Newtown Artist To Help Create Original Works For Bank Office

DANBURY — Union Savings Bank, in partnership with the Housatonic Valley Cultural Alliance (HVCA), has commissioned Newtowner Ruth Newquist as one of three local artists to create original landscape paintings for installation within the bank’s executive offices at 225 Main Street.

Diane Dubreuil and Karen Simmons have also been selected to capture Connecticut’s beauty through realistic or interpretational water or lake-inspired scenery, recognizable town greens and streetscapes, or other landscapes that represent Connecticut.

The initiative is part of a joint effort to connect local artists with the business community. Artists were invited to apply and submit up to 12 images of their work for consideration.

“We were blown away by the work we received from area artists and look forward to seeing what these three accomplished artists will create,” said Union Savings Bank President & CEO Jay Lent. “As a longtime supporter of the arts in our region, Union Savings is excited to extend our relationships beyond arts organizations to local working artists and showcase their incredible talent.”

Known for her New York SoHo cityscapes and New England rural and urban landscapes, Ms Newquist first developed her love of art during childhood. She paints in both oil and watercolor and is a signature artist member of the National Watercolor Society and an elected artist member of The Allied Artists of America, the North Shore Art Association in Gloucester, Mass., and the Connecticut Watercolor Society.

She has won numerous awards in national competitions and was featured in American Artist magazine, Best of Watercolor III, Splash 9: Secrets of Watercolor and Splash 12: Celebrating Artistic Vision. Ms Newquist regularly exhibits her paintings throughout New England and New York.

Ms Dubreuil began her career as an artist in Pittsburgh, where she studied transparent watercolor painting with renowned watercolor artist Frank Webb and has continued with a preference for watercolor since.

She serves as chairwoman of the New Milford Commission on the Arts and is a juried member of the New England Watercolor Society. She is also a freelance artist for several companies and serves as art director for children’s author and illustrator Mercer Mayer.

Growing up surrounded by the landscapes of St Tropez and the South of France, Ms Simmons developed a love for light and color and studied visual arts in her undergraduate and postgraduate education, and earned a graduate degree in architecture. She has received the coveted Historic Preservation award for her work renovating a brownstone on Gramercy Place in Manhattan and was part of the winning design team for the 1992 Olympics ice skating rink.

The artists’ works will be complete by September 30 and presented during a public exhibition in October.