Fellows Exhibition: September Escapades celebrates seven Copley Society artists in residence from both the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and the Charles Family Foundation Residency on Cape Ann. This week’s blog highlights our fellows’ interpretations of their surroundings during residency and their reflections of their experiences.

During the artist’s month-long residency on the North Shore in 2016, Nancy Colella used the time to experiment with new approaches in her work. Working both en plein air and in studio, the Copley Master explored a less representational and more expressive statement with her oil paints. She found endless inspiration in the distinct architecture and busy harbor of Gloucester.

Pictured: Nancy Colella, CM, Working Harbor, oil, 15” x 24”

Laureen Hylka’s 2017 Charles Family Foundation residency on Cape Ann focused on studying the luminosity of the ocean and rocky shoreline along the coast. The artist spent time exploring and painting Bass Rocks, Brace Cove, Rockport, Lanesville, and Annisquam. Driven to portray the ever-changing color tones and palettes, Hylka observed and painted the North Shore’s glowing light as time passed throughout different points of the day.

Pictured: Laureen Hylka, Bass Rocks Warmth, oil on linen, 15” x 21”

Laura Tryon Jennings spent her 2018 residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, focusing on her artwork and encountering other artists intensely working on their craft. She found unending inspiration in her daily bike rides on the Provincetown trails at Race Point: capturing both the scenes she stopped to ponder along the way, and the feelings of joy in her paintings from these special days.

Pictured: Laura Tryon Jennings, CA, Marsh River Streaming, oil on linen, 9.5” x 11.5”

Mary Rose O’Connell is the most recent recipient of the Charles Family Foundation Residency in Cape Ann, spending September of 2021 embracing the artistic aesthetic and beautiful plein air locations of the North Shore. She painted outside every day while experiencing all the sights, sounds, and scents of living on the coast. Mary Rose enjoyed sharing ideas with other creative people and the camaraderie for the arts that is unique to Cape Ann.

Pictured: Mary Rose O’Connell, Pounding Surf, oil, 25” x 31”

Sandy O’Connor spent her 2019 Visual Arts Fellowship and Residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She spent her time documenting the ecological significance of landscapes within the Outer Cape, focusing on locations deemed the most fragile and vulnerable to climate change. By researching, sketching, and painting the natural beauty of these landscapes, the artist hopes to engage others in their protection and support ongoing efforts by scientists, residents, and concerned organizations.

Pictured: Sandy O’Connor, CA, West End Marsh, Provincetown, MA, watercolor, 9″ x 11”

Ann Marie O’Dowd spent 2018 exploring Cape Ann. Every day she painted lobster boats, sandy beaches, and fishermen as she got to know her way around the small coastal community. She views the Cape Ann seagull as the “unofficial welcoming committee” for the region, and associates the ever present sight and sound of the gulls as a delightful reminder of her time in Gloucester.

Pictured: Ann Marie O’Dowd, End of Day, acrylic on canvas, 13″ x 16”

Jeanne Rosier Smith, recipient of the 2019 Cape Ann Residency, immersed herself in working right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The Copley Master’s subject is seascapes and this month gave her the opportunity to observe and study the ocean at different times of the day and in all weather conditions, including the ferocity of two hurricanes.

Pictured: Jeanne Rosier Smith, CM, High Seas, pastel, 33″ x 33”

Fellows Exhibition: September Escapades continues through Saturday, May 14th and is available to view online and in person during gallery hours at 158 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116. Stop by the gallery or check out our virtual exhibition viewing room to see all of the incredible works by our residency fellows!

Banner Image: Mary Rose O’Connell, Back Shore, oil, 16″ x 31”