Sylvan Gallery in Wiscasset is celebrating their 23rd year of representing a diverse group of fine, contemporary New England artists. A selection of new work by the gallery’s roster is on view, with special features of individual artists planned throughout the summer.

The work of Paul Batch is featured during the month of July, and the public is invited to a reception to meet the artist on Thursday, July 25, from 4 - 7 p.m., coinciding with the evening of the Wiscasset Art Walk. The special feature continues through July 31. Batch’s paintings showcase his mastery in capturing the dramatic colors and specific light effects of the sunrise and sunset, or the light cast by the rising moon. The magnificence of nature sets the tone for his paintings. “Evening by the Point,” measuring 30 x 40 inches is significant because it is one of the few paintings where the presence of man is reflected. A cottage is nestled in a grouping of pines on a rocky promontory. A blazing sunset in orange, yellow and rose tones sweeps across the sky, and warm lights glow from the cottage windows. The vivid colors of the sunset are intensified by the deeper violet tones of the ocean and shadowed rocks in the foreground. Sails are seen across the water as distant dots.

Batch captures fleeting and ephemeral moments in nature to instill mood and depth in his paintings and invokes a sense of tranquility and introspection. Batch avoids unnecessary detail to focus on coherent arrangements in which single motifs dominate. Granite rocks and crashing waves are the focus in two smaller sunrise paintings, “Crescendo,” at 8 x 10 inches, and “Serenade,” at 8 x 10 inches. The colors in the band of sky, which takes up less than a quarter of each painting, is the unifying force and harmonizes all elements of the paintings. “Night Moves,” at 9 x 12 inches, is a striking painting of a cresting wave with transparent tones that make it feel illuminated from within, contrasted against a dark violet black sea. Serene winter landscapes and atmospheric marsh views are additional subjects that Paul brings his focus to in the exhibition. For more information about the artist, visit www.paulbatchpainting.com.

Additional upcoming special features include the paintings of Neal Hughes and Crista Pisano for the month of August and the paintings of Stan Moeller (York, ME) for the month of September. A selection of new work by the gallery’s other contemporary fine artists is also on display, including new pastels of animals and children by Joann Ballinger; coastal paintings by Al Barker; rural landscapes and coastal scenes by Angelo Franco Jr.; paintings of Monhegan Island by Susannah Haney (Wiscasset); still lifes by Heather Gibson-Lusk; Maine coastal views by Robert Noreika; landscapes and farm animals by Ann Scanlan (Bristol); watercolors of still lifes by Laura Winslow; and the figure paintings by Shirley Cean Youngs. Work from the estate of the late artist Charles Kolnik will also be on view.

For more information, call Ann Scanlan at 882-8290 or  www.sylvangallery.com.  Open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m to 4 p.m. Tuesday is by chance or appointment. Sylvan Gallery is located at 49 Water Street.