Isalos Fine Art

Here's a few snapshots from our reception for RED (Again) on Friday night. It's been quite a weekend, with the Seasons of Stonington opening for breakfast, lunch and dinner across the street, "Up in the Air" at the Opera House, "Reflections" at Pearson Legacy in Deer Isle, and of course, our second annual all things red  event. And after all that, Crystal's Blue Persuasions at Lily's.

We had a good crowd Friday night, and some dressed the part. I wore my red chamois shirt, but for some people, dressing-up for a night out is an art.

This end of Main Street has been hopping all weekend. When we opened in May, 2003, people told us that it didn't really get busy until June. Then in June they said "well, wait until July." In July we were assured that August was really the time. But Valentines weekend has been a well-kept secret. Maybe we'll keep doing this.

Where's Waldo?



RED (Again)
A Valentine’s Show at Isalos Fine Art

Now through February 14, every day, 10 - 5.
Reception this Friday, February 12th, 4 - 7.

Susan Webster, Bruce Bulger, Jennifer Lee Morrow

With over 75 pieces of art from 30 artists, RED (Again) is brightening-up Stonington with some much-needed winter  color. After last year’s Valentine’s weekend show, plenty of artists expressed interest in doing it again, already formulating ideas. For some artists, having a theme to work around is as much about rising to a challenge; what  might be seen to some as a limitation, inspires them to go in a direction they might not have otherwise gone, and the results can be exciting.

 found object pendants- J. Fred Woell

 Rebekah Raye: Cedar Waxwings & Berry, ink charcoal, oil, 9.5" x 11.5"

The show includes a great variety of work, including jewelry, pottery and wood, as well as painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. We’re also seeing a trend toward category-defying artwork: kinetic sculpture, wearable book-art or wearable kinetic jewelry... it’s all fun, and  red, mostly.

Leslie Anderson: Top of the World, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 18"

Sherry Streeter, Mary Howe, J. Fred Woell, Penelope Plumb

If you’d like to find that special something for your  sweetheart, you might want  to stop by Isalos and put a red dot on it before Friday’s reception, as last year’s was well-attended. Remember: nothing says “I love you” like the gift of fine art.

Rebecca Daugherty: Red Boat Study #4, oil on panel, 6" x 6"

I have to admit, sometimes I don't pick up the Island Advantages because I look at the front cover with its usual bits of ongoing news- some committee drama or developments in the mollusk and crustacean world- and I just can't quite get the level of excitement that I need to shell-out the 80 cents. But sometimes there's weather, or a mystery, like the weekly disappearance of about 3000 gallons of water, and, well... I just don't want to miss anything. As the above photograph illustrates, we have had weather. This was January third. I can't tell you how much snow we received, but I shoveled-out three separate times.

I mention that sort of news, because I know that that is what some readers of this blog really want. So I'll lure you in with photos of snow and sensational news, and ambush you with some art. Here's Rebecca poking her head out of her studio in the corner of the gallery. She's flanked by a nice little collection of her paintings. You'd think, having our own gallery and all, that it would always be easy to hang as much of Rebecca's work as we want. Not so. In the summertime, she sometimes ends up with less space than other artists, especially when we have a show. It's a real luxury when you've got the wall space to hang most everything you'd like.

But of course there's plenty of other art hanging as well. Occasionally I notice an arrangement that just seems to work, a little spot in the gallery that I look at and think "someday I'd like to have a spot like that in my home". That's a painting by Barbara Brady with a sculpture by Farrell Ruppert. The sculpture is made from the  flukes of an old anchor, a series he's been exploring for a couple of years now. The plywood bench is by me. There's just something about raw birch plywood that works for me. And don't forget the pedestal, hewn from artisanal organic MDF. The wall color? Adagio. Benjamin Moore.

Above: paintings by Vaino Kola and Eugene Koch. That's Koch & Kola. The Kola paintings are intricately detailed views of rocks along the shore of Greenlaw Cove. Vaino knows these rocks very well by now. The Koch pieces all use lines in different ways with innovative materials. I often describe them as atmospheric, since they might evoke fog or other conditions brought on around here by the ocean and the weather, but I think Eugene gets more excited about discovering new ways to use his materials than any desire to evoke anything. In that piece in the middle, he used three miles of fishing line, wrapped around a panel.

Marble sculpture by Richard Aliberti, rug by someone in the Middle East, a long time ago. That's the fun part about having a gallery. If you're the sort of person who likes to re-arrange furniture, you might enjoy having a gallery. When Main Street is  covered with snow, that's what we often do.



Happy New Year from downtown Stonington! The plows have been busy clearing the streets of some slushy snow, and the gallery has been open. This winter Rebecca has her studio set-up in a corner of the gallery, which allows us to be open quite a bit, even if there's not much traffic.

The Harbor Cafe is also open today, and this morning we watched as a new awning was hung across the street at the Maritime Cafe, which will re-open soon under new management as "The Seasons of Stonington".

We've kept busy, both with our work and in trying to keep up with the fast-paced life of Stonington in the winter. The Opera House has at least one movie every week and is now in rehearsal for "Brilliant Traces", a play which will be performed during the first weekend of February.

On the wall:

Rebecca Daugherty: Stephen Taber with Peapod, oil on canvas, 30" x 30"

When you're in town to see "Brilliant Traces", you can check out our new show: RED (Again). Last February we had so much fun filling the gallery with red that we decided to do it again. The show will hang February 5th through 15th, with a reception on Friday the 12th from 4 - 7 pm. It's just in time to find that special something for that special someone. Winter is a good time to check out art around here since there's less competition from other buyers! I'll be posting some previews of the RED (Again) show soon.

Carolyn Caldwell, Pemaquid Light, pastel, 11" x 14", $975

Today is Open Lighthouse Day in Maine. All over the state, a bunch of lighthouses are open to the public, and accessible through boat tours. We chose not to do a special show, but I wanted to get some  lighthouse-oriented work in the gallery. Carolyn Caldwell just brought by this pastel, which she did on location at Pemaquid Light.

Whether or not Lighthouse Day brings hordes of lighthouse-seekers to the island, the Chamber of Commerce has published a new Lighthouse Trail brochure, pointing visitors to eight lighthouses that aren't too far from here. Not wanting to miss-out on any potential hordes, we put an ad in the brochure, so now we'll need to always have a lighthouse department. I began a couple of  (somewhat crude) block prints, but they're not quite there yet. Maybe some day.