The first thing that strikes you when walking into Featherstone Center for the Arts’ new exhibition, “A Touch of Orange,” is how many variations there are on the simple theme of a color. The 82 local artists each have a unique take, jumping off in many engaging directions.
Each year, Featherstone selects a color to be the focus of one exhibition. “We thought that everything would be pumpkins and orange leaves,” says Executive Director Ann Smit of the theme “a touch of orange.” She continues, “I’m always impressed with the ideas that people come up with for our themes, whether it’s the medium or the subject matter. With the color show, there’s no wrong answer.” She continues as we walk through the glorious, light-filled Francine Kelly Gallery, “There are roads and trees and sunsets and cliffs and forests, the shore, and boats.”
It’s true, nature abounds with orange, and birds certainly sport the color in many shades. Heidi Drew’s “Downy Woodpecker” is a tiny black and white avian with a bright orange crown that picks up a quieter version of the color behind the foliage in the background. Tess Feltes renders each feather of her bird in a lovely gouache titled “Vineyard Visitor.” The orange-breasted creature looks directly at us as if it knows we are admiring its beauty. The bird’s warm colors, from a yellowy orange to nearly auburn, stand out against the background, which Feltes depicts in countless shades of green punctuated with small white blossoms. Nearby is a remarkably similar bird by Deb Edmunds, rendered three-dimensionally in wood and delicately perched at the very tip of a real gnarled branch.
Just across from these creatures are exquisite landscapes. “Saltmarsh Sunset” by David Kuchta is a tiny oil on canvas that captures the delicate colors of the setting sun, transforming the surface of the blue water into a warm palette highlighted in a pale orange, which picks up the light pink and augments some of the billowing clouds above. The Edgartown lighthouse punctuates the solid orange, pink, and purple sky that fills two-thirds of the canvas in Sandy Michael McKenna’s oil, “Good Morning Chappy.” Here, the tops of evergreen trees march across the bottom of the canvas, placing us just feet away, looking out over the sensual scene. We seem to be kneeling in the dunes, looking up at the grand lighthouse at the end of the path in Kristin McKeever’s delicate watercolor and gouache, “Edgartown Light at Dusk.” McKeever captures the essence of the light at the end of the day, which makes the sand glow with an orangey-pink hue.
Like the French Impressionists of the second half of the 19th century, Brad Permar builds his oil painting, “Path to Correllus Park,” from hundreds of small brushstrokes, which our eyes blend as we step farther away from the artwork. The vibrant orange leaves set the yellow-leafed trees in the background ablaze, guiding our gaze along the narrow path into the distance.
Dorothy McLaughlin Petell’s mixed-media landscape, “Through the Reeds,” beckons us in for a closer look to see how she creates the captivating textures of her blue-tinged clouds, the dense foreground with rich overlapping designs, and golden reeds that pierce the midnight-hued water beyond. In Jan Homans’ acrylic “Fire on the Ridge,” the hot, red-infused orange roils with an energy that is both beautiful and unnerving in its intensity. The stormy clouds above blot out the sky, adding to the energy that defies the work’s small size.
Paul Hughes, who frequently exhibits stunning stained-glass pieces at Featherstone, delights us with the acrylic painting, “Pollock, in the Woods.” His Jackson Pollock–like dots, swirls, and squiggles gambol in, on, and between the birch and other slim trees. Other works make us smile as well, such as the large acrylic painting “Moovin’ Along” by Erin G. Cummings. Here, a neon blue cow, head turned away from us, is set against a blazingly bright, solid orange background, leaving us to ponder if the bovine is coming, going, or simply standing there being coy.
Several artists draw inspiration from the human form. John Robb infuses many shades of orange throughout much of his substantial acrylic portrait, “Preacher Man,” whose inward gaze emits a spiritual serenity. Nearby is Archie Robertson’s oil, “Gathering Thoughts,” in which five silhouetted figures stand upright, close to but not quite touching one another. In contrast, the four fabulous women with spiky auburn locks in Virginia Stone’s watercolor, “Bad Hair Day for Mermaids,” bend this way and that, creating a frenetic composition.
Artists found inspiration, too, in human-fashioned objects. L.A. Brown crops the image of a substantial orange buoy, framing it so that its broad arc bisects the square format, encouraging us to look through to the sand and ocean beyond. The orange trim sparkles on the gingerbread Campground cottage in Christine Decker Marquis’ acrylic, “‘Pixie,’ The Little Shed.” Then there is the small ceramic work by Jennifer Langhammer, “Goody Barrettes,” which is … well … a display of barrettes, including an orange set, making it a fascinating interpretation of the exhibit’s theme.
Speaking about the variety in the show centering around a single color, which happens to be her favorite, Smith says, as we leave the art-filled gallery, “I think it comes together and tells a lovely story.”
“A Touch of Orange” is on view through Nov. 2 at Featherstone Center for the Arts. Open daily from noon to 4 pm.
