BELLOWS FALLS — Canal Street Art Gallery (CSAG) presents an opening reception on 3rd Friday Gallery Night in Historic Downtown Bellows Falls on June 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. The public is invited to join the Gallery to celebrate and meet the artists behind the fifth annual Vermont Summer Group Show, Deedee Jones's “The Ways (1)Of Water,” and Carol Keiser's Solo Spotlight show. All CSAG events are free and open to the public.
The Vermont Summer Group Show, on view through Sept. 2, includes 26 artists: Clare Adams, Jennifer Anderson, Pennelope Arms, Trish Baggott, Jessica Bigaj, Suzanne Chambers, Len Emery, Nancy Fitz-Rapalje, Judi Forman, David Gordon, Greg Grinnell, Judy Hawkins, Yevette Hendler, Carol Keiser, Jean Krasno, Su Lin Mangan, Jeanne McMahan, Aristides Nogueron, Amy Pandolfi, Phyllis Rosser, Roxy Rubell, Lynn Russell, Matthew Saxton, Dale Stevens, Veronica Stevens, and Kathleen Zimmerman.
The show exhibits artists working in a range of media and techniques: wood and bronze sculpture, reverse painted glass, drypoint etched prints, fused and stitched fiber tapestries, mixed digital media, jewelry, photography, intaglio and charcoal prints, oil paintings, watercolor paintings, and acrylic paintings.
Jones's “The Ways Of Water” solo show, on view through Aug. 12, exhibits pastel paintings of landscapes from around the world and shares the artist's passion for water. Jones includes works showing scenes of Southern Vermont, Canada, Maine, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Italy.
“Water has always been a point of interest in my life,” Jones says. “I have loved living near it, spending vacation or travel time in or near it, crossing the ocean by boat, sailing on lakes - anything to see it, hear it, feel it.”
Soft pastel is an artist material made of mostly pure color pigment mixed with small amounts of water and binder, such as clay, pressed and dried into sticks. Jones applies the pastels to varied surfaces such as sandpaper, gesso, and pumice. Jones “follows water throughout the landscape,” she says.
Keiser's solo spotlight show, on view through Aug. 1, shares acrylic paintings depicting floral still lifes, Mexican interiors, and friends gathering, all created by the artist over the winter of 2022–23.
“My work is inspired by the world around me,” Keiser says. “My life in the countryside of Putney, and my time living in Mexico, a country of color and contrast. Color has its own magic and energy and that is what excites me to work. My paintings are sort of a visual diary of my life, places I have been and things I have felt.”
Canal Street Art Gallery is located at 23 Canal St. in Bellows Falls and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, go to canalstreetartgallery.com, call Mike Noyes by phone at 802-289-0104 or artinfo@canalstreetartgallery.com.