A Show of Color and Depth

Color is what grabs you in Tina Chandler’s charming solo art show at Sharon’s Hotchkiss Library. Chandler paints with pastel sticks made from pure pigment and a neutral binder: an arsenal of intense, vivid colors that result in pictures of immediate intensity. There is both simplicity and honesty in these pieces, as well as a child-like appreciation of the joy of color. Take “Iowa Barn l,” in which a purple barn with silo nestles among green and yellow trees and high grass. Or “Early Morning (Lime Kiln Road),” with its light blues and grays for trees and brown and brownish/green shrubbery. Or “Boca Grande Waterway,” with a diagonal dock hanging over blue/green water and lots of yellow and green trees across the way. “Pink Barn” reminds me of my 5-year-old great-nephew’s coloring: The very pink barn and surroundings are innocent and surprising fun. “Red and Purple Images” is made of thin vertical bars of color like unreal tree trunks or, perhaps, an impressionistic cityscape. The colors vibrate. Chandler is obsessed with nature, and she paints scenes from her local and foreign travels. “West From Olana” is a semi-impressionistic view of the Hudson River, fields and trees, and the winding road that brings you up to Frederick Church’s great mansion. “Diablo Trail” is a simple but compelling evocation of trees on a wonderfully brown and gold hillock in that California park. Perhaps the most interesting pictures, certainly technically, are painted on rice paper — which itself has often been fixed on a watercolor undercoat that makes images pop — for texture. Most often her very visible brushstrokes are applied in every direction, giving the picture both depth and movement. They can fool you into thinking you are looking at an oil painting, with the additional richness that oil provides. It would be interesting to know the dates of the pictures in the exhibition. Chandler seems to have developed into a stronger artist than she was only a short while ago. It is not surprising that nine of the 38 pictures were sold at the opening reception. This show is worth a visit. “The Radiant Pastels of Tina Chandler” runs through Jan. 31 at the Hotchkiss Library on Sharon Green. The library is open every day (except holidays, of course.) Call 860-364-5041 or go to www.hotchkisslibrary.org for hours and information.

Latest News

Nuvance hospital system to merge with Northwell Health

Sharon Hospital would become part of a larger regional health systems with 28 hospitals.

Yehyun Kim/CTMirror.org

Nuvance Health, which owns four hospitals in Connecticut and three in New York, will merge with Northwell Health to form a larger regional health system across two states.

Together, the companies will own 28 hospitals and more than 1,000 sites of care and employ 14,500 providers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millerton director is an Oscar nominee

Arlo Washington in a film still from the Oscar-nominated short "The Barber of Little Rock."

Story Syndicate

John Hoffman, a Millerton resident, has been nominated for his film “The Barber of Little Rock,” which he co-directed with Christine Turner, in the Best Documentary Short Film category at the upcoming 96th Academy Awards.

Distributed by The New Yorker and produced by Story Syndicate Production in association with 59th & Prairie, Better World Projects, and Peralta Pictures, “The Barber of Little Rock” explores the efforts of Arkansas local hero Arlo Washington, who opened a barbershop at 19 years old and, with a mission to close the racial inequality gap in his community, went on to found the Washington Barber College as well as People Trust Community Federal Credit Union. Washington’s goal is aiding his primarily Black neighborhood, which has historically been underserved by more prominent banking institutions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Inside Troutbeck's kitchen

Chef Vincent Gilberti

Courtesy of Troutbeck

About growing up in Carmel, New York, Troutbeck’s executive chef Vincent Gilberti said he was fortunate to have a lot of family close by, and time together was always centered around food.

His grandparents in White Plains always made sure to have a supply of cured meats, olives, cheeses and crusty bread during their weekend visits. But it wasn’t until his family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, when he was 16 that his passion for food really began. It was there that he joined the German Club, whose partnership with Johnson & Wales University first introduced him to cooking.

Keep ReadingShow less
Some say the world will end in fire. Ice is also possible.
Eliza Osborne

Today it feels like all life won’t end tomorrow, but a week or so ago not so much. Man oh man it was cold. It. Was. Cold. Could see your breath freezing in the air when you tried to talk. Seemed like no one would hear what you said until the vapor cloud thawed out sometime next spring. Didn’t want to go out. Didn’t want to get up. Didn’t want to do much of anything but sit around with my blankie. Probably freeze to death just walking from the house to the car.

Which, inevitably, led to thoughts about mortality. I know plenty of people who think you might as well go ahead and eat as much bacon as you want before you go, at least you’ll die happy. If you’re one of them, this might help you check that one off your bucket list.

Keep ReadingShow less