Paintings Make a Unique Asset to Rug Shop

Myles Maher's Main Street business, currently has more than rugs to offer. The shop at 424 Main St. is currently showing a collection of paintings by Chatham resident John DeLade.

“I used to have a studio down here on the corner,” said DeLade. “But I got kicked out because [a realtor] came in and took over the whole building, so then I started working at home. But I kept driving by seeing Myles’ windows saying, ‘God I want my paintings in those windows.’”  

The feeling was mutual.

“I have a background in the arts [in creative writing],” said Maher. “After meeting John and appreciating his work the way I do, we came up with the idea to [show his art] not only [on] the walls inside, but [on] our windows.

Maher desscribes the large windows of his store, which face Main Street, as "the face of our business and how we advertise.”

The pair try to display paintings that match the rugs that are in Maher’s store. They also try to rotate the paintings so each painting has a turn at the front of the store.

“In a week or so I’m going to go ahead and change the windows again and either swap out some of [DeLade’s] artwork or change the location of it,” said Maher.

Both Maher and DeLade offer custom rugs and artwork, respectively. If a painting is too small, or simply not right, DeLade said he works with the customer to change it in order to suit the customer’s needs.  Maher said he also works to find rugs that will work specifically for his customers.

DeLade said he has been passionate about his art since he began painting in high school. “Every time I had a career I would stop painting and then the career would become successful. I’d get bored and go back to painting,” he said.

DeLade described his art as "in between abstraction and impressionism. "The further back you step it gets very real looking, but if you look up close it’s a total mess and there’s energy in there, and you can almost see the kind of music I was listening to when I did it,” he said.

“I like to paint stuff that I have some reference to like a seascape, but then I just let it come out,” DeLade said. “I’ve noticed recently that the best paintings are the ones I have planned but then I stop thinking and just let it come out. If I start forcing something it doesn’t have that same … honesty or soulfulness. It lacks certain soulfulness.”

DeLade said he prices his art to be affordable. “People that are buying … they’re used to seeing things at auctions and at charity events [in the] $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 thousand price range. I’m staying under $2,000 and it’s selling like crazy,” he said.

The two plan to host an opening reception in late September. In the meantime, they encourage anybody interested in the rugs or artwork they display to come in and visit during business hours.

“People should be comfortable, without any obligation or thought that they have to buy something, to come in,” said Maher. “I encourage people to stop in, look at the artwork, look at the rugs and appreciate them.”