Wilton Library Presents 'Weir Inspired: The Premiere Show of the Weir Farm Artist Collective' Art Exhibition

Diverse works of twenty-five area artists will be showcased in exhibit

Wilton Library is pleased to present the diverse works of twenty-five area artists in its September art exhibition “Weir Inspired: The Premiere Show of the Weir Farm Artist Collective,” opening on Friday, September 6 with a reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The Weir Farm Artist Collective, started in 2023, is a collaboration of independent artists following the tradition of creativity within the Weir Farm National Historical Park landscape. Its purpose is to inform, support, encourage, and engage accomplished artists of all mediums to share ideas, opportunities, and technical solutions. Local artists of all skill levels have the opportunity to connect and share during monthly meetings and paint-outs.

The artists from the group will be exhibiting their works in an array of styles, media choices, and subject matter. The artists are: Chris Bedell (Ridgefield), Robert Boger (Tumbull), Leslie Carone (South Salem, NY), Thomas Carruthers (Bethel), Joan Cone (Newtown), Roberta Delano (Westport), Diane Dooley (Redding), Jama Hansonbrook (North Salem, NY), Alice Hayes (Ridgefield), Kathie Milligan (Stamford), Bobbi Eike Mullen (Georgetown), Jill Nichols (Shelton), Kelsie Oreta (Southport), Penny Pearlman (Westport), Maria Reed (South Salem, NY), Malina Schneider (Danbury), Lesley Schwarzschild (Westport), Loure Shaw (Ridgefield), Day Shields (Wilton), Clarice Shirvell (Ridgefield), Ival Stratford Kovner (Bethel), Eileen Tavolacci (Redding), Christina Tugeau (Fairfield), Eugene Willingham (New Fairfield), and Jane Wright Wolf (Weston).

The opening reception is free and open to the public.
 
“We would like to extend a warm welcome to the Weir Farm Artist Collective, a talented group of local artists that is new to Wilton Library. We would also like to say congratulations, since this will be the Collective’s very first exhibition as a group,” said Petra Saldutti, Art Co-Chair of Wilton Library. “We are excited to share the Collective’s bright and colorful works with our community. The group will be displaying pieces depicting Weir Farm and other subjects, and we hope everyone will appreciate the diversity of styles that will fill the library’s walls as we kick off the fall season,” said Betsy Huffman, Art Co-Chair of Wilton Library.

The artists of Weir Farm Artist Collective come from a range of backgrounds:

Christopher Bedell is a landscape colorist and enjoys Plein Air painting. The nuances in Bedell's color harmonies are a joyous celebration of pigment on canvas. His brushstrokes, with their vigorous placement, are reminiscent of the Impressionists and Post Impressionists. Bedell's renditions lend a lyrical note throughout his oeuvre and present an air of warmth, happiness and good vibrations. Bedell, a graduate of the University of California Santa Cruz, has been affiliated with the SUNY Fine Arts Program, the Ridgefield Guild of Artists and the Weir Farm Artist Collective.

Robert Boger graduated from Paier College of Art with an Illustration major and studied with the great painters Dean Keller, Ken Davies, Rudolph Zallinger and Charles Sovek. He was asked to return to assist teaching after graduation. He spent one year as Design Instructor at the college and then worked as a freelance illustrator and designer, winning multiple awards as an illustrator in The Connecticut Art Directors Club and the New York City Art Directors Club. In 1987, he established a graphic design firm – Boger Associates – delivering a high level of design expertise in the fields of Corporate Communications and Consumer Promotion for over 19 years. Presently, Bob studies painting from prominent artists such as Dmitri Wright, books, and gallery observation accumulating a wealth of information on color, technique, composition, and theory. Bob merges his intuition as a natural Impressionist painter with the background of an Academician and works in Oil and Acrylic. Bob credits his early training along with a career as a graphic designer/illustrator for creating a solid foundation for his abilities as a painter.

Leslie Carone has been an artist since she could hold a crayon, and it's always been her focus. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking from Manhattanville College, and a Masters in Art Education from the University of Bridgeport. She taught elementary school art for thirty-five exciting and rewarding years in the Bedford Central School District, and now focuses on creating her own work. Her paintings have been shown at the National Arts Club in NYC, the Gallery at Muscoot, Art Walk Ridgefield, Kent Art Association, the Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Art Show Bedford, the Putnam Arts Council, WPA Gallery at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, All 4 Art Gallery in Pawling, and other local venues. She is a member of the Pastel Society of America, the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, the Connecticut Pastel Society, the Central Massachusetts Pastel Society, the Katonah Museum Artists Association, the Ridgefield Guild of Artists, the Weir Farm Artist Collective, and the Lower Hudson Valley Plein Air Painters.

Thomas Carruthers grew up in a household where the virtues of the visual and performing arts were integrated into every aspect of family life, so much so that creativity became part of the family’s DNA. As a young person, Thomas found himself immersed in art projects with his mother while also learning to develop an ear for music and a lifelong love of Jazz, from his father. This led Thomas to an early career as a professional musician and band leader and a subsequent pathway producing and promoting live music and film events. During this time, he never lost sight of his love for printmaking and strong visual messaging and continued to channel his passion and sense of connection to color, composition and imagery to create the graphics for his company’s marketing materials. Now eager to focus that passion into a career in the visual arts, Thomas is honing his printmaking skills and working on a collection of collagraphs, monoprints and etchings.

Joan D. Cone graduated from a liberal arts college in New Hampshire with a B.A. in Art. Her early work experiences include the Portland Art Museum and floral design in Portland, ME. After moving to Connecticut, she taught art for many years at private schools in both Greenwich and Southport. Continuing academic pursuits, she earned a Masters degree in Special Education at Fairfield University. Art memberships include the Society of Creative Arts in Newtown (SCAN), Weir Farm Artist Collective, and the Fairfield County Plein Air Painters (FCPAP). Painting across mediums, Cone’s current work features oil and pastel portraits, still life, and plein air genres. Her work has been published in Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Magazine. She has earned prizes from the Barn Gallery (New Fairfield, CT) and was this year’s SCAN recipient for The Barbara Goodspeed Award.

Roberta Delano has practiced art and dance since her early childhood. Balance and harmony are fundamental to both. Since moving to Fairfield County in 1995, her art studies have included classes at Silvermine, NCC and SUNY Purchase. Every life experience and practice has contributed to her current artistic pursuits. She previously exhibited at Pop't Art Gallery, Westport, CT. Roberta exhibits her paintings in Fairfield County in juried and other shows, a professional building, and a retail establishment. She is a member of Weir Farm Artist Collective and the Black Rock Art Guild.

Diane Dooley has a life-long interest in viewing and creating art. For the past five years she has been a member of SCAN (Society of Creative Artists of Newtown) attending monthly demonstrations. She joined the Weir Farm Artist Collective last year. She has attended workshops at both organizations. She recently retired from an incredibly fulfilling career as an elementary school teacher. It is exciting to be on the other side now, a student hungry for knowledge. She has been so fortunate to be surrounded by generous and talented artists eager to share their insights. She also follows Ian Roberts and reads and experiments extensively to improve her craft. She primarily works with oil paints but she is curious about expanding to other mediums. The process of creating work, reflecting on what she has done, and seeking feedback is helping her grow as an artist.

Jama Hansonbrook has a B.A in Studio Art and English and an M.A in Art History. Ever since, art has filled the majority of her free time, and as her family has matured she has been able to devote more time to it. Her artworks have included mixed media and collage, watercolor, gouache and, more recently, oil paint. She began painting plein air consistently three years ago and hasn’t looked back.

Since childhood, Alice Hayes has loved to draw. As an adult she has studied at SUNY Purchase and with artists such as Elaine Urbain, Jock MacCrae, Frank Bruckman, and Anthony Kirk. She works in oil, watercolor, and most recently in monotype. Her work has been shown in various libraries and galleries and in homes around the country.

A native New Englander, Bobbi Eike Mullen has been painting since childhood. Her interest in art was encouraged by her parents and later by WHS instructor and mentor Edward B. Mack. After high school, Bobbi was awarded a scholarship to Silvermine College of Art where she earned an associate degree. Earning awards from the age of 16, she still receives honors for her skill and creativity when entering competitive exhibitions. Bobbi is a member of the Rowayton Arts Center, CT Women Artists, and Weir Farm Artist Collective where she has participated in Take Part In Art for many years and is co-facilitator of WFAC. Her work is in many private collections in the U.S., France and England.

Kathie Milligan is a landscape and figurative painter living in Stamford, CT. She received her undergraduate degree in Studio Art from Skidmore College and her Masters in painting at the New York Studio School. Kathie paints in oil and watercolor and works in other media such as printmaking and sculpture. She teaches painting in oil and acrylic at Stamford Adult Education as well as painting in watercolor at both the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford and the Darien Arts Center. Kathie also does children’s workshops at the Greenwich Art Society. When she’s not painting or teaching one will find her happily working in her garden.

Jill Nichols’ painting explores the earthbound and outer expanses of our divine cosmos. Her sense of color and composition has developed over 30+ years as a commercial artist. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In 2000, she set her focus on painting, at first training at the Art Students League in NYC, and in 2015 earned her MFA in painting at Western Connecticut State University. She is represented internationally in prominent collections that include a former FBI Director, U.S. Congressman, Yale Medical, and the Vatican. Her commissioned painting of Washington D.C. appeared as a backdrop for James Comey’s interview on “Face the Nation” while another appeared on Showtime’s “The Comey Rule” mini-series. Her artwork “Phi,” which celebrates the divine feminine, was a part of the “Nasty Woman” art social movement in New Haven and then went on to be installed in the Vatican Observatory Museum. She has received awards from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and Connecticut Office of the Arts. An active participant in the art communities throughout Connecticut, she has served as vice president for the Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society and Valley Arts Council. Her paintings have been exhibited at the Lyme Art Association, Kershner Gallery, Small Blue Mountain Gallery, Schelfhaudt Gallery, Carriage Barn, Greenwich Art Society, Mary C Daly Gallery, Lyman Allen Museum, Wisconsin Maritime Museum, and Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Jill is an instructor at the Silvermine Art School, in New Canaan, Connecticut, and conducts painting workshops locally and abroad. Jill now offers videos on YouTube and holds real-time online painting lessons.

Kelsie Oreta is an artist based in Southport, Connecticut. She uses bold color and playful style to illuminate everyday life in coastal Connecticut. A writer by trade, Kelsie chronicles her creative endeavors and the exploration that fuels them on her blog, tinykelsie.com.

Penny Pearlman is an accomplished artist, speaker, and consultant. She has a BA is Fine Arts from Queens College, an MS in Art Therapy from Hahnemann College and an MBA from the Wharton School. Over the years she has also studied at the Art Students’ League in New York City, The Silvermine Art Guild, The Ridgefield Art Guild, Weir Farm, and The Philadelphia Museum of Art among others. Although she spent her professional career in healthcare management and consulting, she has been a life-long artist. Early in her career she was a high school art teacher and an art therapist. She has exhibited in the Firehouse Gallery, Beechwood Arts, Silvermine Art Guild, and several other venues. Known for her dramatic landscapes, her work is owned by numerous private patrons. She currently teaches painting and drawing at area senior centers.

Maria Reed began painting practice later in life, chasing a dream. She began studying at the Art Students League in Dix Hills, Long Island with various artists including Paul Bachem, Doug Reiner, and Dave Peikon. She gained valuable insight taking workshops with Charlie Hunter and Kathy Anderson. Presently, she is studying with Dmitri Wright at Silvermine Arts School. She has learned that life is not a performance, but an experience. She primarily paints in oil, focusing on landscape and still life work. Her goal is to approach each painting for the experience and enjoy the process. Her paintings are from everyday life and places she has traveled.

Malina Schneider is an impressionist and contemporary realism painter. Her work encompasses landscapes, figures and portraits. At times Malina’s paintings are whimsical, evocative and colorful. Malina puts together elements in her paintings that might not normally be associated with each other, or in that combination — and yet together they work to form thoughtful compositions. Malina Schneider began painting at an early age. She was drawn to oil as a medium, however, she was directed to use acrylic initially. Thus starting her life-long use of both mediums interchangeably. As a teenager, Malina Schneider took figurative drawing and painting courses at the Cleveland Institute of Art. The training she received then provided the fundamentals and foundation for her future as a self taught artist. It was then she discovered her love of photography and videography. Malina utilizes still photography and video as part of her working process and as another medium of expression. Malina attended New York University receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. She then worked in New York City and Madison, NJ in finance. Currently, she resides in Connecticut with her husband and their two children.

Lesley Schwarzschild is a lifelong art and art history student, graduate gemologist, brain injury and fractured and dislocated spine survivor, athlete, and artist.

Immersed in photography and painting for several years, Loure Shaw is continually chasing the visual image with the intent to explore, capture, and express appreciation for a variety of curious or beautiful subjects, those which we are rewarded with seeing when we take time to closely observe. Loure is currently working with pastels in a bold, colorful style.

Day Shields has been an attorney most of his life, drawing Wills and Trust Agreements rather than painting pictures. As a youth, he loved art and displayed some talent at drawing, but never went to art school or had any formal training. However, when he decided to retire from the practice of law in 2008, he began taking weekly courses at the Silvermine School of Art (first with Tom Brenner and later with Dmitri Wright) which he continues to this day.

Award-winning artist, Clarice Shirvell, longtime resident of Ridgefield, CT of Argentine descent, is well known for her accomplishments in both pen and ink drawings, and acrylic paintings inspired by nature. Her artwork has been purchased for both private and public collections and she has been shown in over 50 juried national, state, local, and solo shows for both museums and galleries. A graduate of Marymount College, New York with a dual degree in both Studio Art and Business, the artist sketches in pen and ink and paints en plein air as a form of meditation. The artist’s process includes writing and meditating, and her style is characterized by loose and expressive brush strokes. Clarice teaches creative workshops and art classes at the Ridgefield Guild of Artists emphasizing the importance of sketching from life, which allows one to take a moment to contemplate the beauty in each day. More recently, Clarice has won the 2021 Artist in Residence at Ridgefield Guild of Artists and 2022 Artful Grant and RPAC Residence where each concluded with a solo show featuring new series of work. She spent 2023 illustrating The Rainbow Tree by Gayle Gleckler published in March 2024 includes 26 original ink and watercolor illustrations. Her studio resides in the historical building of G&B Cultural Center in Wilton, CT where she works on painting commissions, book illustrations, and works for upcoming exhibits.

Ival Stratford Kovner’s work may be described as Figurative Expressionism – people may recognize the objects but she allows the brushwork and touch to remain visible as she describes one moment depicted in time. She celebrated her fiftieth college reunion in 1973. Her class was small at Boston University - they were like family members for their art professors who included Philip Guston, Harold Tovish, and John Wilson. As Kevin Bacon noted, they were one step removed from many great artists for whom many of her professors were assistants. Her first teaching job was art director at a private school in USVI. She began a long career teaching en plein air and always enjoyed painting outdoors at Weir Farm. Moving home to Connecticut she is pleased to participate in the Weir Farm Artist Collective. She has a long history of painting there - remembering even Sperry in his bathrobe collecting his newspaper or viewing a painting of racing horses at Danbury Fair Grounds knowing she had once ridden the national champion across a field bareback at age three in Bethel. Wilton holds memories as a young art student painting during the summers while home from art school. She hopes to paint and teach all her remaining days!

Born and raised in Connecticut, Eileen Tavolacci is a painter and printmaker inspired by the intricacies of nature and the complexities of the world. After earning her Master of Fine Arts degree at Western Connecticut State University in 2011, Eileen has exhibited her work locally, in New York City, as well as nationally and internationally. She has been honored to be an Artist In Residence at Vermont Studio Center, Weir Farm National Park, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA.

Christina Tugeau grew up in Darien, CT. She earned a fine arts degree at DePauw University, and then worked in the art department of Family Circle Magazine until she began a family. She volunteered for many art related activities in Ridgefield, helping start the RGA, PYP (Productions for Young People), and others. For medical reasons, she had to give up painting for many years, but she founded The CATugeau Artist Agency in 1994 representing 30 illustrators in the children’s book industry nationwide. After 21 years alone, her daughter joined her and is owner of the CAT Agency, and in 2019 she retired to return to painting - mostly Plein air.

Eugene Willingham started painting in 2017, concentrating on watercolors since 2020. He received "Honorable Mention" at the Weir Farm 2022 Art Show.

Jane Wright Wolf, who paints in oil, pastel, and watercolor, finds inspiration in the landscape. Her professional memberships are: Pastel Society of America, Allied Artists of America, Connecticut Pastel Society, Audubon Artists of America, Inc, Connecticut Watercolor Society, Connecticut Women Artists. She is an elected member in The Salmagundi Club of Art, New York, NY. She holds a BA in English and Art History from Trinity College, Washington DC. Her post- graduate Art studio studies were at Brooklyn College. At that time she worked at the Brooklyn Museum Conservation Lab. She served as a Juror for Scholastic Magazine’s Art and Writing Awards, NYC.