Isalos Fine Art

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.

Carolyn Caldwell, Bay Islands #4, Orange, pastel, 12" x 12", $950

New paintings by Barbara Brady, Carolyn Caldwell and Rebecca Daugherty will be featured at Isalos Fine Art  from September 4th through 13th. An artist’s reception will take place in conjunction with Stonington Galleries First Friday Open Gallery  Night on September 4th from 4 to 7 p.m.

Rebecca Daugherty’s realistic oils are inspired by the recent repaving in downtown Stonington, and are the latest in an ongoing series of roadwork paintings. Barbara Brady’s oils begin with the landscape or personal narrative, and are expressive through the use of gesture and manipulation of surface texture. Carolyn Caldwell’s pastels have drawn from island forms in Penobscot Bay, exploring the interaction of colors and dark abstracted shapes.

Isalos Fine Art is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 to 5.

Check out the show here!

It's always a challenge  for us to get a few good pictures of our openings. We're always so busy dealing with the food, opening wine or  counting huge stacks of money that it's tough to get the camera out. Rebecca did at our August 21st opening for Eugene Koch's Lines of Sight, and came up with a nice group of photographs, documenting the end of the hanging process and the gallery as guests began to arrive.

I've posted them on Facebook: have a look!

One  thing that impressed me about these photos, is that most of the time, the people are actually looking at the art! Often, our photos from an opening show groups of  people standing around talking and eating, their backs to the artwork. This time, our guests seem to be looking and discussing the artwork, perhaps scratching their heads, wondering "how'd he do that?"

Rebecca Daugherty: Roadwork: Steamroller, oil on panel, 10" x 10", $550

We're getting some perfect weather  in Stonington now. Sunny, maybe a little cool with crisp, clear air. To be sure, it feels autumnal. The sidewalks are less crowded than they  were a short time ago. In the gallery, we have a couple more days left of Lines of Sight, before re-hanging for a three-artist show that opens Friday, featuring Barbara Brady, Carolyn Caldwell and Rebecca Daugherty. As I write, Rebecca is upstairs in her studio, working hard to get her new paintings done. The Department of Transportation has been on the island for the  last week, repaving. Rebecca has been following their progress, and has several new paintings that will undoubtedly still be a bit wet for the opening.