Winning Artists Showcase at Mills Pond House Gallery- Opening Recption

The Smithtown Township Arts Council is pleased to announce Winners Showcase 2012, an exhibition featuring the work of award-winning artists from STAC’s 2011 juried exhibitions, to be held January 14 –
February 8 at The Mills Pond House Gallery in St. James. The public is invited to an opening reception Saturday,
January 14, 2-4 pm to meet exhibiting artists and view their work. Regular Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 10 am-5pm; Saturday and Sunday, 12-4pm. Closed
Holidays. Call 631-862-6575 for more information. Admission to the gallery is free.

Bill Dodge is a classically trained artist in the
tradition of the old masters. In addition to his career as a fine artist, illustrator, muralist and portrait painter, Bill is also a faculty member in the visual communications department of the State University of New York, Farmingdale. He is dedicated to passing on the time honored traditional methods of drawing and painting to a new generation. Bill grew up, and continues to live, on Long Island (Plainedge) where he finds a wealth of beautiful subjects to develop his visual stories.

Born and raised on Long Island, James Jahrsdoerfer has spent his entire life immersed in a wide variety of creative endeavors… technical illustration, costume and prop design for professional wrestlers, book jacket design, graphic design and video, among others… and “All have added to my paintings and drawings. His Winners Showcase series
depicts a race at Saratoga Race Course. With humor and a whimsical eye, James captures the motion, speed, power, color and beauty of the magnificent thoroughbreds.

For Northport artist David Jaycox Jr., art is a lifetime passion. He immersed himself in the world of art as a student, an art director, and a professional artist. He works primarily in pastel and watercolor,  and realism is his forte. “Nature's beauty provides enough impression, expression and abstraction to inspire this artist for a lifetime.”

Commack artist Katherine Hiscox taught art for many years, bringing together backgrounds in art education, special education, and art therapy to formulate a program that benefited many students.   She left teaching to focus on her work as an artist. Many of her works are original plein-air watercolor paintings of harbors, marshlands, and gardens of Long Island.   Katherine also enjoys drawing and painting the figure and looks to capture gestures and body language.  She recently did the illustrations for a children’s book called Pedro’s Treasure.

Great Neck artist Antonia Layton’s fascination for art began as a young child inspired by her parents Mexican
heritage. Her passion for sculpture began at an early age, carving eagles, bears, and Indians out of Alabaster stone.

Self-taught botanical artist Patricia Luppino is a lifelong New York City resident. After a 33-year career as a computer software professional, Patricia is “grateful to have found this low-tech, slow-paced genre.  I am
happy to be lost in the detail of it all, and always working from life, feel a much stronger connection to the natural world than ever before.”

Smithtown landscape artist Iacopo Pasquinelli was born in Florence, Italy, where he was inspired to paint the majestic beauty of Northern Tuscany. Now awed by the Long Island coast, Iacopo paints “where the land and water unexpectedly flow directly into the sky.”

After a long career in commercial art, Port Washington artist Barbara Silbert is drawn to realism. Barbara likes to focus her art on people, “The eyes, in particular, tell a lot about a person, and to me, the bones and
curves of the facial planes are almost like a landscape.”

South Carolina sculptor Chris Todd manipulates a familiar form to create pieces that reveal our struggles as social beings. Her chair sculptures offer commentary on
our experiences as humans. By altering the functional aspects of the chair, she invites viewers to contemplate the object and consider our similarities.

STAC, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, is supported by Town of Smithtown, Suffolk County under the auspices of the Office of Cultural Affairs, and Suffolk County Legislators Lynne C. Nowick and John M. Kennedy, Jr.