Category Archives: Arts

Watercolors Exhibit by Jeanne Potter of Old Lyme on View at Greenwich Art Society Through Oct. 9

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Lily Pads with Reeds and Clouds on Maine Pond by Jeanne C Potter. Photo submitted.

GREENWICH/OLD LYME — A solo exhibition and sale of paintings by artist Jeanne C. Potter of Old Lyme is currently on view at the Greenwich Art Society. An Opening Reception for the show will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25.

The exhibition will run through Oct. 9 and features 47 recent watercolors, including her most recent award winners from national juried shows.

Potter has been painting for more than 50 years and the exhibition features a variety of landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. She has also been teaching watercolor for some 20 years.

Potter explains in a press release, “I have had a lifelong love of watercolors, and this show of my recent work will let me share the art and beauty of watercolor with the public.”

 Highlights of her show include a series of recent pond paintings from her travels to Maine and Witch Hole Pond in Acadia National Park where she explores the beauty of reflected clouds in water amongst lily pads and grasses.

One painting titled Lily Pads and Clouds on Maine Pond (see image above) is currently on view at the juried national 51st Nor’Easter Exhibition at the New Britain Museum of American Art. Other New England landscapes painted en plein air show the beauty of nature from Owl’s Head, Maine and Newport, RI as well as Black Point in Niantic, Conn.

 When asked how she would describe her watercolor landscapes, Potter said in the release, “Watercolor allows me as an artist a way to capture all the beauty of nature in rich and powerful color as well as delicate and translucent detail.”

In addition to landscapes, she is an award-winning still life painter and included in her solo exhibition are a series of paintings of the classic Ball jar, in both clear and blue glass. This past Spring one of the Ball jar paintings received an Award of Merit at the Providence Art Club National juried exhibition and the painting is currently on view at the Bendheim Gallery in Greenwich in its 104th Annual National Juried Greenwich Art Society exhibition.

“I also try to find the beauty in everyday objects,” says Potter in the release, commenting, “Sometimes the most familiar can become a new and interesting subject for a painting, especially when I can capture in subtle color and painterly detail their essence as in my Ball Jar paintings.”

The exhibition will also feature her portrait art and include what the artist calls her “wall of women” presenting 20 portraits of women who are friends, family and acquaintances. “So many think of portrait art as being solely the domain of oil painting,” notes Potter, adding, “But what I want to show is how dramatic and effective watercolor can be in showing the enormous variety and beauty of the human face.”

The Greenwich Art Society Gallery is located at 299 Greenwich Ave., Second Floor, Greenwich. For more information visit the Society’s website or call 203-629-1533.

Registration Open at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts for Wide Range of Continuing Education Programs

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OLD LYME — The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts has announced a full schedule of Continuing Education programs beginning Sept, 27. Both part-time and full-time programs and classes are available, with enrollment beginning immediately.

The part-time Continuing Education classes are open to the community throughout the year and will follow an 11-week trimester. These classes are intended for students of all ages and abilities, who will benefit from skills-based art instruction, led by professional artists.

The three- or four-hour classes will run on weekdays and Saturdays from Sept. 27 through Dec. 11, and range in cost from $500 to $850 per class.  Classes are offered in:

  • Drawing
  • Life Drawing
  • Sculpture
  • Printmaking
  • Oil Painting
  • Content and Composition
  • Figure Painting.

A course in Oil Painting will be offered as part of Lyme Academy’s Fall 2021 Continuing Education program.

The full-time ‘Requisite Program’ is a one-year portfolio preparation program designed to provide a solid, skills-based visual education to develop an individual’s portfolio and abilities under the leadership of professional artists. The program consists of five main courses including Drawing, Sculpture, Painting, Synthesis Composition and Printmaking along with access to lectures, demonstrations, and critiques from Master Artists.

The full-time curriculum classes are conducted five days per week, approximately six hours per day for 11-week trimesters, beginning Sept. 27, with the the trimester school year ending June 10, 2022. The full-time Requisite Program tuition costs total $7,350, which includes the annual tuition of $6,000 and mandatory annual studio fee of $1,350. Scholarships are available.

All classes will be led by professional artists as follows:

  • Kimberly Monson, Drawing, Life Drawing and Sculpture
  • Paul Michael, Printmaking
  • Justin Wiest, Oil Painting
  • Jon Sideriadis Content and Composition
  • Jerry Weiss, Figure Painting.

For more information and to register for any of these classes, visit www.lymeacademy.edu.

Founded in 1976 by the sculptor Elisabeth Gordon Chandler, Lyme Academy of Fine Arts was created as an institution dedicated to a traditional, skills-based education.

Subsequent to a period as an accredited college, Lyme Academy, a non-profit educational organization, is now returning to its founding roots to offer foundational skills in the fine arts; providing a curriculum which combines rigorous studio instruction in drawing and painting with anatomy, sculpture, and the history of art.

The Academy affirms its legacy and commitment to the community of Old Lyme by providing a vibrant schedule of lectures, exhibitions, workshops, and part-time programs.

Located midway between Boston and New York, Old Lyme, Connecticut has been a site of artistic congregation for over a century, becoming the heart of the Lyme Art Colony and the Home of American Impressionism.

Learn more by visiting www.lymeacademy.edu.

Benn to Present Latest Billy Boyle Novel in Zoom Presentation Hosted This Evening by Lyme Library

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LYME — On Thursday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m., Lyme Public Library will host critically-acclaimed local author Jim Benn, who will talk in a presentation via Zoom about his latest novel, Road of Bones.

This is the 16th novel in Benn’s popular World War II mystery series, in which the main character is Billy Boyle.

Road of Bones sees Boyle sent to the heart of the USSR to solve a double-murder at a critical turning point in the war.

In its description of the book, Amazon.com states, “It’s September 1944, and the US is poised to launch Operation Frantic, a shuttle bombing mission to be conducted by American aircraft based in Great Britain, southern Italy, and three Soviet airfields in the Ukraine.

Tensions are already high between the American and Russian allies when two intelligence agents—one Soviet, one American—are found dead at Poltava, one of the Ukrainian bases. Billy is brought in to investigate, and this time he’s paired, at the insistence of the Soviets, with a KGB agent who has his own political and personal agenda.

In the course of an investigation that quickly spirals out of control, Billy is aided by the Night Witches, a daring regiment of young Soviet women flying at night at very low altitudes, bombing hundreds of German installations.

It’s a turning point in the war, and allied efforts hang by a thread. Unless Billy and his KGB partner can solve the murders in an atmosphere of mutual distrust, Operation Frantic is doomed.”

Jim Benn

Road of Bones has received numerous outstanding reviews include this Starred one from Booklist: “Benn’s ability to sustain his terrific premise while adding depth to his characters makes this long-running series a must for those who love WWII crime fiction.”

Another Starred Review came from Publishers Weekly: “Exhilarating…Bolstered by vivid, scintillating descriptions of air strikes and dogfights involving the legendary all-female Soviet air force unit known as the Night Witches, Benn’s high-intensity storytelling shines.”

Kirkus Reviews had this to say, “A World War II supersleuth, deprived of his usual backup, unravels a tangled web of criminality in Russia . . . Benn’s well-crafted series deepens with every installment.”

Visit this link to register for the event and receive the Zoom details. Contact Theresa Conley at  860-434-2272 with any questions.

Musical Masterworks Announces Season Starting Oct. 23 in Person; Arron Stepping Down as Artistic Director, Lark to Replace Him

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Musical Masterworks Artistic Director Edward Arron is stepping down at the end of the 2021-22 season. Photo by Hak-Soo Kim.

OLD LYME — Musical Masterworks (MM) will be back in person this fall for their 31st season with an array of professional chamber music concerts programmed by Artistic Director Edward Arron. The concerts will take place in MM’s traditional home at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme.

Alden Rockwell Murphy, who serves as MM Board President, comments, “It will be wonderful to be back in community, where we can experience the joy of sharing this music together.”

The MM Digital Brochure provides details about the upcoming season, which is filled with performances by Masterworks veterans, as well as some exciting debut performances. The first concert will take place Saturday, Oct. 23.

This season Edward Arron’s final season as Artistic Director will be celebrated. He says in the MM brochure that he feels, in order to allow for fresh ideas for Musical Masterworks, it is time for him to step down.

Violinist Tessa Lark will replace Edward Arron as MM Artistic Director for the 2022-23 season.

Arron has chosen violinist Tessa Lark as his successor. Lark will serve as Artistic Director Designate this season; she will be performing at and co-hosting four out of the five MM concerts.

Regarding COVID-19 safety protocols in respect of the reopening, MM, together with the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, will be monitoring and adhering to CDC and CT guidance throughout the season. Musical Masterworks will be in touch via email prior to each concert to ensure that you are aware of current attendance guidelines so you can safely enjoy their performances.

Musical Masterworks commits to continue to be vigilant in making the health and safety of their musicians, audience and staff a priority as the (hopeful) return to normalcy continues.

FloGris, PARJE Co-Host Lecture Today on ‘Murals and Monuments: The Politics of Public Art’

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The history and practice of public art are the subject of a virtual lecture presented Wednesday, Sept. 1, by the FloGris Museum and PARJE.

OLD LYME — The Florence Griswold Museum is partnering with Public Art for Racial Justice Education to present a free virtual lecture titled Murals and Monuments: The Politics of Public Art at 3 p.m. today, Wednesday, Sept. 1.

Mary Kordak, Professor of Art History at the University of New Haven, will talk about the history of murals/monuments and how they affect cultural change. This talk touches on the current debates over monuments, how important it is to remember our history, and how public art can help re-tell narratives that were historically racially unjust.
Audience members will participate in a Question & Answer session. The intent is that attendees leave with a deeper understanding of the history and practice of public art.
This lecture is part of a series “Arts & Advocacy: Methods to Spark Positive Change Through Art” is made possible with support from Connecticut Humanities.