Welcome NSAA New Artist Members for 2016!

With the 2016 Exhibition season about to get underway, the North Shore Arts Association is eager to introduce its newest juried artist members and offer them a warm welcome to our community! The New Member Show, to be held June 17 - July 30, in the Gordon Grant Room will showcase the diversity of these talented  artists and their newest work. Opening reception will be held Sunday, June 26, from 2 -4 p.m. with an opportunity to "Meet the Artists" and to welcome our new artist members; there will be exciting new works on display throughout the galleries!

NSAA New Artist Members for 2016

Heidi Caswell Zander

My work bears the imprint of growing up immersed in the artistic culture of Cape Ann. Painting is an avenue in which I work to translate my solitary but universal experience to others.
Although I work in oils, pastels, mixed media, and printmaking, responding to my environment remains a constant and prime focus. Through my art I work to share a feeling about moments, commonalities, and the awesome beauty, harmony, and peace one may discover through nature. www.tidaledgegallery.com

William Fusco

'Singing Beach', by William Fusco

Bill always had an interest in art but it wasn't until he retired that he discovered the magic of painting and creating. It started with a night class in drawing that so inspired Bill that he enrolled as a full time student at Montserrat College of Art. It was a wonderful experience to be a college student as an adult and to be exposed to art history, color theory, painting, life drawing, etc. Bill has always been an outdoorsman and is a seaplane pilot, an avid fly fisherman and lover of nature. Plein air painting was a natural extension of these interests. What really motivates and excites Bill is the challenge of heading out in the morning with a blank canvas and trying to capture the beauty and emotion of a three dimensional moment on a two dimensional surface. "I love the process, the problem solving and being in the moment and if I am lucky, everything comes together." www.http://williamfusco.net

Paul Gould

Paul Gould was born in New York City but has lived in the Hudson Valley for most of his life. He currently resides in Cornwall, NY.

'Cape Ann Quarries', by Paul Gould

He began his painting career at the age of eleven under the guidance of his father, noted artist and illustrator John Gould. In 1957, Paul's parents founded the Bethlehem Art Gallery, where he has conducted art classes for more than 30 years. Paul has recently taught outdoor painting workshops in New England, Ireland, and Portugal. Besides teaching, Paul Gould is highly regarded for his expertise in painting restoration. Because of his artistic skill and experience, he is also frequently called upon to judge art competitions.
Paul attended Syracuse University as an art major and holds a degree in history from Marist College. Besides his father, numerous professional artists have guided his career. He has also participated in numerous art workshops. Painting and instructing in all media, he is well know for his landscape paintings of the Hudson Valley, New England, and Ireland. Other favorite subjects include wildlife, florals, and marine subjects. He also accepts private painting commissions.
Paul Gould's paintings are included in numerous private and public collections around the world. He is currently represented by the Bethlehem Art Gallery. Paul's work is frequently included in juried exhibitions. They include the Oil Painters of America National Show, the Hudson Valley Art Association Exhibit, and several show at the Ken Art Association, Kent, CT and most recently Arts for the Parks (Top 200). Memberships include the Oil Painters of America, Kent Art Association and the Hudson Valley Pastel Society.

Recent awards include first place in oils at the Orange County Art Federation Art Show 2000 and an award for excellence in pastel at the Kent Art Association annual Members Exhibition. He is currently working on several paintings for national and international competitions. One of his long term goals is the creation of a series of drawings and paintings covering the entire length of the Hudson River from its beginning in the Adirondack Mountains, to its end in New York City.
Future plans also include teaching an expanded schedule of travel workshops.www.paulgouldart.com

 

Joseph Grace

Age 84. Born in Gloucester and stayed in Gloucester except for time spent in the Air Force during the Korean War.
Started painting in early teens. Attended a night class at Gloucester High School in 1983.
Mostly self taught, and like everyone, always learning.
Entire works are outdoor scenes, sometimes with wildlife, and occasionally with two-legged wildlife present. Started with watercolors but quickly switched to oils and and stayed with oils. Increased activity in the last few years.

'Rowley Marshes', by Joseph Grace

Being a realist, I use detail and somewhat higher values to try to make the viewer feel the mood, and feel that they are actually there.

Annalee Johnson

In another life, she might have been an architect, for her love of form and space, but Annalee Johnson became a painter, who starts each day with the palette before the canvas, experimenting with the color she woke up seeing in her mind, mixing, imagining, until she turns to the work in progress to see where it is needed, where it wants to be.
A resident of Newburyport for more than fifty years, her eyes are attuned to the beauty of sea, salt marsh, and woodlands across the seasons, and from those images, she paints what she sees in her head.
"There is not a lot of right and wrong in what I paint," she says, relying on intuition and soul to pull and resonate. It is a form of play, a puzzle to be solved, the joyful challenge of discovering the difference between what works and does not. "I stop if it isn't fun."
She works in her studio at home, a place full of light and quiet, where she draws on a variety of tools-from hands to palette knife and brush-and materials-from pastels and watercolors to mostly oil today, using walnut oil, cold wax, or marble dust for effect. It is for her a liberation of the mind.
"I find it hard to talk about painting," she says, "including my own. It is not a verbal thing. I never listen to taped descriptions in museums."
As a girl she took art classes, encouraged by a mother who always made space for creative work. In high school, she won Gold Key awards from the Boston Globe. She became a teacher in progressive elementary schools, and then a head of school, followed by a short stint as a renovator of houses, the architect showing up at last, but with art and her visual sense of her surroundings never far from her mind.

'Woodland Dusk',  by Annalee Johnson

When she retired, painting came full force back into her life, influenced especially by the work of Karen Jones and Nella Lush.
She is a member of Newburyport Art Association, an artist member of the Rockport Art Association and the North Shore Arts Association. She has shown her work in numerous juried shows earning several honorable mentions.
Annalee Johnson is a woman of community and family, in nature and in art.
www.annaleejohnson.com

Candace Mitchell

'The Great Marsh', by Candace Mitchell

KT Morse

'The Great Marsh', by KT Morse

From an early age, I knew I was an artist. Constantly drawing and making things, I loved the concept that I could create something out of nothing. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. This path allowed me to study everything from Watercolor painting at Amherst College to Bronze Casting Sculpture at Mount Holyoke and Figure Drawing at Smith. For many years I worked at silkscreen printing and made a career of silversmithing as well. I needed my hands and mind to be busy and in concert.
But watercolor painting remained a constant in my life and I would frequently attend week-long workshops to hone my skills and keep them fresh. About five years ago, I made a decision to begin painting in oils and discovered a whole new world. I love the way the paint goes on and stays put, that it is so malleable and juicy and that strokes can stand alone. The ability to create texture and blend transitional color, to glaze and scrape and wipe it off and paint over it, the whole process allows for a spontaneity that unforgiving watercolor just didn't allow.

Plein air painting raises the bar to an entirely different level. When I am out in the landscape, the quality of the light, whether it's sunny or raining, the wind, the ambient sound, all plays a part in the process. Painting in this way, which is the traditional way of recording the day, challenges the artist to select a subject from all the beauty that surrounds us, zero in and work diligently to share that moment in time on canvas. When successful, there is a connection between the artist, the subject and the viewer that is a kind of spiritual communication. I know, it sounds corny, but it is true.
I began to devote my energies to full-time painting about five years ago, and this has been the most productive and exciting period of my creative life. For the past three years, my husband, Paul George, and I have owned and operated a gallery at Rocky Neck Artist Colony, at 75 Rocky Neck Avenue in Gloucester, MA, which enables us to meet people while we are painting and display our work as it is produced. We travel and paint together and are each other's constant critics and admirers. www.http://ktmorse.artsites.us

Jim Murphy

Jim Murphy © Gregory Thorp

A native of Norwood, Massachusetts, Jim Murphy was born May 25, 1947. Encouraged by his parents, he immersed himself in drawing as a child, and as a young man studied at Massachusetts College of Art. He graduated in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in fine arts with emphasis on painting and illustration. He has studied with Lynn Peterfreund and Craig Srebnik and painted with Peter Haughton.
A longtime practitioner of watercolor, Murphy returned to working in oils when he visited Cape Breton in 1997. A trail runner, he often scouts out remote areas on foot and returns with canvas and paint to record his emotional and spiritual relationship with the natural world. He has found his most stimulating and satisfying painting experiences on the coast of New England and in the hill towns around his home in Ashfield, Massachusetts. http://www.jimmurphyfineart.com

'Newbury Meadows', by Jim Murphy

James Oliver

A native of Cape Ann, James Oliver specializes in etching, pen & ink and pencil drawings, and assemblage sculptures incorporating items found along area shores. At age 16 he learned the process of etching, and at one time, operated an etching studio in the Lanesville neighborhood of Gloucester, MA. He was co-owner and illustrator for the North Shore North newspaper (2001-2003) and was also the illustrator for Common Sense newpaper and Gloucester Island News and did the cover art for author Peter Anastas' book "A Walker in The City". James' pencil drawing "Floyd the Clam Digger" is in the permanent collection of the Cape Ann Museum. He is currently an Artist Member at the North Shore Arts Association and is a former member of Local Colors Artist Cooperative and the Rocky Neck Art Colony. He has many pieces in private collections around Cape Ann and the world.

Elizabeth Peck

I have always been interested in Art. My parents and teachers first took note of my drawing skills in grade school. However, I was unable to seriously pursue my passion until after I had raised my family.
Then, I started my art education with classes and workshops taught by local artists such as Mark Hayden, Sean Beavers, Michael Chesley Johnson, and Stan Moeller. Eventually, I earned my Certificate in Fine Art from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Today, I continue my educational journey by taking a little bit of something from many, different, well known artists, including David Leffel, Jeffrey Watts, Rose Frantzen, Robert Liberace, and Michelle Dunaway. I am also active in two sketch groups.
My painting experience centers mostly in New England. However, I also travel extensively to paint in the American Southwest, Alaska, France, Netherlands, Norway, and Italy.
I have recently moved into my own new studio, and I feel privileged to be able to paint full time. I mostly paint in oil and pastel, but I have been experimenting with gouache and even encaustics.
I like to paint portraits from life, trying to convey the character, personality and spirit of the subject. I paint landscapes, mostly en plein air, trying to capture not only the light and color, but also the mood and energy of the scene. With my still lifes I try to evoke emotion in the viewer. My goal is to connect, somehow, with my audience, that they might see what I see, and feel what I feel.
I am attracted to subjects that remind me of where I came from, striving to share what I have seen and experienced. I take inspiration from great artists like Fechin, Velasquez, Sargent, Sorolla, and Hibbard.

'Tuscan Poppies II', by Elisabeth Peck

I am a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association and the North Shore Arts Association. I am a member of the Newburyport Art Association, the Andover Guild, and the Greater Haverhill Art Association. I am also an associate member of the Rockport, and Marblehead Art Associations. In addition, I am a member of Oil Painters of America and the Portrait Society of America.

I believe that art is essential to our quality of life. Painting is my escape to an amazing place. It enriches me, soothes my soul, balances me, and gives me peace (and sometimes much frustration). I am passionate about painting, and hope my audience feels my excitement. www.peckfineart.com

Marny Williams

I have been a practicing dentist in Gloucester, MA since 1972. I started painting in watercolor in 2000. Among the various Cape Ann artists I've studied and painted with over the last fifteen years, are Paul George, Judythe Evans Meagher, Marilyn Swift, Frank Federico, Lisa Sawlit of Montserrat College, and Betty Lou Schlemm. I have been fortunate to have also painted recently in Tuscany with Phil Hobbs, of the UK, and with Jann Pollard in Sicily.

I am a member of Cape Ann Watercolorists, a new artist member of the North Shore Arts Association, Rockport Art Association, juried member of the Beverly Guild of Artists, and an exhibiting artist at Essex County Greenbelt's annual "Art in the Barn" exhibition in Essex, MA.

Over the years I have won numerous awards at all of these venues. I have also had several solo shows: Addison Gilbert Hospital; Atrium Gallery at the Musculo-skeletal Center, Peabody, MA; Beverly Bank; The Bookstore of Gloucester, MA; Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester; and the Wenniger Gallery of Rockport.
My studio is in Rockpor, MA. Some of my paintings can be seen in the offices of Dental Associates of Gloucester; the office of the Mayor of the City of Gloucester; and the Pilates Center, Gloucester, MA.