Our
July exhibit, Aquidneck Island Colors and Light, features the
work of Aquidneck Island Art Club painters Jeannine Bestoso,
Lisa Bliss, Lorraine Farrar, Allen Laliberte, and Bill Roche,
along with glassblower Daniel Read.
A group of artists banded together through the joy of
painting, the Aquidneck Island Art Club members met while
taking portrait and landscape classes in the Newport area.
They visit the beautiful and scenic places on Aquidneck Island
to paint and invite others to join them.
Jeannine Bestoso began her artistry with ink drawings,
etchings, and pastels. She says that moving to paint was
challenging because “using paint can trigger emotions and I
was in the habit of suppressing them.” But ultimately,
painting opened the door for her, allowing her to bring out
her original feelings of excitement, determination, and deep
satisfaction.
Inspired by watching her mother create art, Lisa Bliss has
enjoyed painting and drawing from an early age. Although she
enjoys working in several mediums, watercolor is her favorite.
She loves painting portraits, still life, and landscapes
(especially plein air).
Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970’s, Lorraine Farrar’s only
real goal was to get away. “Good friends and great luck”
brought her to “this extraordinary island of rocks and sea and
sky.” Through her work, she wants viewers to “feel a sense of
place and possibility.”
About his work, Allen Laliberte says “I hope that you, the
viewer, get as much pleasure from seeing my paintings as I get
from creating them.”
Bill Roche spent his career in the graphic design business as
a photographer, designer, and magazine art director before
taking up oil painting about 15 years ago. Inspired by the
Aquidneck Island coastline, his goal is to both “edit and
expand upon the world” he sees, “giving each painting its own
unique perspective and energy.” Often the resulting paintings
“border on the abstract, only loosely connected to the subject
that originally attracted” him.
Daniel Read started blowing glass in 1977 at RISD when he met
Dale Chihuly and became a special student in the glass program
and sculpture foundry. Read set up his own glass studio in
2001 with a furnace he designed and built, did wholesale and
retail shows for 20 years, and sold to stores, galleries, and
museums around the country. In his words, “Glass blowing is
the coolest thing I have ever done! I love dancing with the
glass!”
Since my childhood I have spent a lifetime with a desire or urge to draw and feeling excitement determination and satisfaction at seeing what I created. All of these feelings persisted as I settled into detailed drawings as my main medium and practice. The pencil work evolved into ink drawings, etchings, and some pastels. I barely remember painting in my college art classes. I guess it was too challenging and maybe the wrong process for me. Pastel was dry, easier and safer to use. Using paint can trigger emotions and I was in the habit of suppressing them. Feeling safe with pastels I stayed there until I dared to use paint. That opened the door for me and I started exploring all different mediums including calligraphy, ceramics and sculpture. Each one offered unique forms of purpose, process, craft, and products. And they all bring me my original feelings of excitement, determination and deep satisfaction.
I have enjoyed painting and drawing since I was very young.
My Mother was an artist and it was inspirational to see her
work on her art. Although I love to experiment with
different medias, my favorite is watercolor. I love painting
portraits, still life, and landscapes (especially Plein
air).
Growing up in Brooklyn in the 70’s my only real goal was to get away. With good friends and great luck I found myself on this extraordinary island of rocks and sea and sky. When looking at my work I hope you feel a sense of place and possibility.
I
hope that you, the viewer, get as much pleasure from seeing
my paintings as I get from creating them.
I
started blowing glass in 1977 at RISD when I met Dale Chihuly. I
was a special student in the glass program and sculpture
foundry. I was Dale’s first employee when he left RISD in 1980.
I set up my glass glass studio in 2001 with a furnace I designed
and built. I did wholesale and retail shows for 20 years and
sold to stores, galleries and museums around the country.
Glass blowing is the coolest thing I have ever done! I love
dancing with the glass!
I’ve spent my career in the graphic design business as a
photographer, designer and magazine art director for several
publications without ever picking up a paintbrush. My focus on
oil painting began about 15 years ago with plein air in the
warmer months, then moving to studio painting and still life in
the winters. Really seeing the Aquidneck Island coastline has
become my inspiration and pleasure. As I paint, my goal is to
both edit and expand upon the world I see, giving each painting
its own unique perspective and energy. Often, the resulting
paintings border on the abstract, only loosely connected to the
subject that originally attracts me.
This month I am showing a couple of favorite photographs of beautiful people, one black and white and one in color.
Using AI, posing the unreal with the real
My daily ritual is to walk several miles, watching and listening, trying to capture in light, color, and form in what I see. I have a special affection for wild creatures, especially birds, whose colors, shapes, and poses captivate me, and I have worked hard to identify the birds around me even through their songs. Through my work, I want to share the many faces of nature, the wildness of spirit, and the interplay of light and shadow woven into the tapestry of the natural world.
Axis Mundi was part of my art show on the "Spark in the Dark"...What has sparked humans to create, develop, and ponder? The question is compounded by my belief that we are only the newest civilization on earth. I believe many advanced civilizations are buried that also had this "spark" but ended up lost and forgotten.
Meredith LeBlanc is an artist and realtor living in Newport, RI. Having returned to her easel in recent years, painting is a journey into herself and a meditative process. Feeling the sensuousness of the paint, the vibration of blending the colors, and the emotion that arises as she works has lessened her need for perfection and lets her life flow more naturally. As the daughter of an artist, she was fortunate to have the encouragement to explore being creative in every possible way. Her goal as an artist is to share what brings her joy and happiness.
I create digital photographs by discovering a special moment defined by my perspective at that moment. It can be a person or an object.
Let China and the US join hands in Artful ways!
This rock has talked to me over the years, so I've decided to let it have its say. If you haven't guessed, the aluminum squiggle is the outline of Aquidneck Island.
My life in music often supplies subject matter to my art work? This allows me to continue a spiritual connection with my teacher, the late Boston expressionist, Henry Schwartz, who also incorporated musical elements and references in his work. The title of this work, Block Island Sounds, is a play on words referring to the body of water to the south of Rhode Island: Block Island sound. I know that I am not the first artist to use the image of a piano in the great outdoors, this is a contribution to that conversation.
Garden Trellis is made from litho and collagraph prints that have been cut apart and reassembled into this collaged piece.
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