The AIR Gallery at Avancé Day Spa will present "Out of The Blue," featuring works by Jeanne Eleck and Susan McLaughlin, July 5 through August 9.

The day spa is within The Village at Lexington Gardens, 32 Church Hill Road.

Both artists work in their Newtown home studios. Each finds inspiration in all that surrounds them, from seasonal landscapes to the shift of light and shape as day extends to evening.

As the show title hints, many shades of blue - from turquoise to Robin's-egg - take residence in their paintings, sometimes hidden, sometimes in plain sight.

the exhibition "Nature's Glory - Equine Splendor" at AIR Gallery. Much of her work is commissioned by horse owners, and her many years experience in the equine world have helped her to see the magnificence of these creatures who have served the human race for centuries.

Jeanne Eleck is an exhibiting member of the Society of Creative Artists of Newtown (SCAN). She was recently featured in

Her new collection of work features her love of adventurous media. Ms Eleck uses encaustic wax, made of beeswax and Damar (tree) resin, and combines them with mixed media, including oils, alcohol inks, pigment inks, printed material, gold leaf, and oil stick.

Her paintings are narrative and invite the viewer to see beyond the surface, which is highly polished, down into previous layers of the painting.

"I heat and reheat the layers of wax until the whole board is molten," explains the artist. "The bigger the work the more difficult it is to do this. Sometimes the wax and paint will begin to flow and this is very exciting as it seems the work is telling me what it wants to look like."

The encaustic pieces are symbolic, according to Ms Eleck.

The Pegasus Constellation is about aspiring to the greatest height of accomplishment.

"According to Greek mythology, Pegasus, who bravely carried out the commands of Zeus, was granted immortality by placing him as one of the largest constellations in the night sky, seen in the northern Hemisphere from summer to fall," she wrote in a recent artist's statement. "Pegasus, tamed and trained by Athena, was given to the Muses. When his hooves struck the ground he unleashed a sacred stream and brought about the birth of both wine and the arts.

"The Cygnus (Swan) Constellation can be seen starting in June and during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere," she continued. "The North Star, Deneb, is the brightest star in the constellation.

"Swans are powerful birds, they can fly at heights of 28,000 feet and travel over 2,000 miles often over the sea. They bite and their beating wings can break a man's arm. They are fierce protectors of their territory."

Other creatures that inhabit Ms Eleck's painting worlds are the sea turtle, dolphins, and owls.

Susan McLaughlin is, according to her website, recognized for her hauntingly imaginative and energetic paintings depicting harmony between humanity and nature.

In writing his foreword for Ms McLaughlin's book Depingo Ergo Sum, John Torreano, co-director of NYU's painting program, wrote: "Ms McLaughlin's paintings show authority with brushwork and she maintains a consistently assertive and convincing quality in both style and image. She moves nimbly across subject matter, context and medium, in order to present a coherent artistic vision."

When reviewing Ms McLaughlin's paintings, the curator Ethan Carp wrote: "Ms McLaughlin's paintings appear to be wonderfully obsessive and subversive as well as beautifully made."

Within her own artist's statement, Ms McLaughlin offers the following: "As a narrative painter, I am an explorer, uncovering, recording and rearranging the beauty of the natural world, as well as the beauty of human beings.

A romantic at heart and surrealist of hand, I combine elements of reality and fantasy in ways that shed a new light on the interrelationships between humans and the natural world. Sometimes the division is clear; on other occasions the two worlds melt into one. This symbiosis makes the finished work even more compelling than either of its constituents alone."

The public is welcome to visit Avancé to view the artwork any time the spa is open: Mondays, 10 am to 4 pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 am to 8 pm; Wednesdays, 10 am to 6 pm; Fridays, 9 am to 6 pm; and Saturdays, 9 am to 5 pm. No appointment is necessary.

A Meet the Artists Reception will be offered Sunday, July 9, from 4 to 6 pm, to which the public is also invited.

The spa is handicapped accessible. Call 203-270-8911 for additional information.

[mappress mapid="835"]