Art, Hors d’Oeuvres And Atmosphere At Lakeside Gallery

By Kendra Bobowick

“Please come to my art show,” she asked. And people did.

Draped in a rainbow colored wrap and wide-brimmed hat, artist Patricia Barkman welcomed guests to her annual Lakeside Gallery art show and sale on Saturday and Sunday, June 7 and 8.

“It’s a party” promised the invitations that prompted couples, individuals, and small groups of friends to drop in at Ms Barkman’s Taunton Lake address. As many as 100 guests strolled through her yard and gallery to view the oils, pastels and watercolors hung for sale and display.

“It was fun,” Ms Barkman said this week, noting that she also made several sales. Guests may have recognized many of the Newtown and Al’s Trail scenes, along with still life images and nature settings. “It’s my passion, the environment,” she said.

With a perfect weekend for showing off the colors in her paintings, the fences and changing screens decorated with her oils surrounded a faded wooden shed-turned-artist’s studio where more artwork crowded the walls and windows. Footpaths took guests past painted landscapes and outdoor scenes that reflected the colors in heavy-headed peonies, columbine, irises, and the shy blooms of phlox now drawing attention to garden beds.

With a backyard brightened with flower petals, guests had something to admire with each step. Standing beside a burst of lamb’s ear or broad-leafed hosta unfurled in the shade, admirers could look at brush strokes creating a stormy seascape, craggy beach, or field strewn with wildflowers and waving grasses. Turning from the canvases visitors crossed Ms Barkman’s yard to find a stream trickling beneath pines where a wooden bridge led to another clutch of framed artwork.

After a tour that ran past butterfly bushes that will bring a burst of pastels and sweet aromas to the garden in coming weeks, visitors arrived at a light buffet arranged by the lakeside. Wine, spring water or a taste of melted chocolate that tempted young ladies Vera Palczynski and Clare Pszemitzki were among finger foods.

Among those who took a break from perusing artwork and soothed by a view of Taunton Lake were Margaret Rumford and Jackie Kelley. Still making their way through the gardens and paintings were Lucy and Bill Lynders with Elisabeth Barnicoat. Along the path headed for the buffet and short dock extended over the lake were guests Alison Cummings and Marj Overmier. Caught in conversation near a cluster of paintings just outside the shed were Betty Christensen, Ernest Gismondi, and Ed Atkins.

Despite the 90-degree afternoon, a cool breeze slipped off the lake to reach residents wherever they stopped to relax.