Falls Arts Festival Tomorrow and Sunday at Walpole Town Hall

By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer

            The Saxtons River Art Guild holds its second annual Fall Arts Festival featuring works by 21 area artists tomorrow and Sunday, October 18 and 19, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Walpole, NH Town Hall.

The Guild, which includes over 90 artists in Vermont and New Hampshire, includes “Sunday painters, artists that just began to work a few years ago, and those that have been showing and selling their work for nearly 50 years,” according to Walpole painter Barbara Schupack who is chairing the Festival. “My idea in proposing a Festival last year was to have a real art gala, a great opportunity for the public to see—and maybe buy—some of the terrific art being created in the area.”

The Festival features a range of media, all fine art, not crafts.  Schupack noted some of the artists participating are: Giovanna Patalano who does floral watercolors and has taught classes for the Saxtons River Art Guild and Donna Lund, owner of The Framery in Bellows Falls, who does watercolors emphasizing light and dark and rich sunsets.

In addition, visitors may see the work of Ann Cross from Langdon, NH who does oil paintings of local scenes as well as street scenes of towns throughout the world, primitive works by Bob Askey, of Keene, NH, and paintings by Lois Phoenix of Townshend, VT who has an ongoing love affair with covered bridges in New England and paints them in a soft English watercolor style. There is no admission charge and the public is invited to attend.

The Guild was founded in the mid-70s to provide encouragement to local artists.  It has done so with classes featuring guest teachers, with open studio sessions where artists can work together, share ideas and be inspired by each other and with art-oriented field trips all over New England for artists and the public.

“What first attracted me,” says Schupack, “is that the Guild arranges for our work to be shown in venues through the area.  Recently our work has been hung in the Brookes Memorial Library on Main Street in Brattleboro, The Greater Fall Health Center in Bellows Falls, the Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, and even at Leslie’s Restaurant on Rt. 5 in Rockingham.  Plus I’ve really enjoyed the Guild sponsored ‘open studio’ sessions every Monday. It’s an inspirational three hours that helps us all discipline ourselves to do our work and learn from each other.”

The Walpole Town Hall is at the corner of Westminster and Elm Streets in Walpole, just off Rt. 12 and across the river from Westminster, VT and I-91, Exit 5.

                                    --30--