Summer Arts Show Opens at Municipal Center

The Municipal Center played host to the opening reception of a captivating art show by the Society of Creative Arts of Newtown Saturday afternoon.

The building’s main hallway was graced with paintings that represent many different styles and aesthetics, all of which were done by local artists and SCAN members.

Founded in 1971 by Larry Newquist, SCAN has since grown to a 300-plus member artistic collective that claims members from Western Connecticut and New York’s Hudson Valley.

“Our mission is to energize the artists of Newtown, as well as to educate and promote the arts,” said Newquist's wife, Ruth.

This month’s Summer Art Show and Sale will continue until July 29^th, and is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every weekday. The exhibit features 90 paintings done by 48 artists, some of whom hail from Newtown.

One such Newtown resident was Glen River, a local artist, poet, musician, and writer. River has two paintings on display this July, one entitled “Poetry Reader 2” and another “Grand Canyon.”

“Things like this are really wonderful,” River said while pacing the hall and taking in the nuances of his colleague’s work. “You get to see what everyone is doing, and it gives you a sense of community.”

River said he sees an intimate connection between all art forms. He said that producing something meaningful in any medium, whether it be visual art, the written word, or music, requires a similar process of tapping into one’s wellspring of creativity.

“When you’re working on a painting you always try to find that quiet, lucid stillness,” River said, “much like when you write poetry.”

River’s painting “Poetry Reader 2,” or, to call it by its longer title, “Reading ‘Cup of Love’ by Josie Peralta,” is an homage to this connection between artistic media. It features a woman reading a volume of poetry by the Argentine-American poet Josie Peralta – River’s close friend and artistic collaborator.

River’s work was being displayed in proximity to the paintings of Roberta Shea, a board member of SCAN who also serves as a docent at the New Britain Museum of American Art.

“I think what sets SCAN apart from other art groups are the demonstration meetings we have twice a month,” Shea said. “These are really great opportunities to get to know exciting artists.”

On the second and fourth Wednesday of every month, SCAN holds meetings in the lower level of the Newtown Meeting House featuring a professional painter offering tips on painting. They are open to the public and free of charge.

Shea said she was inspired by nature, and she felt that her recent landscapes have been a response to her need to express feminine sensibilities through her art.

“When I was in college,” Shea said, “I was taught by male painters who taught a very masculine approach to painting. I think this work here is a more feminine response to that.”

This need, she said, was what inspired her piece "Thinking of Naples." Lately, Shea said she has taken to painting landscapes at Weir Farm in Ridgefield. Named after the American impressionist J. Alden Weir, Weir Farm is dedicated to preserving the history and culture of this period of American art in the late 19^th century.

“More than anything,” Shea says, “I want people to get excited about art. There are so many great museums around here, and people should really take advantage of them.”

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