Art We Love – Summer Magic

With summer now upon us, the galleries are full and there’s no shortage of work on the walls evoking this magical season. But gorgeous summer landscapes are just the start. The pieces here offer a dose of that summertime magic but also give an idea of the myriad unexpected treasures awaiting at every turn.

Jerome Green, A Day in Paradise, oil on canvas (8” x 10”) – Egeli Gallery

Jerome Green is an alchemist. He has taken paint and canvas and conjured up heat, sunlight, and sea air – the perfect summer afternoon, and he’s captured the intangible with quick and confident brushstrokes, often just thin washes of paint. This is plein air painting at its best – immediate and spontaneous. It’s just as a summer afternoon at the beach should be – not labored or overthought, but joyous and effortlessly sensual.

Joel Janowitz, Balance, oil on board (24” x 18”) – Schoolhouse Gallery

Who among us hasn’t felt the rush of energy when your feet leave the ground and you’re plunging headlong into the water? Joel Janowitz captures the joy of that moment but also makes it more powerful by abstracting the scene and isolating the figure in the middle of the canvas. We’re not quite sure how far the diver will fall or has already fallen– or how deep the water is. All of this ensuring this painting will thrill for generations to come.

Katy Bisby, Vivi’s Ballet, silverpoint (5” x 7”) – Gary Marotta Fine Art

I have a soft spot for artists who can make the mundane beautiful. In this case, Katy Bisby has made a piece of refuse into an elegant work of art. Inspired by a scrap of discarded paper she found on the street, she has created a refined and surprisingly powerful little drawing. Her flawless silverpoint technique brings to mind the Old Masters, but this piece is anything but stiff or unrelatable. In fact, I imagine whoever brings this home will be daydreaming stories of Vivi and Mary and Quinn until they feel just like members of the family.

Sandra Pratt, Day at the Sea, oil on panel (12” x 12”) – Rice Polak Gallery

The sea, like most of us, has many moods. It can be calm and placid and it can also rage. Expertly wielding a palate knife, Sandra Pratt uses paint to evoke a powerful and ominous sea. The house is dwarfed by sea and sky and it’s hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. It’s both exciting and a little terrifying, and it’s undeniably impressive how much power a little painting can give off.

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