MIGRATORY PATTERNS, oil on canvas, 30×24
Here’s my opening statement for “Forest, Field, and Flower,” a new exhibit of acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings, which opens Friday at Holyoke Heritage State Park (full description below).
The opening reception is this Saturday, January 6, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. There will be light refreshments. I’d love to see you there!
BY CULTIVATING OUR SENSES and engaging with the natural world in all its splendor — and occasional discomfort — we experience a deeper understanding of our place in the world and the consequences of our actions. We see ourselves as players, not mere bystanders, in the global scheme, and we glimpse beauty more profound than our machines and inventions.
My path has crisscrossed Massachusetts since childhood: from the remnants of an apple orchard in Brookfield to the Connecticut River flowing past Hatfield’s alluvial plains; from the thick forests of the Holyoke Range to the shores of Cape Cod. The diverse beauty of my native landscapes comprises much of my inspiration.
I am equally drawn to life teeming in the smallest places, deep within my gardens and backyard. Every inch of soil or lawn is jampacked with interacting, moving pieces: buzz of a beetle, scent of a marigold, prick of a rosebush, delicate butterfly wing. I seek out and celebrate these tiny lives and spaces.
Through nature’s odd angles, random patterns, and curious juxtapositions, I divine the magic and mystery of what it means to be alive.
Russell Steven Powell, January 2024
FOREST, FIELD, AND FLOWER
Intimate Landscapes from the Connecticut River Valley to Cape Cod
Russell Steven Powell
Holyoke Heritage State Park
221 Appleton St., Holyoke, Massachusetts
January 5 – February 27, 2024
Opening reception
Saturday, January 6, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Open 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays
