Welcome! NSAA's New Artist Members for 2017!

The North Shore Arts Association is pleased to announce our newest juried artist members to offer them a warm welcome! Congratulations!
A large field of exceptional candidates applied for artist membership this year; we applaud all the applicants for their skill and commitment to their art.
The New Members Show, May 5- June 10, 2017, showcases the talents of the NSAA's thirty-one new artist members and their newest work. The opening reception for the New Members Show and Exhibition I will be held on Sunday, May 27, 2017, from 2-4 p.m.
Individual profiles of all 31 new artist members will be presented on these pages in three consecutive blog posts. Visit the artists' websites and see their exceptional artwork today and in person at the NSAA galleries starting this May!

North Shore Arts Association New Artist Members for 2017:

"Fisherman's Friend"

NANCY COLELLA earned a BA in Fine Art from Muskingum University, then studied painting at the Aegean School of Fine Arts in Paros, Greece and at the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. After a career in the hospitality business and while raising two children, she resumed her studies at Mass. College of Art. She has studied with and is inspired by the modern contemporary painters Nancy Gruskin, Peggi Kroll Roberts, Ken Auster, Patti Mollica, and most recently, Catherine Kehoe. She is an Artist Member of the Copley Society, Boston, MA, and the North Shore Arts Association. She is a faculty member of the South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA, and the North River Arts Society, Marshfield, MA. Nancy teaches numerous workshops throughout New England and was awarded the Copley Society/Cape Ann Museum Artist Residency in Gloucester, MA for the month of September 2016.

"My paintings are continually evolving and have become a visual diary of my artistic journey. Over the past two years, my journey has taken me toward a less representational, more expressive approach. I am focusing more on the abstract elements of a painting, using shape, color, and line to express my intent. I have been experimenting with new materials, techniques, and approaches, and am finding each discovery an exciting step toward the next one."
The journey never ends, there is no there, there."- Nancy Colellahttp://www.nancycolellastudios.com
photo credit: "Fisherman's Friend", oil,  16 x 16" ©Nancy Collela

"Seine Field's Fog"

SUSAN E. DRENNAN was born in Winthrop, MA and grew up in Lynn, MA, where her parents and four siblings resided. Encouraged by her grandmother, an art collector, Susan has been drawing and painting from a young age. While attending high school, she was chosen to attend Massachusetts College of Art for a six-week class of her choosing.
After attending New England School of Art in Boston, Susan was hired to work in the art department of the Lynn General Electric Company as a graphic artist. Later, she worked as a Senior Technical Illustrator, receiving an award for the first computer-generated aircraft engine repair manual. She held that position for 15 years. She has also worked as a sculptor in clay relief and as a caricature artist for local companies. As President of the Danvers Art Association, she led the partnership with the Danvers Historical Society to save the Williams School building.

Susan continues to elevate her understanding of processes in the art field, having studied with many local artists, such as Phil Perkins, Margaret Laurie, David Curtis, Betty Lou Schlemm, Jack Jones, Paul George, Ron Straka, Jean Sbarra Jones, and many others, as well as Camille Przewodek of California. She has studied at the New England School of Art and Design, Mass. College of Art, Gordon College, and is currently attending Montserrat College of Art to finish her degree in Painting.
Susan strives for the excellence that leaves a viewer in awe. "I don't believe I have gotten to this point yet, but I continue to learn, practice, and strive to convey that feeling of amazement in all I create." Susan works in watercolor, acrylic, pastel, and oil, and often supports various ministries with her artwork, in service for Christ. http://rsdrennan1.fineartstudioonline.com/
photo credit: "Seine Field's Fog" © Susan E. Drennan

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"Rocky Neck, Gloucester"

DAVID DRINON has been a New Englander his entire life, with roots in Maine and having lived in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Dave's passions are to paint New England seascapes and urban scenes. Although Dave came from an artistic family, he pursued a career as a financial advisor. Nonetheless, he continued to sketch, and paint, and take workshops. In 2008, Dave enrolled in a studio painting program at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH, where he attended part-time for four years. In 2013, he transitioned out of his successful financial career to pursue his passion and become a full-time artist. In 2015, Dave was elected to be the Artist-in-Residence at the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Dave works in an impressionist style and his works are a combination of "en plein air" and studio work. Dave thrives on being out in nature and painting on location whether it be by the ocean or within a busy urban setting

Dave's painting are owned by individual collectors as well as many institutions, such as the City of Lowell; Boston Partners Financial Group, Andover, MA; Premier Beverage Corporation, Fort Lauderdale, FL; Lowell Community Health Center, Lowell, MA; Enterprise Bank, Lowell, MA; and the MKtix Company, Lowell, MA. In 2016, ten of Dave's paintings were selected for an exhibition in Boston at the Massachusetts State House (State Senate Council Chambers), which was open to the public and included in State House tours. http://www.drinonstudio.com
photo credit "Rocky Neck, Gloucester", oil © David Drinon

"Rocks Village Handtub Barn"

KAREN FITZGERALD lives and works in Newburyport, MA. Karen was an art teacher in the public schools for 28 years. Recently retired, and painting full time for competition and pleasure, in 2016 she accepted as an artist member of the National Association of Women Artists Association, NYC. "As far as I can remember, I always wanted to be an artist. I fell in love with the watercolor medium at an early age and although I have dabbled in many different media, it is still my medium of choice, my first love!" One of her watercolors was accepted into the juried 2016 North East Watercolor Society International Exhibit and another watercolor in the December 2016 120th Open Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, NYC.
Karen primarily works in watercolor but also paints in oils and exhibits her photography. Mrs. Fitzgerald has studied watercolor with Carlton Plummer, Betty Lous Schlemm, Cory Staid, Margaret Laurie, Charles Reid, and Carolyn Latanision. She received a BA from Lowell State in 1973, an M.S.ED from Mass. College of Art in 1979, and a certificate of Graphic Design from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1999. Her recent shows include a two-artist show "Oil and Water" (2016) at the Newburyport Art Association, and a one artist watercolor show at the Hamilton-Wenham Library (2016). She is also a member of the Newburyport Art Association and a member of the "Band of Brushes", a plein air group out of Newburyport. http://www.ksfitzgerald.com
photo credit:"Rocks Village Handtub Barn", watercolor © Karen Fitzgerald

"Cliffs at Sand Beach"

WILLIAM GOTHA has been enthusiastic about painting since he was young. He started when his parents gave him a pain-by-number set. Before long he was tired of staying within the lines, and asked them is he could have an old window shade that was collecting dust in the cellar. On it, he painted a small still life, and with that, his art career began. When he was twelve, he joined an en plein air group that painted on the town common in his home town of West Springfield, MA. The town fathers saw his painting of a historical home that sits on the common and published it on the cover of the town report.

Bill took courses at the George Vincent Smith Art Museum in Springfield, MA and continued to paint through high school and college. After graduating from Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA where he minored in fine art and returning from four years of active duty in the U.S. Navy, Bill started a publishing and marketing career in the Boston area. Eventually, he launched his own international marketing company and ran it for 20 years. There, he put his creative skills to work developing marketing and advertising programs for technology companies in Europe, Asia, and North America. During business travel and on family vacations, Bill continued to paint and study art. He visited numerous art museums in America and Europe, trying to learn more about color and brush technique by observing the masters. In 2010, after selling his marketing company, he began to plan his new painting career. He took advanced painting courses at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and in 2104 started painting full-time. Now, Bill spends much of his time painting favorite venues in New Hampshire, Maine, Cape Cod, and Nantucket. His landscapes and seascape capture the color and emotion of New England, often featuring dramatic light and composition. Bill exhibits continually with regional art associations and galleries; he is a juried member of New Hampshire Art Association and North Shore Arts Association, where he received two exhibit awards in 2016. He is also a member of Concord (MA), Rockport, and Cape Cod Art Associations. Recently he had a one-man show at the Greenwald Gallery in Lowell, MA and a two-man show at the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, MA. Artscope Magazine, in reviewing his Lowell show, wrote, "His work conveys the atmospheric feelings of the places he paints, be it grass blades close by or threatening storm clouds hovering over distant mountains, and you can "feel" your feet balancing on the rocks or disappearing in the sandy roads he captures."
Recently, Bill traveled with his wife, Beth, to Montana to see friends and, as a result of the paintings he did there, created a new section on his website called "Western Art". One of those painting,"Black Mountain" was selected by the Missoula Art Museum for their 2017 exhibit/auction.
Bill paints in the field and in his home studio in Andover. He and his wife have two daughters and five grandchildren. http://www.williamgotha.com

photo credit:"Cliffs at Sand Beach", oil on canvas, 18x24", ©William Gotha

"Kara"

STEPHEN ELLERY MANNING As an award-winning painter, I was encouraged to draw at an early age by my mother, a graduate of the Worcester Art Museum School.
I began painting in high school and thought about going to art school, but the Vietnam War had begun so I joined the Air Force. Even during my time as a Crew Chief working on C-141 Jet Transport Aircraft, I always found time to paint. After leaving the Air Force I went to Aircraft School to get my Federal A&P License to work on civilian aircraft.In 1972 I resumed painting, entering several local art shows and winning awards. I painted over 300 illustrations of private, corporate, and military aircraft as a part-time business.
In 2012, after being retired for a while I decided to start painting in watercolors, encouraged by my twin sister, who is a well-established oil painter. I taught myself to do watercolor portraits and probably
broke a few rules along the way. I entered my first portrait show at the Rhode Island Watercolor Society and won the Second Prize. In a very short time (2015) I became a Signature Artist. I now paint commissioned portraits, landscapes, and seascapes. My work can be found on Facebook at Realistic-Watercolor-Portraits.
Photo credit: "Kara", watercolor, 16 x20" © Stephen Ellery Manning

Carol Walser Robey, M.D. "I grew up in Lexington, MA and studied art often at  the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA. In college I worked as a scientific illustrator and majored in Biology. I became a pediatrician and recently retired after working almost 30 years in Nashua, NH. Now I am studying full time at a classical atelier in Manchester, NH and learning to paint using the techniques of Boston School of painting. My husband and I enjoy visiting museums and collecting art. We have two grown children."