BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Canal Street Art Gallery presents “Opening Reception” on Third Friday Gallery Night in historic downtown Bellows Falls, June 16, from 5-7 p.m., for the Fifth Annual Vermont Summer Group Show, Deedee Jones’ “The Ways Of Water” solo show, and Carol Keiser’s Solo Spotlight Show. Join the Gallery to celebrate and meet the artists. All Gallery events are free and open to the public.
The Fifth Annual 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 wide range of mediums 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.
The Deedee Jones “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. Jones says, “Water has always been a point of interest in my life. 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 into sticks. Applied to paper, Jones uses sandpaper, gesso, and pumice to create varied surfaces to receive the pastel. The artist’s paintings are vibrant and textured. Jones follows water throughout the landscape, finding inspiration in its allure and challenges. “In these paintings, all in pastel except two small watercolors, I have tried to capture the majesty, the movement, the color, the drama, the peacefulness of water, wherever I have found it,” says Jones.
The Carol Keiser 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 2022-2023. “My work is inspired by the world around me, my life in the countryside of Putney, Vt., 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,” says Keiser.
Canal Street Art Gallery is located at 23 Canal Street, in historic downtown Bellows Falls, Vt., and is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more information about the Fifth Annual Vermont Summer Group Show, Deedee Jones “The Ways Of Water” solo show, the Carol Keiser Solo Spotlight Show, or Canal Street Art Gallery, go to www.canalstreetartgallery.com online, call Mike by phone at 802-289-0104, or email artinfo@canalstreetartgallery.com.