'East End All Seasons' Exhibit Begins

Standing before a delicately-hued canvas, artist Patricia Feiler recalled the day of its composition, noting the peaceful late-afternoon light at Cupsogue Beach.  Feiler's paintings reflect the radiantly colored landscape of each season, celebrating the pastoral serenity of the East End with each of her works.

Now showcased at the Quogue Library's Art Gallery through Feb. 3, the 'East End All Seaons' exhibit is Feiler's first solo show at the library, featuring 34 works of art, with an artist reception on Saturday from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00p.m.

"Look where we live. All of The East End is inspiring in every season, but I am particularly drawn to Cupsogue," said Feiler, who hails from Mattituck. "I've been painting and drawing my whole life, but got serious about it after I retired from my job as a public school teacher."

Detailing the method behind her craft, the teaching artist at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center and member of the East End Arts Council explained, "I drive around to different places and think about the light, wondering how it might look later in the day or early the next morning. Sometimes I take photos of an interesting spot, but I paint on location almost exclusively."

Using what she calls a 'magical combination' of acrylic and oil paints, the artist spends up to four hours capturing images of land and sea.

In the gallery's main hall,  Feiler presents each season in delicately stained canvas portraits, with a wonderful series of monoprints along the gallery's side staircase.

The exhibits' monoprint series entitled 'tree architecture' is particularly striking, set on black archival paper the dark colors are a strong contrast to the shows primarily pastel-colored work.

Using a heavy-weight paper, the artist explained that to create a more somber monoprint series, she brushed small cedar branches with acrylic paint, later running the twigs and paper through a rolling press to create a more textured image.  

"The mission of the gallery is make people think and feel through artistic mediums," said Christine Clifton, director of the Quogue Library and art gallery committee member."

According to Clifton, each month, the gallery will present a new exhibit, with each month's artist being selected by an eleven member art gallery committee.

 Every piece showcased is for sale. For more information about the Patricia Feiler's "East End All Seasons" exhibit, call the Quogue Library at (631) 653-4224. For more information on the artist and her work, please visit  www.patriciafeiler.artspan.com .