Welcome to the October issue of the Geary Gallery Guide. Where does the time go? It’s hard to believe that Geary Gallery has been promoting local artists for almost 29 years! We thank you for your continued support of our gallery and our long tradition of presenting special showcases and artist meet and greets.

This month, we continue our proud tradition with a special two-week only showcase: “The Lure of Travel — Moments of Noticing,” featuring Manhattan mixed media painter, Susan Crawford, October 17 to 31, with a “Meet the Artist” reception on Saturday, October 20 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. RSVP recommended. Call (203) 655-6633 or email info@gearygallery.com.

In addition, nationally renowned decoy carver Kevin Kerrigan’s exhibit, "The Art of Decoy Carving" will be on display through October 31. Our thanks to all who came to his meet and greet on September 29.

Now is the perfect time to bring in those cherished pieces you’d like framed in time for the holidays. It’s not too early to think about holiday gifts, especially if you’re looking to give something personal and unique, so contact us to start creating a custom original portrait.

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Featured Artist, October 2012
Susan Crawford

Susan Crawford is a New York City based mixed media artist who uses multiple planes and three-dimensional elements, to bring the viewer deep into the creative process. Exuberant color and form spill off the canvas, unlocking the possibility of fantasy and magic while bringing the audience further into the moment and the work itself.

Ms. Crawford has had the amazing opportunity to travel extensively in recent years as an artist. During these travels, she has worked mostly in solitude, exploring with her camera and oil pastels in such diverse places as Hong Kong, South Africa, Italy, Australia, Botswana, Hawaii, Malta and more.

During her explorations, she has drawn inspiration from the sites and other travelers around her. As she described of these travels, “The mere instant of rounding a street corner could overload my senses with a moment of profound beauty. The combination of color, light, feeling, sound, and composition would aesthetically overwhelm me. Walking down a tiny winding street in Santorini, Greece, for example, I was stopped in my tracks by the deep blue of the Aegean Sea, contrasted with cool, crisp whites of traditional cliff houses, and highlighted with hot pink bougainvillea spilling over curved walls.”

Crawford continues, “In response to these moments, I feel a need to capture my experience on canvas. I do this because I need to do this. I don’t want only to create a pretty thing, but to transport my audience both visually and emotionally back to a moment of noticing. Travel can be powerful in its ability to pause the mind — and life itself — long enough to notice these moments.” Her recent work explores the restorative effect of travel on the mind and soul, and communicates moments we might otherwise miss in the routine of daily life.

Ms. Crawford graduated from the University of Montana, and has completed post-graduate study in painting and art history at the University of Hawaii, in Honolulu and at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. In addition, she trained at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and served as a docent in the Children’s Art Education Program there. She is a member of the National Association of Women Artists in New York City, and the Society for the Arts in Healthcare, based in Washington DC.

Susan is a contributing artist for ART 4 Cause International, whose charities work to end child exploitation and trafficking. In addition, she is the exhibiting artist at the Life Solution Center of Darien, Connecticut; a member of the Greenwich Arts Council in Greenwich, Connecticut and a former member of the Wilson Avenue Loft Artists, (WALA) in South Norwalk, Connecticut. In 2011, Susan was honored with the outstanding alumnus award from The University of Montana for her career in the arts.

Susan’s mixed media paintings are part of private and corporate collections across the country, including Yale-New Haven’s Children’s Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut; The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan; The Life Solution Center of Darien and Pulmonary Critical Care in Honolulu, Hawaii. Susan Crawford has exhibited in group and solo exhibits throughout New York and Connecticut.

To view Susan Crawford’s work, visit our online gallery.

Featured Artist, October 2012
Kevin Kerrigan

Kevin Kerrigan is a nationally renowned decoy carver. For the past 36 years, he has worked in the art of hand-carving and painting reproductions of antique waterfowl decoys. He specializes in precise replicas of the much-sought-after works of the last generation in the style of master carvers, such as Elmer Cromwell, Shang Wheeler, Lem Dudley, Ward Brothers and Joe Lincoln. His work focuses on a wide variety of shore and water birds.

A self-taught artist, Kerrigan came under the tutelage of the late Ralph Morrell, distinguished Zoologist Emeritus at the Peabody Museum in new Haven, CT. Morrell, a long-time friend of master decoy carver Shang Wheeler, inspired Kerrigan’s interest in decoy carving and helped develop his unfaltering sense of accuracy and aestheticism. Kerrigan and Morrell subsequently collaborated on many projects that included detail paintings for the Peabody Museum, The Museum of Natural History in New York City, and The Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

An avid sportsman and naturalist, Kerrigan is often invited to speak at wildlife conservation forums throughout New England. His most recent lecture, “Will All the Shorebirds Left in the World Be Made of Wood,” was presented to the Ornithology Department of Yale. He has served as director of the Connecticut Wildlife Federation, and was a recipient of the Ducks Unlimited Distinguished Service Award. Kerrigan was Orvis Sport and Field Day’s Antique Decoy Artist of the Year in 2000 and 2001. His carvings have graced the covers of Orvis catalogs with a preening pintail in Fall 2004, and his Canada Goose in 2005. Kerrigan’s decoys were on display at the Ferguson Museum, Fishers Island, New York in the 2007 exhibit, “The History of Shorebird Hunting at the Turn of the Century.”

Currently, Kerrigan has been commissioned by Orvis — the nation’s oldest mail order company — to create limited edition decoys for the 2009 to 2012 Fall and Holiday catalogs. He has been under exclusive assignment with Orvis since Fall 2000 to create period antique duck decoy replicas representing the works of artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to his collaboration with Orvis, Kerrigan’s decoys are sold across the country to select collectors and shops. His works have been featured in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, House and Garden and Country Living.

Kevin Kerrigan was a guest at the gallery to showcase his many new pieces including “Patriot Decoy,” in addition to “Ward Brothers Golden-Eye,” “Miniature - Shorebirds,” “Ward Brothers Mallard,” “Great Blue Heron,” and more.

To view Kevin’s decoy carvings, visit our online gallery.

Artwork will be available for acquisition and there is no admission fee to Geary Gallery exhibits. The gallery is open to the public Wednesdays – Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and is located at 576 Boston Post Road, Darien, CT 06820. For more information, call (203) 655-6633 or visit www.gearygallery.com.

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Custom Original Portrait Service
This year for the holidays, give your loved ones a special gift to treasure forever. Geary Gallery’s Custom Original Portrait Service makes it easy and affordable to commission a portrait of a family, individual, pet, home or even favorite vacation spot. Individual portraits are available in oil, pastel or graphite. Houses in pen & ink or acrylic, and pet portraits are available in oil. The artists were chosen due to their mastery of their particular subject and medium, and their portfolios are available to view at our portraits gallery.

We Deliver Your Art to Your Car
To help parents with babies and small children who are unable to easily leave their car, Geary recently announced Curbside Pick-up, which allows customers to call from their car when they’re in the gallery parking lot to pick up their work, and a gallery employee will bring it to them. Call (203) 655-6633.