Old Sculpin unveils work by new members

Barbara duBois, "Clouds."

Last year the Martha’s Vineyard Art Association (MVAA) juried in four new members. This weekend, the MVAA’s exhibit space, the Old Sculpin Gallery in Edgartown, will host a group show exhibiting their new members’ work for the first time.

The MVAA was incorporated in 1954 with a mission “to increase facilities of art education, create interest in the arts, make an art center for the whole Island, establish a permanent collection, and preserve an old landmark.”

Today, the Art Association has over 60 members, all of whom have strong ties to the Vineyard. The newest members are all women, each working in a different media. The upcoming show will feature work in pastels, watercolors, etching, and photography.

Barbara duBois achieves remarkable painterly effects using images taken and altered using an iPhone. The technique, called iPhoneography, has taken off quickly since 2007, when increasingly sophisticated cameras and apps were added to the iPhone.

Lowley Finnerty, "Malachite Crush"
Lowley Finnerty, “Malachite Crush”

Unlike some iPhone artists, Ms. duBois doesn’t focus on digitally enhancing photos. Rather she uses various apps, layering and blending units to achieve the look of a soft-focus landscape painting. Her recent work features moody land and seascapes of the Vineyard that are nearly unrecognizable as photographs. Each looks exactly like a lovely oil or watercolor painting. Ms. duBois is currently working on an art commission for the Farm Neck Golf Club.

Anna Lowell (Lowly) Finnerty creates lovely, tranquil Vineyard scenes using pastels, a medium less commonly found in the art world. Although she studied art at Hampshire College and received her M.Ed. from Lesley College, it was only after three decades of working in real estate and interior design on the Island that Ms. Finnerty began seriously pursuing art again. She is now a member of a number of art societies including the (juried) Pastel Society of America.

Nancy Beams, "I'm Here."
Nancy Beams, “I’m Here.”

Nancy Beams takes nature as an art form as her subject. Her up-close etchings of flowers and other organic forms show a happy marriage between detailed work and stylization. Ms. Beams, a printmaker and painter, studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Ohio Wesleyan University, and the University of Maryland. According to her artist’s statement, “Using nature in various states of growth and decay, Nancy Beams explores expressions of pleasure and pain.”

Deborah Hiatt practiced law for 15 years, primarily with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s consumer protection division and several legal-aid offices in Boston and on the Cape. In 1986 she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, effectively ending her career in law.

She took a few watercolor classes in Newton, and within two years her talent and dedication earned her a blue ribbon at the Ag Fair. She continues to study art both here and in the Boston area, and in 2014 she exhibited her work at the New Art Center in Newton.

Ms. Hiatt’s work may or may not make it to the gallery in time for the show, but both Ms. Finnerty and Ms. DuBois will have solo shows at the Old Sculpin Gallery later in the summer.

 

Artists’ Reception: Sunday, June 12, 5-7 pm, Old Sculpin Gallery, Edgartown. Show runs through June 17. For more information, visit marthasvineyardartassociation.org.

 

This article by Gwen McAllister originally appeared on mvtimes.com.