It’s no secret among the people who live at the retirement community Peconic Landing, in Greenport, that the place is a bit of an art colony. You don’t have to leave the sprawling campus to find inspiration — from nature, from the extensive sculpture gardens throughout the grounds, and from other members of the community, whose work hangs in the halls and meeting spaces of the community center.
An art club, organized by people who live at Peconic Landing and who often have storied careers in the art world, is burgeoning at the community, and, for the second year in a row this July, residents here have filled Brecknock Hall, the historic mansion at the entrance to the community, with an Art Show & Sale that showcases the diversity of their talents.
All works in the show, which opened last weekend, were created by Peconic Landing members and employees. As they did at last summer’s first installation of this show, they’re donating half of their proceeds from sales of their work to the Brecknock Hall Foundation for its work preserving the hall.
Artist and resident Carol DeVito is coordinating this year’s show.
“Last year was our first year and it went quite well,” she said as she greeted guests at the first day of the show on July 12, as pieces were beginning to be sold. “I’m pleased with the crowd today.”
The show continues next weekend, Friday through Sunday, July 18, July 19 and 20, from 1 to 4 p.m. each day. Brecknock Hall is at 1 Brecknock Road in Greenport, at the entrance to Peconic Landing’s campus.
The 17 artists whose work appears in the show include Linda Alschuler, Leonard Davenport, Carol DeVito, Joanne Gouveia, Paula Hepner, Patty Hocker, Adina Karp, Stephanie Kuhn, Pingree Louchheim, Suzanne Ouellette, Linda Price, Nancy Rollins, Dorothy Saccente, Kathleen Schmidt, David Tamarkin, Joan Tripp and Judith Weiner.
Several of the artists were on hand to talk about their work on opening day of the show.
Stephanie Kuhn shared several highly personal and whimsical embroidered works, including a scene depicting her husband as a child, in Catholic school, working out figures on a blackboard while a nun looks on, titled “If I Get This Rigth.”
Photographer Linda Alschuler has lately been experiment with abstract images and different techniques, including infrared lenses, slow shutter speeds and images overlaid with other images, but she’s equally taken with moody natural scenes — in one, Greenport’s Stirling Harbor, as viewed from Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, disappears into a fog, silhouetting winter mooring sticks.
Linda Price has been working in pastels for “only about 30 years,” she said as she greeted visitors to see her work. “I did oil painting when I was in school… People think you can’t make mistakes with pastels, but you can. There are all sorts of tips.”
“I’ve done lots of shows — in the days when Preston’s had a big art show on the dock, but you get tired. You do it because you enjoy it,” she said. “My husband and I have been carting around years worth of materials, and it’s nice to have a chance to talk to people about the work.”
“My subject matter is all nature landscapes and still life. What I call still life is not what most people call still life,” said photographer Paula Hepner. “To me flowers are still life. Stones are a still life. I like to see things a little differently from the ordinary definition. What I like to focus on is perspective and light. I think light gives everything to the photograph. It doesn’t matter what the subject is. It’s how you show it. I’m a traditionalist. I want it to look real, not surreal. I don’t want it to be vivid. I want it to be real.”
“I don’t make impressionistic stuff. This is a very traditional bunch of photos. You either like it or you don’t. I guess people are liking it today,” she said, as she rapidly sold four of her works to people who insisted on bringing them home that day.
“I’ve gotta come back tomorrow and bring more stuff,” she said, adding that she doesn’t mind the art flying off walls. “There’s an enthusiasm that it creates. if you see something that you love and relate to, you want to take it with you. It becomes personal. It becomes a source of joy. Why delay gratification?”
“Brecknock Hall is an independent foundation, and events like this fundraise for us and help its historic character,” said Robert Syron, CEO of Peconic Landing. “We are sort of an artist colony. Look at all the sculpture throughout our property, our galleries and our art committee. Our members are amazing.”
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