July Artist of the Month: Joseph R. Cuccinello

Joseph R. Cuccinello

Kent Lakes, NY

 

 I remember back in school I was not a very good art student but it was easy credits.  One day at the ripe old age of sixteen a friend of mine gave me an old solid body guitar to learn how to play.  I decided to refinish it, I did so by carving in the portrait of Jimi Hendrix. I never realized this would be the start of my passion for wood carving.

 

Over the course of the years my passion for working with wood had me making coffee tables, end tables and bars for people as well as building wooden radio controlled boats, airplanes and building doll houses. One day a friend asked me to refinish a bar for him, also giving me free reign to do what I want. I did the refinishing and carved a country scene on the bar top and sealed it in. So began my love for relief wood carving, the rest is history.

 

Deciding to further my quest in the arts I started to test my hand in acrylic painting. Thanks to the encouragement and help from my artist friends I have been creating paintings that highlight air, land and sea subjects. 

 

Joseph's work will hang in the library from July 3rd through July 29th.

 

 

The Old Farm

Acrylic on canvas 

$300

 

Autumn leaves in the wind  

Acrylic on canvas

$60

 

 

SUNRISE IN THE BIRCHES  

Acrylic on canvas

$75

 

 

Heartland

Wood Carving

(NFS)

 

Coming Home

Acrylic on canvas

$150

A Country Scene

Wood carving

$300

June Artist of the Month: Maria Kaprielian

MARIA KAPRIELIAN

Streams of Consciousness (Looking at the Surface and Below)

ARTIST STATEMENT

Many memories of my childhood center on a stream flowing through the undeveloped lot next to my home. I spent countless hours playing there with my friends, wading through the icy water in my bare feet, looking for salamanders and constructing rock dams to alter the flow of the water.  I’m still fascinated by woodland streams, although now I take a more observational role: watching the passage of the water over the rocks, peering into the depths and enjoying the glints of sunlight reflected off of the surface.

I think watercolor is a great medium to paint the impression of water. There’s the sense that the water and pigment are doing exactly what they want and you can only surrender to the flow. Passages of movement and stillness invite the viewer to feel the rush of the elements or to stop and dip their toes. Like my memories, the paintings may be more realistic or vague, but for me, they all represent a part of the same whole. 

ARTIST BIO

Maria Kaprielian is a Mahopac artist with a passion for the natural world and all it encompasses. Her education includes BA and DVM degrees from Cornell University and a BFA from SUNY Purchase. Her artwork has been featured at the Mahopac Public Library and Tilly's Table at Tilly Foster Farm, and she has participated in many group shows in the Hudson Valley region. Her favorite medium is watercolor because of its luminous and spontaneous properties.  

*All works displayed here are on display in the Kent Library

Great Hollow Stream

Watercolor, 2021

25 x 19 inch, framed and matted

$300

Path of Least Resistance

Watercolor, 2021

21 x 17 inch, framed and matted

$195

In Flux

Watercolor, 2021

21 x 17 inch, framed and matted

$195

Rocky Bed

Watercolor, 2021

17 x 21 inch, framed and matted

$195

Little Resistance

Watercolor, 2021

15 x 12 inch

$95

Memory Flow

Watercolor, 2021

25 x 19 inch, framed and matted

$300

VIRTUAL DISPLAY - May Artist of the Month: Shelley Dell

Shelley Dell

Catching moments of beauty, observing sunlight as it changes and passes through and around objects is a fascinating thing to observe and try to catch on paper. I make images with watercolors and colored pencils on paper and very recently I have started exploring monoprints. I graduated from NYU with a degree in studio art. Studies include classes at The Art Students League, and The School of Visual Arts. My current projects integrate classic painting and drawing techniques with the digital world, images made with watercolors and colored pencils on paper attempting to record a few seconds of magic light. My work is in collections in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. Galleries where I have exhibited include 55 Mercer Gallery and 80 Washington Square East Gallery in NYC; I have been lucky enough to be selected to exhibit work in juried shows in the NY/NJ/CT area, some of my editorial illustrations have been featured in Forbes, Newsweek, and Scientific American. Currently I am working on a larger series based on "analemma" the declination of the sun and the equation of time for each day of the year.-- Shelley Dell

Rt 44 near Minnewaska

 water based media and colored pencils

DIMENSIONS 10.5"w x 9"h

looking for the light 1

mono print

DIMENSIONS 9"w x 6"h

PRICE $100.00

2020 Vision

water based media

DIMENSIONS 8” square 

Rainbow 06302020

 water color

DIMENSIONS 7” square

PRICE $250.00

Fair Isle Phone box

 water color and colored pencil

DIMENSIONS 10"w x 7.5”h

PRICE $300.00 

Burano Clothesline

water based media and colored pencils

DIMENSIONS 9.5"w x 7.5"h

To see more or to contact the artist:

EMAIL: shelley.dell.paints@gmail.com

ARTIST'S WEBSITE: https://shelleydellcom.wordpress.com/home/

VIRTUAL DISPLAY - April Artist of the Month: Maureen Winzig

Maureen Winzig

Artist Bio

In the ‘80’s, my studies began with illustration, design and commercial art at Pace University, NY.  Fine art, graphic art and web design came later at WCC, SUNY Westchester, NY.  I’ve studied privately from local masters learning different painting styles and techniques as well as portraiture.  I have had many other teachers and workshops along the way with continuous proliferation as my best teacher.

Being a member of several art associations such as the Peekskill Arts Alliance of which I was president, Ossining Arts Council, the Garrison Art Center and Tompkins Corners Cultural Center and more, has expanded my art world and experience considerably.  My work has been shown at many venues in New York, some of them being the Howland Art Center, the Katonah Museum, the Garrison Art Center, the Paramount Center for the Arts, Peekskill City Hall, Blue Door Gallery, Ceres Gallery and Skylight Gallery in Chelsea in NYC and have been represented at Gallery 66 in Cold Spring.  I’m proud to have my work in significant private collections as well.

Statement

Oils and watercolor are my forte.  Oils give me complete control when painting, especially with water, sky and portraits.  My land, waterscapes, and portraits are meticulous and bold working well with light and contrast.   With watercolor, I invite the medium to show its organic nature while controlling it when needed as well.  Working in these 2 very different mediums affects each other continuously spurring new ideas and techniques. 

My mission is to stay true to what I’m feeling as I paint and express it with boldness, intensity and light.  My purpose is to listen to my inner, “Woman on Fire” and to forever remain true to myself. 

Statement on Flowers in Watercolor

Painting flowers with watercolor in the dead of winter is one of my surefire ways to remember the promise of spring.  It’s like my carrot on a string held out before the stubborn donkey of cold dark days leading me back into the light of April and May.  Watercolor, if I let it, splays out so beautifully and creates its own gradients from dark to light.  And the colors practically mix themselves if you let them.  If you overwork and try to force your way with watercolor… you’re done… its ruined… like with most things of beauty and grace.  Be gentle, patient and free and you just might get a lovely watercolor.

Maureen Winzig

914-438-6084

Studio ~ 105 S. Division St., Suit #208

Peekskill, NY 10566

WinzigArt.com

VIRTUAL DISPLAY - March Artist of the Month: Ginger Manning

Solo show at the Live 4 Art Gallery, in Pawling NY

Ginger Manning 

ARTIST STATEMENT:

The goal of my work is to capture the essence of a person, or subject, at a moment in time such that the gesture and atmosphere invite the viewer into that moment, for a shared intimate encounter.

 I grew in a home full of art and art materials. I was encouraged to experiment with papier mâché, paints, fabric - to design/make my own clothes, and to draw. There was always some school project that needed an artistic touch as well. I was encouraged to travel - and won a Rotary scholarship to spend a year in Japan, where I studied, among other things, calligraphy and kimono making at a Japanese high school. In college, I spent a semester in Florence, Italy studying art appreciation, history and philosophy, and then another year in Japan.

 After college, I worked in midtown Manhattan and in the evenings, after work, I attended art classes at several of the art schools there. At the Art Student League, I found my teacher under whom I would study portraiture every Thursday night for years- the brilliant, talented, wise, and generous Hananiah Harari.

​I have taught drawing at: Carmel Continuing Education; Brewster Continuing Education; the Putnam County Arts Council; and at Trinity Pawling School, as a substitute teacher, when the permanent teacher was on sabbatical leave. Prior to the pandemic, I volunteered at the Holmes Whaley Lake Civic Association to coordinate models for our drawing/painting group, and I am appreciative to have had that opportunity. These models were patient, creative, and worthy to be captured in moment that will last for all time. I am also grateful to have drawn with a dedicated, talented, and generous group of artists. 

In November, 2020, my dream to exhibit portraits I painted/drew over the years of people of local folks came true with the exhibit People of Pawling at the Live4Art Gallery in Pawling, NY. 

I am honored have my work on the Kent Library website this March, 2021.

Please see more of my work on my website – GingerManning.com 

Fluffy on Pink - Oil on canvas 16 x 20

Ilona - pastel on paper - Pastel on paper 16 x 20

Jane - Pastel on Paper - 19 x 19

Travis - Oil on canvas - 11 x 14

Vicki - Pastel on Paper - 15 x 24

VIRTUAL DISPLAY - February Artist of the Month: Mr. Charles Lazarus

Mr. Charles Lazarus

Artist Statement

I first came upon the idea of keeping Time magazine covers in the early 1970’s.  Much was occurring throughout the world.  Here in the US, we had the Vietnam War and the Watergate investigation.  Every week I thoroughly read Time magazine because as a doctoral graduate student, I did not own a television and the local paper was insufficient, so a reduced rate Time magazine for college students satisfied my needs.  

I continued collecting these covers until about 2000, when family, work, internet and the NYT fulfilled those needs of staying current with social and political changes here and elsewhere.

History and awareness are still among my favorite interests.  Creating a montage of historical events using news magazine covers can inform and stimulate an individual to look further into a particular person, place or event.  

Many young people are unaware of our recent American and world events.  These posters describe the civil, political, educational, moral, environmental and yes, sporting events that have shaped our culture as Americans.

For more information contact Mr. Lazarus at thepasttimecompany@gmail.com

VIRTUAL DISPLAY - January Artist of the Month: DAWN WILLIS

DAWN WILLIS

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

"Although much of my recent work is mixed media, I have chosen to show only photographs here for continuity and cohesiveness."

"Unlike many artists, my desire is for the viewer to see what they see in my work, rather than dictate what I believe they should see. Hence my rather unusual titles."

"I would like to thank the Kent Library and Art Director, Jeanette Rodriguez, for giving me the opportunity to show my work in these challenging times." 

DAWN WILLIS

Photographer & Mixed Media Artist 

Dawn Willis studied photography, painting and printmaking at New York City’s School of Visual Arts. In 1970 she left SVA to travel to London, with writer Michele Hush, to photograph musicians for Circus Magazine and Jazz & Pop Magazine, among others. 

Upon her return to the US she began taking photographs that focused on our immediate surroundings. Things that most people would pass by without noticing.

Her photographs are notable for their strong sense of composition and the vivid, heavily saturated colors that blur the distinction between object and abstraction.

A self-proclaimed Polaroid Junkie, Ms. Willis also enjoys the various Polaroid processes, including Instant Image Transfers and photographs using the Polaroid SX-70 camera, which produces images that can be manipulated.

In addition to photography, her recent work has focused on using various mixed media techniques to create large abstract pieces, as well as pieces using cabochons, lace, found objects, and Steampunk cogs and gears.

From 2012 to 2015 Ms. Willis served as Art Curator for the Town of Southeast Cultural Arts Coalition's Studio Around the Corner in Brewster, NY. She also held the position of Director of the Studio's Visual Arts Committee.  Ms. Willis is on the Putnam Arts Council's Board of Trustees, as well as, a member of the Visual Arts Gallery Committee. Along with Executive Director & President of PAC, Joyce Picone, Dawn created CONNECT: a forum for visual artists.

In addition to being in private collections, her work has been exhibited at the Putnam Arts Council where she was the Featured Artist for over a year and a half along with a large mixed media piece in PAC's foyer, Arts on The Lake, the Front Street Gallery's Summer Invitational Exhibit 2016, Kine Buddies, the now defunct G.A.S. Gallery in Poughkeepsie, NY, and the Brewster Library. Before being named Art Curator, her work was exhibited in a solo show, 'The Edgy Side of Life', as well as group shows at Studio Around the Corner.  

December Artist of the Month: Donna Castelluccio Artwork on Display at Kent Public Library

 

 

Donna Castelluccio will be showing ‘TEXTILE TALES’ at, ART AT THE KENT LIBRARY, sponsored by Friends of the Kent Library. Dec 1. 2020 – Dec 30, 2020 during library hours. Each work tells a story in fabric collage.

Donna Castelluccio is a mixed media artist with fiber art being her latest love. She likes to use vintage materials in her books, vignettes, wall hangings and upcycled clothing.

I love texture so I love going through my bins of fabrics, laces and trims, it’s both visually and tactilely exciting. I like the design process and looking though my stash I find fabrics I like together or vintage pieces of clothing that suggest what they want to become. Its possibilities. I like that my work is different & unique.

 

Artist Statement

Donna Castelluccio is a mixed media artist with fiber art being her latest love. She likes to use vintage materials in her books, vignettes, wall hangings and upcycled clothing.

Donna has always led a creative life that has taken her in many directions.

Please visit donnacastelluccio.com to see more of her work.