Laura Eden, Stephen Linde and William Simpson

May 22 to June 14
Artists Opening May 29 from 5:30 to 8pm

Join us for this very special show featuring award winning local artist: Laura Eden, Stephen Linde and William Simpson

Laura Eden

Laura's Artist Statement:  My paintings are meant to trigger daydreams.  They are a response to quiet moments spent in nature's grasp.  Recalling a familiar feeling of place they, at the same time, show the viewer a more intimate, exaggerated perspective.  I call it a bug's eye view.  Through my work I try to evoke a refreshing response to the commonplace.
           
To best evolve creatively I immerse myself in a particular subject. Becoming at one with the total environment, I engage all my senses, rejoicing in the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of a given place.
            
As a result, my watercolors, and now egg temperas, have traveled through a variety of subject themes: from flowers, to birch, to the Alaskan tundra, from the ocean's edge, upstream to the Arizona desert.  Whether it be pond lilies, rocks, or cactus I take a subject and crawl inside, exploring all aspects of pattern and shape.

My painting style merges the spontaneous inspiration from painting Plein air with an intuitive fascination with detail, creating a distinctive style of realism infused with energy.

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Steve Linde

Steve Linde is a graduate of Central Connecticut State College and holds a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art, a Masters Degree in Education and a Sixth Year Degree in Education.  He recently retired from the Newington Connecticut School System where he taught Art for 43 years.  Steve is a Signature Member and a former Vice President of the Connecticut Pastel Society.  He has worked with pastel, oil and watercolor for over thirty years and continues to explore a variety of surfaces and textures for his paintings.  Steve has given pastel workshops and demonstrations for various art leagues in Connecticut.  He has also exhibited his work in many art shows including the Connecticut Pastel Society's Member and Renaissance Shows, the Granby Land Trust Juried Art Shows and the Waterville Maine Festival of Arts Shows. While participating in these shows, Steve has earned multiple top awards.  Mr. Linde is also an Elected Member of the Lyme Art Association where he has exhibited and sold paintings in a variety of shows and where he continues to exhibit his work.  He resides in East Granby with his wife Pat and his handsome collie, Eli.
 
Artist Statement
Since I first took a crayon from the Crayola box, I have been producing artwork and I continue to create compositions using the natural landscape as and endless source of beauty and inspiration.  It can be an abandoned truck, moonlit night or a sunset that draws my attention.  Shadows and the passing of seasons provide a countless supply of material for my paintings.  I pay special attention to light
and atmospheric conditions which I believe are two important aspects of my work.  I love the American Impressionists and Tonalist painters who also continue to influence my compositions.  I allow a certain amount of looseness and spontaneity to bring 'life” and energy to my paintings.  My style and skills continue to evolve as I mature and accumulate more life experiences and grow in my interpretation of the landscape.

William Simpson

When viewing Bill Simpson’s paintings there is the sensation of walking alongside him as he shares his favorite haunts with us. Together we search shoreline sandbars and rips where stripers and blues fight the tide with the safety of deep water near by. Or he may lead us above a wooded stream where dappled light rakes the water camouflaging undisturbed trout.

On land Simpson once again trains our eyes to a single moment where the light, color and atmosphere of a New England day coalesce into a snapshot of memory; triggered by something not seen quite that way before. In each painting he gives us a view, like a fisherman revealing his favorite spot, of a fleeting moment in nature.