporary New England artists with their annual “Summer Arts Exhibition” on view through August 28th. Each artist represented by the gallery is clearly discernible with their own unique style. Favorite subjects of the artists include Maine landscapes and coastal views, local farm and village scenes as well as cafe and street scenes of Europe. New paintings arrive almost daily by the gallery’s roster of fine artists.

Featured works by Maine based artists include Susannah Haney of Wiscasset whose newest paintings will also be a special feature of the Wiscasset Art Walk on Thursday, June 30th from 5 to 8 p.m. Haney concentrates on quintessential New England architecture. She explains, “There is a fascination for me in the beauty and simplicity of early New England architecture, as well as in the relationship of each house to the land or water. I try to capture this harmony with a realistic technique that reflects the care that the architect and builder took in carefully siting the homes and other buildings to take maximum advantage of the land and the light.”

Her painting, “The Corner of Swim and Main” reflects her care in composing a view of the sparkling white cottage amidst the environs of Swim Beach on Monhegan Island, a well-known and loved location that has been attracting artists since the19th century. Haney sees the familiar with a fresh eye and captures it in rich captivating detail and beautiful clarity of color and light.
Susannah Haney grew up in Massachusetts and was a dance major or at Boston Conservatory of Music and later earned a Masters in Library Science studying both at Rutgers University in New Jersey and Simmons College in Boston. She worked as a librarian for many years while at the same time pursuing her life-long interest in art, winning awards in juried exhibitions for her landscapes and still lives. In 2010 she moved with her husband to Wiscasset.

Haney will be on hand during the Wiscasset Art Walk to answer questions on her technique of using water-soluble oil paints.

Additional Maine artists whose work will also be on view include Greg Laderer (Boothbay) whose oil paintings focus on local coastal views; Stan Moeller (York) with paintings that capture bustling street scenes from recent painting trips to Paris and Italy; landscapes by Morgan Starr (Rockland); and oil paintings of rural farm scenes by Ann Scanlan (Wiscasset). Photojournalist Nina Fuller will be exhibiting a collection of photographic images of the Scottish Blackface Sheep that she raises on her farm in Hollis.

Many of the other represented artists have a life-long connection to Maine including Robert Noreika whose popular August painting workshops on Bailey’s Island will coincide this year with a painting demonstration at Sylvan Gallery; Neal Hughes who spends much of the month of August painting in Port Clyde; and Peter Layne Arguimbau who paints shoreline views from the vantage point of his catboat as he travels up the coast.

A selection of work by the gallery’s other contemporary artists will also be on display, including paintings by Al Barker, Joann Ballinger, Angelo Franco, Charles Kolnik, Paul Lipp, Heather Gibson-Lusk, Crista Pisano, Laura Winslow and Shirley Cean Youngs.

For more information, call Ann Scanlan at 882-8290 or go to www.sylvangallery.com. The gallery is open every day from 10:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m. at 49 Water St., Wiscasset, on the corner of Main Street (Route 1) and Water Street, next to Red’s Eats.