The Art of Small Pleasures

The holiday show and sale at Sylvan Gallery may be titled "Small Pleasures," but the show featuring the works of more than 25 artists is anything but small and the pleasures one will derive from viewing these paintings and sculptures are immeasurable.

Although located in Clinton, Sylvan Gallery represents artists from Old Lyme, East Lyme, Niantic, New London, Waterford, Mystic, and Uncasville-about half of the works in the exhibit- and many of the subjects are local shoreline scenes.

Ann Scanlon, a painter and co-owner of the gallery with her husband Rick Scanlon, thinks the reason so many artists have emerged from southeastern Connecticut is the rich tradition of the Lyme Art Colony painters and the number of area artists who have studied at the Lyme Art Academy.

The Scanlons says a common thread among all of their artists is "their high degree of technical skill and craftsmanship, and their passion to create their own unique visions of the natural beauty that surrounds us on the shoreline."

The works are mostly small in order to make them affordable for holiday gift-giving-prices range from $175 to more than $3,000-and the artists not only like the challenges of working in a smaller scale but are very successful at it.

Old Lyme painter Sandy Garvin, who started exhibiting at the gallery this past summer, brings a rich palette of color to her small landscapes.

"She conveys mood and color rather than detail," notes Ann. "She's very inspired by the coastline."

In contrast to Garvin, the winter-themed small works by Angelo Franco of Ansonia are more tonal and mysterious.

"He was very inspired by the Lyme Art Colony painters," Ann says. "He has an incredible sense of atmosphere. People that collect 'dead' artists immediately go to him."

Polly Seip of Uncasville has a very unusual technique that produces long narrow oil paintings that measure from 4 by 24 inches to 10 by 51 inches.

Her love of the coast and vessels that cruise the waters inspired her to create a series of "Binocular" paintings. She paints these standing on the New London or Stonington shoreline recording the marine activity she views through a pair of binoculars.

"Her colors are gorgeous-particularly her variation of blues, and the ways she uses thin paint and thicker paint for the foam [on the water] is a nice contrast," Ann observes.

Old Lyme artist Angie Falstrom specializes in highly detailed, miniature watercolors of local rural scenes, such as the charming "Tiffany Farm Cow" and "Early Morning Glow" that are featured in the show.

Helen Gibson-Lusk of Mystic also loves to work very small-as tiny as her 1-by-2-inch still life oils of cherries and acorns that are on display.

"She loves the intimacy of working small and filling up the frame," Ann says. "She has a very classical technique-realistic but not photo realistic. Her paintings have the feeling of the 1800s about them."

Other local works include Catherine Christiano of Old Lyme's postcard size series of Irish street scenes painted in oil on board; Lou Bonamarte of Niantic's finely crafted watercolors of New England winter scenes; Paul Lipp of Old Lyme's photo realistic small still lifes that employ trompe l'oeil effects; and Chris Karpinski of Waterford's impressionistic light-filled "Summer Bloom" that transports the viewer back to a summer garden.

In the sculpture category, the exhibit features beautifully hand-carved and hand-painted birds native to the shoreline by East Lyme wood carver Dale Callaway, such as an egret, hen merganser, and an oystercatcher. As a special touch, Callaway completely hollows out her decoys and puts a carved fish inside each one.

"Small Pleasures" continues through Jan. 24 at Sylvan Gallery, 121 West Main St., Clinton. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. or by appointment. For more information, call 860-669-7278 or online www.sylvangallery.com