Quotes from a Poet, two Art Gallery Directors and a Close Friend/Art Collector

The poet, Theodora Stratis, wrote the following piece, inspired by my painting “Jaffrey Interior” (above).

Living Rooms

Split of light, stacked against glossy layers of mantel white paint

against dark of the next room, loose thoughts, the changing hour.

I am a body at rest atop blue sofa, bound by that first law.

For I am not equal to opposition.

My locked limbs deny my rise from this velvet firmness,

halt all desire to amble in unconfined air amidst the flutter and flap of wings,

leaves, the soak of midday rays on skin and scalp.

Instead I track the day by the migration of a contained sun

that peeks through corner of eastern-most window at dawn,

ignites the room at noon. A late day slap of shadow lace

refracts through fluid window and then this slow farewell,

sometimes pink and orange or a slash of purple.

Yellow orb of shaded lamp meets dusk

And I follow.

Theodora Stratis 4-19

18th Annual Frances N. Roddy Competition at Concord Art “Jaffrey Cottage - Sitting Room Wall” Roddy Prize Juried by Ali Ringenburg, Sloane Merrill Gallery, Boston MA

Quiet, reflective, still-life perfection. I love seeing the underdrawing - the process. I get lost in the tones of the wall.” September, 2017

Concord Art Members Juried Show - “Lazy Summer in the Studio” Juror’s Prize Juried by Joanna Fink, Alpha Gallery, Boston MA, May 2017

“This painting is enlivened by the interplay of arms, legs, furniture and objects around the room. The loose brushwork lends a sense of spontaneity to this posed scene. The composition is balanced by the strategic placement of certain colors. It all ties together successfully.”

Tiny Camp commissioned in 2015 by Dr. Wendy Aronson, NY, NY

“I’ve summered in Tiny Camp for 67 years. It’s got a bathtub on feet, and my baby-bed-after-my-crib. It’s a surrogate for the family I no longer have.

Jeanine’s grandfather taught me to swim, longer ago than I care to admit. We’re neighbors and share a life time of reminiscence.

When I saw the paintings Jeanine did of her own Camp, I instantly knew I needed her to paint mine. A friend said that Jeanine’s interiors “look like Alice Need is painting rooms.” Emotionally intense, the pictures convey passing time… portraits of rooms now only in our memories. Her perspective surprises; her inclusions and omissions enhance; her color sense charms. Jeanine’s work is figurative, but it is done with an expressionist’s had.

It is unmistakably contemporary.

My Family’s Cottage… a series painted on site to document my family’s old summer cottage before it was replaced by our current home. The paintings hold a special place in my heart and memory. They mark the beginning of my interest in interior spaces, and are primarily 18 x 18 inches, Oil on Panel. 2013-2015