A Sandy Hook Native

Is Celebrating Her First Art Exhibition

By Shannon Hicks

There is not a formal name for the current collection of art on view at Mocha Coffeehouse in Sandy Hook, but if there were, it would probably be something like “A First Look,” or perhaps “Caitlin Dalton: Inaugural Installation.”

Through the end of March, Mocha is presenting the first art exhibit by Sandy Hook native Caitlin Dalton. The artist hosted an opening reception earlier this month, and quickly retreated back to New Paltz, N.Y., where she now lives.

“I don’t like being the center of attention, and there is something inherently attention-seeking about showing art that made me self-conscious and hesitant,” Ms Dalton said recently. “But I’m glad I worked up the guts to do it. It’s fun to put your work out there and share it.”

The Mocha exhibition offers visitors a look at some of Ms Dalton’s favorite works. She has selected pastels, charcoal, colored pencil, watercolor, pen and ink, and acrylic works, many of which combine these elements.

“I especially like to combine watercolors and pencils together because the watercolor gives you these vivid colors while the pencil gives you control and detail,” said the artist.

Much of the subject matter is the natural world.

“I’ve always been awed by nature,” said Ms Dalton, whose works include flowers, mountains, woods, cloud, and plants. “I’m the kind of nerd who will stop midconversation to ogle some really beautiful cloud. I think my art reflects that fascination with the beauty of all the little details.”

Ms Dalton, who admits she “always preferred doodling in class to actually taking notes … but never thought of it more than a tertiary hobby,” took her first formal art course “on a whim” while studying at SUNY Geneseo. She also took advantage of the art program at Newtown High School (she graduated with the Class of 2005).

“I’m far from the overachieving type, some might even say I’m something of a slacker,” she said, “but with this painting course I was taking, I found myself going to the studio for hours outside of class, just putting on my headphones and painting.”

Like the mediums used in her work, Ms Dalton’s styles also run the gamut. Her drawings and paintings range from abstract to representational, from landscapes to figures and still lifes.

She is not afraid of color, either. While a handful of figure studies in her online Flikr portfolio, as well as the collection of nearly 20 works at Mocha, are black ink on a tan background, the majority of her images are filled with a rainbow of hues.

A sunset scene with a large bare tree on the left side of a hill is infused with a fiery yellow ball in the center of the sky, with hues of orange, red, and violent radiating outward. Even a colored pencil drawing of a girl lying on her back in some grass, long hair pulled from her face with a headband, is filled not only with greens within the grass, but also within her hair, as are reds, oranges, and yellows. And it all works.

The Flikr portfolio also includes some pieces inspired by Ms Dalton’s former hometown, including an ink wash painting of a scene found along Osborne Hill Road and a colored pencil drawing of an old rusted car found within Paugussett State Forest. The latter work is also included in the Mocha show.

“I guess I’m torn between saying I’ve always taken art seriously and saying that I’m not sure I ever will,” Ms Dalton said. “Like anyone else, I’ve technically been drawing since I was a little kid, and I knew it was something I really enjoyed a lot by middle school.

“That’s what I love about art,” she continued. “It never bores me. It holds my interest like nothing else. I’m constantly doodling — you should see my notes from college. One would be shocked and appalled by the note-to-doodle ratio.”

Mocha Coffeehouse, at 3 Glen Road in Sandy Hook, is open daily; call 203-364-9200 or visit MochaCoffeehouse.com.