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

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.

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

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.

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

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."

In writing his foreword for Ms McLaughlin's book

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."

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.

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

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