This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

07/18/2019 12:01 AM

Birds, Bugs and Their Flowers at Spectrum Gallery


Tufted Titmouse in the Magnolia, watercolor, Bivenne Harvey Staiger

Birds, Bugs and Their Flowers, an upcoming exhibit at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, will celebrate the richness of the season with new and original artwork featuring interactions among some of nature’s most interesting and productive plants, animals and critters.

The seven-week show at the gallery, 61 Main Street, Centerbrook, runs from Friday, July 26 through Sunday, Sept. 15 and showcases fine art and crafts including photography, painting in oil, acrylic and watercolor, as well as a variety of original mixed media works. A reception, free and open to all, featuring wine and refreshments, will be Friday, July 26 from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

“Each piece in the show displays a relationship between at least two of the elements in the theme of this summer show whether it’s a hungry butterfly devouring the inside of a flower or a busy bee spreading pollen on a favorite plant. There are numerous fine artists displaying work who also professionally illustrate birds and flowers, which takes the pieces to another level of detail and beauty. So come and enjoy summer at its finest while it’s still here,” says Barbara Nair, gallery director.

Nature and Environment

Artists and fine artisans from across Connecticut, New York and throughout New England are exhibiting and include many established and emerging painters who work with a variety of mediums and styles. Painters include Arlyne Berzak, an artist who combines oil, acrylic, watercolor, and sculptural elements to create vivid scenes of nature; and Diana Boehnert, who shows several works in acrylic that display a colorful, fantastical world exploring the energetic and spiritual interrelationships found in nature and the environment.

Dorie Petrochko, an accomplished wildlife painter, published illustrator, lecturer, and teacher of natural science illustration at the Yale Peabody Museum, is also exhibiting at Spectrum in this summer show. She presents several works in watercolor, gouache, and pen and ink. Painter and illustrator Jan Prentice with return to Spectrum with several oils on canvas. Prentice, a founding member of the Connecticut Natural Science Illustrators, has exhibited extensively including at the New Britain Museum of Art and the Yale Peabody Museum.

Colorful Imagery

Award-winning graphic designer and illustrator Don Carter shows several digital art pieces. Carter has illustrated multiple children’s books and has created two Disney short animated series. With a life-long love of birds, Carter is currently recreating Audubon’s Birds of America series in a simplified, graphic style. Returning to Spectrum is Michael DiGiorgio, a nationally recognized artist whose painting and drawings have appeared in many nature books and journals, including the Audubon field guides. Rosemary Webber, an award-winning illustrator and artist who works in oil, acrylic, and pen, presents a new watercolor.

For the first time at Spectrum Gallery are painter/photographers Lori Blados and Ileana Dumitriu. Blados lives half time in Connecticut and half time in Costa Rica. Both places enrich her visual aesthetic and contribute imagery and color to her work. A trained architect, Dumitriu is a photographer and artist who creates works in a variety of mediums including watercolor and acrylic on paper.

For more information, call Spectrum Gallery 860-767-0742 and visit spectrumartgallery.org. To learn more about the Arts Center Killingworth, call 860-663-5593 and visit artscenterkillingworth.org.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, watercolor and gouache, Michael DiGiorgio
Green Clouds, digital photography, Nicole Iovanne
Enchanted Garden, archival photography, Judith Secco
Butterfly Flutter By, stained glass panel, Maryann Flick