Saundra LaBell’s art is rooted in the Island. “I grew up here, so it’s what I know,” she says. Her new exhibition, “The Off-Season,” curated by the Featherstone Center for the Arts at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, has an otherworldly quality. Each painting conveys quintessential Vineyard vistas for those familiar with our home when the crowds have long gone.
Atmospheric and textural, LaBell’s work captures moments in time. Yet her attention to detail ensures our gaze lingers, allowing us to get lost in her compositions. “Between the Boat and the Tavern” transports us to the beach where the ferry would be to our left, and the Black Dog Tavern would be on our right, both just out of sight. We stand at the water’s edge on a foggy day, mesmerized by the ripples gently lapping at our feet. The pier in the distance distinguishes the water from the vast sky. Shades of gray, white, and blue cloak the scene in silence.
LaBell relies on a cool palette again in “Beyond Free Air.” Her nuanced use of greens, grays, blacks, whites, and touches of cream carries our eye far back to the end of the pier. Asked how she creates such a realistic sense of the water on the walkway, LaBell explains, “An art teacher said to me, ‘Don’t paint what you think you’re painting. Paint the color and how it changes and moves, rather than the shape of something.” The extreme perspective, with the wooden planks that start right at our feet, invites us to walk on the wet surface to the end of the pier, where just a few faintly outlined masts punctuate the horizon line.
LaBell blends strong realism with expressive brushwork. The light and shadow on and around the two pairs of seats, set back-to-back in “Off-Season,” appear quite realistic. However, LaBell only hints at the shadows on the floor, similar to the pebbles beneath the rotund balls in “Summer Moorings on a Winter Day.” In this piece, LaBell uses diagonals throughout to build a dynamic rhythm from the lower left to the upper right, which she anchors with the vertical green pilings.
LaBell works from reference photographs, which she often takes during the winter. She eliminates distracting details, and her images are devoid of people or cars, thus evoking a visceral feeling within us. For example, in “Second Bridge,” LaBell leaves the bench, projecting from the left side of the canvas, empty. Placing us at eye level with the seat invites us to sit on it ourselves and, facing outward, we look out beyond the fence’s slats.
“I always liked art,” LaBell comments. “Other kids were out playing sports, and I was at home painting and drawing.” She also grew up surrounded by art — her mother, Lorri Hart, was a jeweler — and spent a good deal of time at the Vineyard Artisans Festival and Chilmark Flea Market: “However, I left it all behind when I went off to college.” LaBell earned her bachelor’s in secondary education and English from Lesley University, and her master’s in clinical mental health counseling and school guidance counseling.
It wasn’t until 10 years ago, now back on Island and with a new baby at home, that LaBell revisited her early love. She’d squeeze in time to draw when her daughter was napping. LaBell started painting again during the pandemic:“Then I was really stuck at home, with two kids this time. I was doing a lot of fabric art and still drawing, and my husband said, ‘Why don’t you paint?’” And so, she did.
LaBell, who paints on canvas and more recently on board, usually begins with the sky and works her way down: “It can be difficult getting the sky right. It has so many different moods, depending on the weather and time of day.”
LaBell shares, “I create acrylic paintings that are an invitation to see the Island through my eyes. My work focuses on the little details and quiet moments — the hidden corners and the unique way the light hits a familiar landscape — that truly capture the feeling of being here. My hope is that my art offers an authentic, heartfelt perspective on Island life, creating a sense of belonging and a personal connection to this singular place.”
“The Off-Season” is on view at the M.V. Film Center through Dec. 28.
