Roaring Lambs Has A Colorful ‘Wintry Mix’ In Its Corner Gallery

By Shannon Hicks

BETHEL — Believe it or not, the current show in The Corner Gallery at Walnut Hill Community Church has a surprising amount of color in it, regardless of the fact its theme is winter.

Paintings by four local artists are on view at the Bethel church through the end of January. “A Wintry Mix: Snow Paintings by Gardella, Barkman, Macon & Newquist” offers a collection of works by Maggie Gardella, Pat Barkman, Kita Macon, and Ruth Newquist. And yes, even with its snowscapes and seasonal theme, there is a large amount of color also found among the areas of snow-white and wintry-gray within the works of each of the featured artists.

The Corner Gallery is located just within the main entrance of the church building at 156 Walnut Hill Road, just off Old Hawleyville Road. Because the church has a full-time staff during the week as well as on the weekend, the public is invited to visit the show at almost any time. The building is open Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm, as well as most evening during the week, when the church hosts programs. The lobby area can also be visited during much of Saturday, and on Sunday up until 1 pm.

Roaring Lambs Visual Arts Group is hosting “A Wintry Mix.” The artists’ group is sponsored by Walnut Hill Community Church, and comprised of members and non-members of the congregation. Betty Christensen, a Newtown resident and one of the group’s founding members, explained in October, “We welcome anyone [into our group], whether they have any faith or none at all.

“Any age, any nationality, it doesn’t matter at all,” the painter continued. “We welcome anyone.”

Of the current collective of artists with works on view, only the oil painter Ms Gardella happens to be a member of Roaring Lambs and of Walnut Hill Church. Pat Barkman, who works in watercolors, Kita Macon, who does water based scenes that are followed with oils, and Ruth Newquist, an oil painter, were all invited by Roaring Lambs to participate in the exhibition.

“It’s a beautiful show,” A.J. Picard said this week. Mr Picard, a portrait painter and illustrator, is another of the five primary founding members of Roaring Lambs. It is at Mr Picard’s home studio in Danbury that the group meets on a regular basis.  The Corner Gallery was only at its idea stage at the beginning of 1999, but it was thanks to the perseverance of Mr Picard; Mrs Christensen; John Swatsley, a celebrated freelance wildlife painter; watercolorist Marguerite Enslin, who came to the US from South Africa and learned to paint only within the past three years; and fabric artist Marge Malwitz that Roaring Lambs has been accepted by the church it calls home.

“Roaring Lambs has really only evolved within the last six months,” Mr Picard admitted early this week.

Shows are being presented on a six- to eight-week basis. Previous shows have included solo efforts by Mrs Christensen, who works in oil and watercolor; a collection of “impressions in acrylics and poetry” by New Milford artist Steve Tanenbaum; and large-scale works in mixed media by the New York City artist Ann Kim. One week of down time is purposely left between shows.

“We let the walls go empty for about a week, try to get people good and hungry for the next show,” Mr Picard laughed this week. Exhibits are presented with either one artist featured or with a few artists following a similar theme.

One of the next shows that will be going up will be another theme show, this one by members of Roaring Lambs who visited Newtown’s Cherry Grove Farm in October for a paint-out. The results of that Saturday of preliminary sketches and paintings will be hung in early February or late March.

In addition to its formal Corner Gallery, Roaring Lambs also has a Hallway Gallery and an ongoing Sermon Series it organizes. Offerings in The Hallway Gallery change every four to six weeks in an area set up for anyone who would like to have some space to hang their art — members and non-members of the artists’ group. The Sermon Series is a presentation of commissioned works that correlate with the theme of the current sermons of the church.

“We’ve really evolved both in the way we’re showing these shows and the level of excellence — and consistency — we have been able to achieve,” Mr Picard said. “We’re thrilled to not only be able to attract artists at the level of [two of the current featured artists] Kita Macon and Ruth Newquist, but to have a beautiful place where we can showcase this kind of artwork the way it deserves to be presented.”