Meet the Artists of Fenway Gallery
Ahead of the grand opening of Fenway Gallery, a non-profit exhibition venue showcasing emerging and established artists, we asked five of those who will be on display a few questions about their work and inspiration!
Don’t miss the ribbon cutting and inaugural installation featuring 25 preeminent artists from Fenway Gallery and Fenway Studios, this Sunday, May 1 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Beverly Sky
How did you first become interested in art? Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your path as an artist?
I’ve always been an artist, but it wasn’t until I was thirty that I had the courage to make art and design my life’s work as a professional.
What does your artwork represent?
I’m a narrative artist. All of my work, whether it’s weaving, printmaking, papermaking, fabric collage, tells a story.
Tell us about the process of making your work.
Every medium creates its own process. In my work, once I have a “story,” I do a good deal of research to fill it out visually for myself before I actually create something.
Do you have a favorite photograph or painting which inspires you?
Van Gogh’s self portrait at the Fogg in acid Green. Look closely at his eyeballs. They are the same color as the background. His self portrait is a mask of himself.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to buy a piece of art but doesn’t know where to start?
Personally, any artwork that draws me in to look more is what I like to buy.
If you could have witnessed firsthand any artistic movement, anywhere in the world, which would it have been?
Kyoto, Japan, Heian Period.
Why do you like being a part of the Fenway Gallery?
I love being part of a creative community.
What is your daily routine when working?
I wish I had a routine! Mostly I have to clean everything before I begin a piece.
Why do you love what you do?
Because it is liberating to my heart and mind and because creativity is an adventure into one’s psyche.
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Ed Stitt
How did you first become interested in art?
Comic Books! I loved copying Daredevil (artist Gene Colan) and Deadman (artist Neal Adams). When most of my friends quit drawing—many do around 12 years old with the shift from concrete to abstract thinking—I kept drawing.
Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your path as an artist?
Yes; I was in seminary, answering to a Presbyterian oversight committee, and one of the members mentioned that it sounded to him like I was more excited about art than ministry. It was true… I’d been sensing it for a while, so I finished the semester, then dropped out of seminary to be a painter. 1982.
What does your artwork represent?
Light and life. The beauty inherent in the everyday world. Which I discover… available to all, but I love noticing it and trying to paint it.
Tell us about the process of making your work.
Something in my everyday existence strikes me as beautiful. If it keeps coming back into my mind and I keep thinking about it, I often wonder if I could do a painting that could inspire the same feelings in others that occur in me. And then I try to accomplish it.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to buy a piece of art but doesn’t know where to start?
Buy what you love! If it moves you, and it kind of stays with you, maybe you should own it. You’ll be so happy with it on your walls and in your life! One Open Studio, a young man came into my studio, walked around as if with a purpose, then left. This often happens, and I thought nothing of it. He came back within a half hour and pointed at one of my more accomplished (and therefore expensive) paintings, and said, “I want to buy that.” I replied that I would love to sell it to him, but wondered if he was aware the price was $6,000. He replied yes, and he’d wanted to own one of my better paintings all his life. Surprised, I asked him how he knew my work. It turns out his father and mother had bought one of my larger paintings back in 1989, and it was on the wall leading out of his bedroom to the stairs. It was part of his childhood, and his life, and he often thought as he was walking past it that he wanted one for his home when he was older. What you have on your walls, what surrounds you, becomes embedded in your psyche. I was humbled and honored to sell him my painting.
If you could have witnessed firsthand any artistic movement, anywhere in the world, which would it have been?
I would have loved to watch Diego Velazquez, Anthony van Dyke, and Rembrandt van Rijn PAINT! How did they DO that?
Why do you like being a part of the Fenway Gallery?
I’m always impressed by the quality of professional work that comes out of Fenway Studios. The Fenway Gallery is finally a place in house where we can show together.
What is your daily routine when working?
Unless there is something pressing, I try to give the best hours (2-3 hour blocks) of the morning (and afternoon, if possible) to painting. Inevitably I don’t get everything done, but if I get a few of the things done, including some good painting, I feel I’ve had a pretty good day.
Why do you love what you do?
I get a great sense of accomplishment when I work on something, then hang it on the wall, and think, “Yeah, that looks pretty good. That’s about the best I can do with what I’ve got.” Although I take pride in teaching (which I do to private students) and in many other endeavors, these paintings should last a century or two, and I know they’ll look pretty good on future generations walls. So I get a sense that I’ve accomplished something important that will last… whether that’s true or not!
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Jim Connelly
How did you first become interested in art? Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your path as an artist?
I’ve always been drawing from a very young age. During the first year of liberal art college is when I decided to pursue a career in graphic design and enrolled in art school. After a number of years doing in-house graphic design is when I started painting.
What does your artwork represent?
A unique perspective of the everyday.
Tell us about the process of making your work.
I have a couple of different approaches to creating art depending on the subject. If I’m painting an urban landscape I like to paint locations that people walk by everyday and want them to react by saying I know where that place is.
Do you have a favorite photograph or painting which inspires you?
Edward Hopper always inspires me with his city street paintings.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to buy a piece of art but doesn’t know where to start?
They can email [email protected] or stop by Fenway Studios to see what is new on the wall and easel.
If you could have witnessed firsthand any artistic movement, anywhere in the world, which would it have been?
It would be cool to be part of the Andy Warhol Factory movement and parties.
Why do you like being a part of the Fenway Gallery?
Being around like minded creative people. Also, being a part of The Fenway neighborhood in an iconic historic building is really cool.
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Michelle Fawcett
How did you first become interested in art?
From a young age, I have always had the need to create with different mediums. Creating allows me to express myself, process the world around me, and connect with my soul.
Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your path as an artist?
I have never allowed myself to dedicate time and space free of commercial pressure to dive deep into practicing art. The opportunity at Fenway Studios brought me into a community of artists who are focused on creating impactful visual images. With the pandemic in full swing, it came at the right time for me to experiment.
What does your artwork represent?
My artwork is focused on our connections to our past through nature. Creating images reminiscent of my childhood in the rural great northern woods of Maine.
Tell us about the process of making your work.
Currently, I am developing techniques that combine watercolor with cyanotype printmaking.
Do you have a favorite photograph or painting which inspires you?
I often go to museums to spark ideas. Different paintings and photographs will connect with me in different times of life.
Why do you like being a part of the Fenway Gallery?
Fenway Gallery and Fenway Studios has allowed me to connect with The Fenway art community to collaborate and learn.
Why do you love what you do?
Creating allows me to share my vision with others and connect with my thoughts and feelings.
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Teri Malo
How did you first become interested in art? Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your path as an artist?
My interest in art started at an early age. Born with some serious birth defects, drawing was my primary activity, followed by reading. One of the first art therapy programs in the country (developed by Amelia Peabody, who was one of Fenway Studios’ first artists) started at Children’s Hospital in Boston and furthered my interest in art. I never really considered doing anything else.
What does your artwork represent?
My work is inspired by nature – woods, wetlands, gardens. The paintings reflect the world around me, and the world I want to spend time in.
Tell us about the process of making your work.
My work is informed by studies in watercolor and printmaking, all translated into the oil painting medium. I work on wooden panels using rollers and brushes, scrapers and rags, and primarily transparent pigments. I enjoy the accidents and process informing the final result.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to buy a piece of art but doesn’t know where to start?
Browse like crazy to discover what you like (online, at galleries, at open studios and museums), and ask questions. There are no right answers, just a wonderful dialogue.
If you could have witnessed firsthand any artistic movement, anywhere in the world, which would it have been?
New York in the 50s.
Why do you like being a part of the Fenway Gallery?
The camaraderie, the sense of history, the feeling that I really belong here.
What is your daily routine when working?
Wake at 5:30, take a morning walk in the woods, and get to the studios by 9:00 fully inspired and ready to commence work. Everything I see in the woods eventually goes in the paintings.
Why do you love what you do?
It is a way of life that fully engages with the world around me – there is great satisfaction and humility in being able to study life in depth and express what I see and feel, sending it all back out into the world.
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