Sylvan Gallery celebrates its 19th year of representing a core group of talented New England artists with receptions on Thursday, Aug. 29 and Thursday, Sept. 26, both from 5-8 p.m., to mark their anniversary and to coincide with the Wiscasset Art Walk. The exhibition, which is continually evolving, continues through Oct. 31.

New to the gallery walls this season is a series of nocturnes by New Jersey artist Neal Hughes. In “Twilight Walk,” Hughes paints a tranquil scene of a ferry station at dusk. A street lamp provides illumination for the solitary figure walking his dog. The turquoise, pink and violet tones of the sky reflect off the water, and the feeling created is one of quiet reflection. In “Midnight Passage,” Hughes again relies on the cast light from a street lamp to provide illumination to the scene. Both paintings are composed from a high vantage point, but this time a modest two-story house and a passing car are the focus of his attention. The painting is evocative of the night scenes of mid-century artist Edward Hopper for the quiet mystery of dusk and the method of highlighting a scene against a darker background. “Port Nocturne” and “Shimmering Moonlight” are two additional nocturnes included in the exhibition.

Hughes is a former illustrator who has been painting professionally for more than 30 years. For the past eight years he has been participating in plein air competitions up and down the east coast as well as plein air events in Texas and Wisconsin. His most recent awards include “Best Associate Award of Excellence” at the 2019 Oil Painters of America National Exhibition, “Artists Choice Award” and “Best Nocturne Award” at Lighthouse Plein Air Competition 2019, Tequesta, Florida.

One of Robert Noreika’s most dynamic works in the exhibition is “Cribstone,” a 30” x 40” oil painting of the Bailey Island Bridge (also called Cribstone Bridge) connecting Bailey’s Island and Orr’s Island in Harpswell. Norieka uses the landscape as a jumping off point to capture the feeling of a place in a bold and semi-abstracted manner. He paints spontaneously and blends minimally to keep the freshness of the scene alive. The granite slabs of the bridge become dashes of color. Simplified forms of distant trees are more abstractly painted, and the water and mudflats are captured with thin washes of color juxtaposed with rhythmic brushwork and colorful patterns of blues, greens, and violets. His other paintings in the exhibition include paintings of New Harbor and Monhegan Island.

Noreika has been a professional artist and instructor for over 40 years. He is the recipient of awards from the America Watercolor Society, National Society of Painters in Casein and
Acrylic, the Salmagundi Club, and Academic Artist Association. He is a signature member of the New England Watercolor Society. His work is in the permanent collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, Connecticut.

Paul Batch’s paintings always feel illuminated from within. In his newest works he uses glazes of color to capture those transitional times of day when the sun is rising or setting or just as the moon is coming up. In “Golden Gleam,” a 24” x 30” atmospheric painting of the New England marsh, the diffused golden ephemeral light of the sun transitions across the sky into violets and into dusty pinks along the horizon. The marsh water and grasses are enriched by the beautiful tones of the sky creating a beautiful harmony to the whole. Other marsh paintings by Batch include “Shoreline Evening in Spring,” at 18” x 36”, and “Evening Breeze,” at 12” x 24”. Batch is an award-winning member of Oil Painters of America and Portrait Society of America. His work has appeared in numerous publications including the Artist’s Magazine, International Artist, and Fine Art Connoisseur.

The newest paintings of Crista Pisano include four works painted during the Castine, Maine, Plein Air Festival in July of this year. Pisano is known for her miniature paintings that, although small in dimension, are large in impact. “View From Fort Madison, Castine,” measuring 2” x 6 1/2”, captures the textural quality of the rocky beach and the view looking out across the Penobscot Bay to Nautilaus Island. Its brilliant yellow sky provides the perfect contrast to the deeper tones of the painting. Pisano was the 2019 winner of “Best Noctune” at the Plein Air Easton Festival, the largest and most prestigious juried plein air competition in the United States.

Maine artists whose work will also be on view include Stan Moeller (York), who contributes “Fashion in Cannes,” a street scene of a chicly dressed woman who pauses before a storefront window while searching her bag. Moeller has a gift for capturing figures in motion and making a brief moment in time, significant. Susannah Haney’s (Wiscasset) newest painting to the exhibition is “A Break in the Clouds, Pemaquid Light.” Haney’s works have always captivated the viewer by her ability to bring a fresh eye to an often painted subject by her careful attention to detail and for the luminous glow to her paintings. And Ann Scanlan (Wiscasset) continues to explore the theme of animals in rural farm settings in her painting, “Misty Morning at Straw’s Farm.”

Other represented artists whose work is on display include Peter Layne Arguimbau, Joann Ballinger, Al Barker, Angelo Franco, Charles Kolnik, Heather Gibson Lusk, Polly Seip, and Shirley Cean Youngs.

For more information, call  882-8290 or go to www.sylvangallery.com. The gallery is open Monday, Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays by chance or appointment. Located at 49 Water St., Wiscasset, Sylvan Gallery is on the corner of Main Street/Route 1 and Water Street., next to Red’s Eats.