The paintings of Lee Meredith Brownell, a realist and photorealist, are on view Newtown Municipal Center this month.

A library media associate at Newtown High School and a freelance graphic designer, Ms Brownell earned a bachelor of fine arts with honors from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She has also studied art direction at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

A hyperrealist, Ms Brownell creates work that mirrors photographic detail. She paints from life as well as from her own photographic references. Her work incorporates oils, pastels and graphite, as well as mixed media.

Ms Brownell has said that all her works are self-portraits.

“When I paint,” she said, “I am looking for the soul in everything I paint.” The current show, she said, fairly represents her range and who she is as an artist.

“I’ve always wanted to paint in a group,” she has said. “I like the idea of sharing a studio and, as a group we would be able to hire a model, critique each other’s work, [and] get energy from each other.” 

Her work at the high school allows her time to paint, she notes, and she has started to design and make jewelry.

Lee Brownell has been married to Robert Rabinowitz for 25 years.

“We like to work together,” she said. “He works on his collages while I work on my jewelry.”

The couple has two daughters, Aria Brownell, an artist, and Zoey Rabinowitz, a mechanical engineer.

Newtown Municipal Center, at 3 Primrose Street within Fairfield Hills, is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am until 5 pm.