We are pleased to announce Carrie Megan is back at the Jessie Edwards Gallery on Block Island with her new exhibition Coastal Wanderings. The show opens on-line and in the Gallery July 19th through July 30th. These 17 pieces are all captivating land and seascapes, many of them with the big skies the artist is known for. For those familiar with Carrie’s work, though, these pieces are all very different to each other and her usual work, and a captivating representation of how she is evolving herself as an artist. Coastal settings are the unifying theme of these pieces. The mediums used in this exhibition are gouache on paper, oil on canvas and oil and cold wax on canvas or cradled hardwood. These square paintings range in size from 5 x 5” up to 36 x 36”.
In North Light Beacon, a 5×5” gouache on paper, we see the artist’s interpretation of the North Light on a beautiful blue sky day. The paint has a look of being tiled onto the page, giving sharper edges and broader contrast to a familiar scene we all love and associate with the island. This medium is new for the artist and while most of her previous work has been done with palette knife, here she used brushes and the effect is alluring.
Hoping for Rain, a 12 x 12” oil and cold wax on canvas piece, draws the eye to the deep color on the horizon, the first line that the artist paints to set the tone, but then we gaze up into the clouds which dance across the sky. Using cold wax with the oil paint offers a sense of depth to the piece which might not be possible in just oil. There are layers upon layers in this piece, back and forth to draw out the sky from the artist’s imagination, the hope for rain evocative.
The 24 x 24” piece, Beach Teal, an oil and cold wax on cradled hardwood, uses vibrant color to create a warm and inviting scene. The artist may use reference photos to get a sense of space and place but she will often use her own interpretation to go more fully into painting the scene. The use of cold wax mixed with the oils allows a depth and translucence which adds magic to the piece. She fully captures the feeling of the sky and dune grasses to create a tableau we want to be part of.
Rocky Shore is a very different piece for the artist. This 36 x 36” oil on canvas is an interesting juxtaposition between the edgy rocks and white capped ocean all under the billowing and soft sky. This is a very good example of how Megan is breaking out of her usual muted and soft tones to stretch herself into a new perspective. This painting reminds us of how variable a day on Block Island can be: the rough ocean may be churning under a beautiful pink cloud day.
Uphill, a 36 x 36” oil on canvas work, is the most recent painting Carrie has completed. This is another example of the artist using a reference photo to set up the scene while she uses her imagination to fill in the details. We can see some of the artist’s brush strokes in this piece which help lend a sense of movement and breeze as the grass sways along the laneway. Our eye is drawn to the building on the horizon but we are in no hurry to get there, to reach the house, because the pasture and path have so much to offer on this lazy day, vacationing on Block Island.
Please come visit us in the Gallery, upstairs in the iconic Post Office Building in Old Harbor, to experience the Coastal Wanderings of this admired artist. We are open Monday’s, Wednesday- Saturday from 10am – 5pm and Sunday’s 11am – 4pm and other times by appointment.