Fair Lawn Artist Who Captures 'That Fleeting Moment' is Showcasing His Work This Month

Fair Lawn resident David Buckbinder fell in love with painting as a very young child, using everything from shopping bags to cardboard as his canvas.

Buckbinder later went on to study fine art at the Art Student's League in New York as well as art history at William Paterson University. But it wasn't until three years ago, after putting in 25 years as a stockbroker, that Buckbinder was finally able to start giving his artistic talent the undivided attention he felt it deserved.

"It feels amazing," Buckbinder said. "It feels right."

Buckbinder's oil paintings are currently on display through Oct. 31 at Center City Galleries, on the second floor of Center City Mall at 301 Main St. in Paterson, as part of an exhibit called "Substance Meets Style: The Art of Three Realistic Painters."

The ability to take everyday landscapes and turn them into oil paintings has already earned Buckbinder several local awards, including Best In Show at the Edgewater Arts & Music Festival and First Place in Oils & Acrylics at the Ringwood Manor Art Association's juried show. His work has also been displayed at a variety of local venues, from the Fair Lawn Public Library to the Wyckoff YMCA to the Valley Hospital Auxiliary Art Gallery in Ridgewood.

"What I really like about landscape painting is the challenge," Buckbinder says. "Capturing that fleeting moment of a season or a time of day is really hard to do."

Such moments are often so fleeting that Buckbinder will take his easel outside and do a quick oil sketch, then bring everything back inside to his studio for completion.

Having his artwork on display is "very exciting [because] this is all new," Buckbinder says. The Center City Mall itself has only existed for about a year, while the 12,000-square-foot art gallery opened just six months ago.

"Not many people know about this gallery yet," Buckbinder says. "But they know about the mall [so] they come upstairs and are like, 'Ooh'...it's really fantastic."

In addition to having his artwork on display, Buckbinder also wears a few other hats when it comes to the Center City Galleries.

"I'm actually [also] one of the administrators," he says. Buckbinder also created and maintains the gallery's Facebook page and began offering art classes there since August.

"Lots of people are coming in," Buckbinder, who teaches painting and drawing classes on Saturdays, says.

Buckbinder is relatively pleased with the turnout at the exhibit so far, but wouldn't mind seeing it grow.

"With good marketing and the Internet, hopefully the word will [continue to] get out," he says.

Center City Galleries  is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Call 973-881-0001 for more information. Find out more about Buckbinder and his artwork on his website and his blog. You can also view videos of the opening of "Substance Meets Style" and other gallery showings at Buckbinder's YouTube channel.