And the Hudson River School of Landscape

Date: July 19 through August 22
Location: Kaaterskill Fine Arts, Route 23A, Main Street, Hunter, NY
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10am-6pm; Sunday 10am-5pm
Information: 518 263 2060

Famed artist Jacob Collins and a dedicated group of artists—Collen Barry, Ryan S. Brown, Nancy Fletcher, Arturo Garcia, Amaya Gurpide, Nicholas Hiltner, Joshua Langstaff, Hyeseung Marriage-Song, Arantzazu Martinez, Greg Mortenson, Mikel Olazabal, Jeremy Oertel, Travis Seymour and Tim Smith—spent the summer of 2007 combing the Catskill peaks, drawing and sketching the details of rocks, trees, light and water. (They also taught master classes at Sugar Maples that summer in their spare time.) All winter they have been producing finished masterworks based on those field studies and this exhibit is the first public showing of those works.

The show is going to be a mixture of field studies (in graphite or ink), color studies (in oil and watercolor) and finished works in oil. The combination of finished and unfinished works, detailed rock and tree studies in graphite, and notes of color on canvas give the viewer an insight into the process of the Hudson River School Style of painting which insists upon a meticulous, careful and very patient study of nature, and the natural elements. The artists in the show come from as far away as Australia, Mexico and Spain.

To quote Roger Kimball of The Wall Street Journal, "...Mr. Collins is a cynosure of the new figurative art, a sought-after teacher and an increasingly prominent artist... a captivating reminder that the bravura technical mastery of the Hudson River School is not only alive and well but still capable of producing works of keen aesthetic expressiveness... This is art that requires no excuses, no alibi, no apologies. It is art that is confident, accomplished and traditional.... Mr. Collins is an artistic pioneer... he has the wit to know that the most demanding mysteries are those that are inseparable from our fragile, human nature. The newest realities are also the oldest, the freshest art the most perennial.... Jacob Collins is the real thing. Criticism isn't prophesy, but I will end with a prediction: You'll be hearing more, a lot more, about him and about the kind of art he practices in the years to come."

painting above, Vermont Sugarmaple, by Jacob Collins

 

Day: Thursdays
Time: 10:30 AM
Location: Village Square Bookstore, Hunter Village Square, Rte. 23A, Hunter, NY
Information: 518 263 2050
Free Admission

The Village Square bookstore's weekly Story Hour features guests readers each week. Story Hour is held on Thursdays from 10:30 AM-11:00 AM and is open to the young and the young at heart.

August Schedule:

• August 14: Local antiques dealer and creator of fabulous arts & crafts, Cindy Smith is back to read "Too Big!" by Claire Masurel. When is 'too big' just the right size?
• August 21: Our own Catskill Mountain Foundation Designer, Marci Todd will read "How I Became a Pirate" by Melinda Long and David Shannon. "Aargh!"
• August 28: Hunter village's loveliest crafter and antiques dealer is back with us again to read "My Friend Rabbit" by Eric Rohmann.
• September 4: Book and reader to be announced.
• September 11: Book and reader to be announced.
• September 18: "Pirate Marci," aka CMF designer Marci Todd, is back from the high seas to read us a book entitled "Art" by Patrick McDonnell, and -- if we're very, very good, she may even share her crayons as well.
• September 25: Marie Villavecchia is back from her travels to read.