WESTPORT — Newtown resident and artist Jim Chillington will have his work featured in the next exhibition at the Westport location of Rockwell Art & Framing. “Plein Air Now & Then” will open on Thursday, May 7, with a reception from 5 to 8 pm. Paintings in this show will feature a number of Mr Chillington’s scenes from the area, including Newtown.

Guests can enjoy have food and drink, and meet the artist. The show will remain on view until early August.

In a recent email, Mr Chillington explained that he started a contracting business after graduating high school, and “it was then when I became interested in art. I remember being called to look at a roof problem at a very fine home in the area.” While waiting indoors to speak with the homeowner to discuss the roof, he noticed “a very fine painting that had texture unlike anything I had seen in books.”

He said,  “Seeing the dimensional art in person was a life changing event for me that had me excited to meet new people and to visit their homes.” Not only was he interested in roofs, but also art.

“After catching that fever I made my way to the [Metropolitan Museum] and will never forget the overwhelming feeling when I turned the corner and saw Van Gogh’s ‘Iris’ in a white vase. From that point on I was a roofer/artist,” he said.

When Mr Chillington initially tried to draw and paint, he said, he didn’t “remember feeling good about anything I did, it was the memory of what I saw in the past and how moving it was that kept a fire burning for art.”

Considering his work today, he said, “Painting to me is a sport, it takes a lot of effort, a lot of movement to and from the canvas, and dedication to set up in nature, [and] battle the elements trying to work quickly.

“It’s a heartfelt time glancing at nature and at a canvas without too much thought; it’s like no other experience and I think about it when I wake til I sleep every day,” the artist continued. “I would like to continue drawing and painting from life, a model, a still life, a landscape whatever turns me on in that moment when you feel something more, that's my dream  … to be in the moment feeling my heart guide my actions.”

He described painting as “physical. The more I do it the healthier inside and out I will be and hope to hold onto this feeling to the end of my days.”

The Rockwell gallery show, he said, will feature Newtown scenes including Cherry Grove Farm, Sabrina Style and the footbridge in Sandy Hook Centerand , Howard Lasher’s 9/11 memorial tree in Dodgingtown, as well as land, sea and cityscapes from Westport, Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich, and Florida and Mexico.

The Westport location of Rockwell Art & Framing is at 236 Post Road East. Visit rockwellartandframing.com or call 203-227-1800 for additional information.