Joyce Zavorskas

"The activity of erosion presents images of natural disorder. Similar to our contemporary culture and circumstances, under siege from wars, recession, and political discontent, the forces of nature disrupt the stoic harmony of familiar landmarks. Wind, rain, gravity and rising seas pound against the sand and clay cliffs, creating intriguing rhythms and patterns, but hastening their imminent demise." - Joyce Zavorskas

(see more work by Joyce Zavorskas here)

Mary-Melinda Wellsandt

"I have been making 'pretty things' since I was about 3 years old, painting the gravel from our driveway with watercolors and peddling it around the block to our neighbors. In the years that have passed I believe my work has become somewhat more refined and sophisticated, but I have retained my 3-year-old sense of joy and delight in the creation of these pieces." - Mary-Melinda Wellsandt

We just updated our website with Mary-Melinda's latest designs. check it out!

Inhabiting Jennifer O'Connell's interiors

Some day we'd like to draw a floor plan of how Jennifer O'Connell's paintings fit together. There's always something around the corner - and sometimes that something is in another painting. We've inspected them closely and have come up with a few different locations, piecing the puzzles together as we can.

Jennifer's paintings remind us of catching a glimpse of a room in a window's reflection at night. There's something familiar about them. In the reflections you think "that looks like a room I'd like to be in"

...and then you realize you are.

(Does that just happen to us?)

While it's fun to get all the facts and spread out the floor plan, it's also fun to spend time in the reflection. Sometimes the pieces themselves are enough.

Jennifer says:
"Obscure, private visions that alienate the mind in daylight, keep a potent mooring within me. Inspired by what the mind conjures, perception is influenced by contemplation. Shadows, objects, and shapes are gateways to memories. Imaginings mingle with perceptions. In dreaming before rooms, I come in contact with transient psychological aspects. Literally and symbolically, the interior space is the self.

"While nudging perception toward visual metaphor, I seek visual surprise. Visual and conceptual depth intersect through a back and forth process of direct observation and separation; reality is the support for suggestion. Under changing conditions, paintings are built up piece by piece, seeking compositional and conceptual resonance. Additively and subtractively, alternate descriptions are explored through the medium. Manifestations of human presences emerge; fragments of the many moments which build a painting. Through visual search and variety in application, the objects are surpassed as symbols and temporal evidence remains. "

Jennifer O’Connell earned an MFA degree in painting and drawing from the University of New Hampshire and a BFA from SUNY Plattsburgh. Additionally, she studied fine art at the University College Chester in England on a Giltz Family Travel Award. After receiving her MFA, she was invited to show in the "Young Talent" exhibition in Washington Depot, CT. Since then, she has been the recipient of numerous awards including an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Fellowship and a Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency Grant. She has led public lectures and participated in panel discussions around the Northeast. Her exhibition record includes national and international shows at Fraser Gallery in Washington, DC and the Bowery Gallery in New York. In 2008, she was selected by juror Cynthia Reeves for the New England / New Talent Exhibition at the Fitchburg Art Museum in Fitchburg, MA. Galleries that represent her include Adam Cave Fine Art in Raleigh, NC, the Oxbow Gallery in Northampton, MA, Three Graces Gallery in Portsmouth, NH, and Gallery Wright in Wilmington, VT. In addition, Jennifer O’Connell spent time as an adjunct drawing instructor at the University of New Hampshire.

Michele Dangelo - artist statement

"A critical component of my work is a basic icon – a house, boat, or dress – infused with vigorous but reserved energy. These complex and contemplative, yet simple and subtle images reflect my choice to concentrate on ordinary objects and invite me to instinctually create a multi-generational storehouse of memory. I try to give my work a sense of direction and eloquence by using geometrical simplification to amplify the feelings of emptiness around each object.
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Abstracted images and mark making, in combination with innovative use of color, create the essential elements of my work. My style may be described as a spontaneous but conscious attempt to penetrate the hidden intimacy of ordinary objects. I delight in surprising viewers with paintings that are motionless in time and devoid of any particular narrative, however there is always a different story to tell – leaving unsaid that which the viewer longs to discover.

I work to realize the correct color/shade to convey feeling by pushing conventional stereotypes, at times using orange to trigger a pensive response or red to subdue rather than ignite. Palette knives, rags and other materials add texture and depth creating surfaces that might be described as layers of tonal memories.

My work is collected by many who feel that everyday objects ignite imagination and create a sense of connectivity. Because the forms are more conceptual than real they reflect the ambiguous and evoke ambivalence triggering a longing for pleasure, comfort, security and permanence - while transcending borders, cultures and socio-economic class

I remain challenged by the notions of free expression and a distinct hand to create work that has more to do with the viewer’s perception than my intention. " - Michele Dangelo

See Michele's work on our website

Peter Batchelder - artist statement

"Childhood interests in architecture and archaeology have led me to consider the context of time-worn structures within the New England landscapes. I am fascinated on many levels when coming across a barn or seaside cottage. From an artist’s perspective, I am interested in the nature of the architecture; how it sits within its landscape, color and light. From a personal perspective, I find myself often curious about the story of the building: who built it and why; the many people who have lived or worked in the building; how the landscape may have changed around the structure over the course of years. I find that the curiosity I have about the building intertwines with the creative process in my interpretation of the architecture and landscape in one image.

"In some of my work I feel the architecture serves as the sentry for the landscape and in other cases the exact opposite. Because I remove extraneous details from both the landscape and architecture I paint, it is my hope that a viewer will be challenged by the image to let their own curiosity create a story - is the beach cottage long abandoned or just waiting for its inhabitants to return?

"I have long been influenced by the works of Andrew and Jamie Wyeth, Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer and Robert Cardinal and their use of light and color to define subject and mood. I typically begin a piece with multiple sketches in either graphite or charcoal to work out the composition. Then I transition to small watercolor or oil studies to allow for experimentation with different color fields and use of light before committing to canvas. I use many layers of paint in my work to allow me to pull the undercolor to the surface and create depth and movement to highlight form and the way light defines a subject." - Peter Batchelder

 After establishing himself as a successful graphic designer, Peter began pursuing his fine art career in 1992 on Martha's Vineyard, where he resided year-round for three years. Upon returning to the mainland he co-founded, as Creative Director, a web design and software company based in Bedford, NH. In recent years he has achieved success as an artist with his representation at prestigious galleries in the Boston area, Provincetown and the Monadnock, NH region.

Peter trained in studio art at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BFA 1987) under artists Jack Coughlin, Lionel Gongora, John Grillo, and Hanlon Davies as well as Robert Cardinal at the Truro Center for the Arts.

Teresa McCue - artist statement

"Who can remember the first time they felt the thrill of creating something that was their own? Why was it so important to have that crayon masterpiece receive the place of honor on the refrigerator door? The need to create has always been a driving force for me. The creative process is where I become totally focused, elated, frustrated, and alive."

"During many years of study, I have had the opportunity to try a variety of media: oil painting, printmaking, ceramics, etc; but several years ago, when I began working with pastels, it felt like coming home. I was seduced by having an array of luscious colors at my fingertips. I loved the immediacy of picking up a piece of color and putting it down on the page. I loved the tactile connection I had with the work and began to notice that my own energy and emotions seemed to be coming through even though it was not a conscious effort on my part."

"My work really has two components: One is the spiritual connection the outdoors holds for me. I am enamored of the sights and sounds of nature: the patterns, the rhythms, the textures, and the almost tangible quality of the light. The other is my enchantment with color. It fascinates me that a certain hue can change depending upon how it is surrounded. I love the richness of deep tones used together. I love the emotion of bright vivid explosions of color and the subtleties of combining softer hues, closely related in value. One mark goes down on the page, which determines the next, and then the next. Gradually, the piece emerges. Sometimes when I stand back from my easel, to see the work in it’s totality, I am surprised by my own creation. It’s as though at some point, the work takes on a life of it’s own. For me, that is the magic of the creative process." -Teresa McCue

above: Early Morning #5, pastel, 8" x 8"