Confessions of a Pragmatist

Thinking of oneself as a pragmatist seems gloomy, uninspired and certainly doesn’t sound like something a creative person should be. I’ve always disliked being told to be realistic: that’s something people say in a well-meaning attempt to set limits on your expectations, so that you don’t fail. For me, being a pragmatist doesn’t mean creating arbitrary limits on my aspirations, but carefully honing the circumstances around their manifestation so that they can be created. After all, making sure a painting fits in the freight elevator doesn’t stifle creativity.

In my dream life, I’d employ a full-time logistics manager! How do you feel about being pragmatic in this often non-sensible society?

All the Best Parts, oil on canvas 36” x 48” 2024

Open Studios in DUMBO last weekend was very fun- I was so happy to see friends and meet new people. It was a nice group of people wandering in the studio each day. There were several painting sales-THANK YOU to everyone who made it out!

Blue Tones

I’m working towards a few new shows this Spring, which I’ll share with you soon.

Happy Spring!

Mountain Eagle/Scholarie News Review for "Forgotten Spaces" at Roxbury Arts!

Rob Brune of The Mountain Eagle (an accomplished photographer in his own right, check out his work on Instagram @rob.brune ) was kind enough to review the “Forgotten Spaces” show at Roxbury Arts and feature my painting “Last Sighting”- what an honor! He interviewed me about my work; you read it below, and I've transcribed the full interview below as well. Many thanks to all the nice people and artists in the Delaware County community who came out to support the show- it really was a fabulous, fun opening. The exhibition is at the Walter Meade Gallery, Roxbury Arts Center; 5025 Vega Mountain Road, Roxbury, NY 12474

The Walt Meade Gallery is open Tu – Sa, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, and during scheduled events at the Roxbury Arts Center. The gallery is also open by appointment. To request an appointment in advance please call 607.326.7908.

And a reminder that “Last Sighting” is available for sale through the gallery; It’s framed in a beautiful dark walnut floater frame and available for the very alluring price of $875. If you are interested in this piece or know someone who might be, please contact Ursula Hudak at the gallery: community@roxburyartsgroup.org or call Roxbury Arts during business hours at 607-326-7908.

Is this the first time showing in Roxbury?

 This my first time showing In Roxbury. I’d been to the gallery before, and thought it was a beautiful space to show art. I love the theme of “Forgotten Spaces”, so I was thrilled to have my painting included in their exhibition.

 In your bio section you describe ‘Last Sighting’ as “…suggestive rather than defined or detailed.” Would you also describe it as impressionism?

 In a way, my work is impressionist, but also influenced by the Barbizon School of painting, in which there’s an emphasis on subtle variations of light, atmosphere and depth- with a more subdued color palette than the Impressionists favored.

 If so, who would you say were influencers of this style for you?

Some of the painters whose work I admire working in this way are Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean-François Millet and even Gustave Courbet (although technically, he was considered a realist).

 Over the past 2 - 3 years Delaware County has seen more and more highly talented artists showing their work and living out here. What drew you to this area?

 I’m originally from rural Duchess County and have spent a lot of time in my early youth exploring the Catskills area, so I’ve always had an intense fondness for these mountainous landscapes. The most striking thing to me about Delaware County is the sense of community, warmth, and openness to culture that I experience every time I’m here. I’m always uplifted and inspired.

“Last Sighting” oil on canvas, 24” x 18” by Jen Ferguson

“Last Sighting” is available for sale. It’s framed in a beautiful dark walnut floater frame and available for the very alluring price of $875. If you are interested in this piece or know someone who might be, please contact Ursula Hudak at the gallery: community@roxburyartsgroup.org or call Roxbury Arts during business hours at 607-326-7908.

"Last Sighting" at Roxbury Art's "Forgotten Spaces" through April 13, 2024-

I’m pleased to share my contribution to Roxbury Art’s current exhibition “Forgotten Spaces” at the Walter Meade Gallery in Roxbury NY, on view through April 13th, 2024.

The Last Sighting refers to the remembered rural landscapes of my youth. Landscape can be an unspoken part of identity, and I feel deeply connected to those places which now are just part of visual memories which keep changing over time. I grew up in the farmlands of the Mid-Hudson Valley. This work depicts a hillside and stand of trees which were later cleared for development. When I was younger, my siblings and I explored the countryside with the vague sense of ownership over places that children often feel. But the terrain is unrecognizable to me now, and so the last sightings are only in my imagination and paintings.

 In this painting, I kept the aesthetic minimal and contemplative in palette and mood. To echo the vagueness which memories evoke, I left out detail and strived to keep the forms suggestive rather than defined or detailed.

The opening of the show last weekend was spectacular. It was great to meet so many of the participating artists, and the other works in the exhibit were beautiful, intriguing and evocative of the theme, each in its own unique way. I highly recommend visiting the show if you are in the Roxbury/Catskills area. And it was great to meet Ursula Hudak who did an outstanding job putting the show together, as well as Jenny Rosenzweig, who is Roxbury Arts’ Executive Director. I was really impressed by everything about the space and the organizers.

“Last Sighting” is available for sale. It’s framed in a beautiful dark walnut floater frame and available for the very alluring price of $875. If you are interested in this piece or know someone who might be, please contact Ursula Hudak at the gallery: community@roxburyartsgroup.org or call Roxbury Arts during business hours at 607-326-7908.

Here are some pictures and media from the opening- enjoy!

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Opening of “Forgotten Spaces” at Roxbury Arts, February 17, 2024. Video and photos by Dean Haspiel

Winter at Millay Arts: an Artist's Appreciation

Winter at Millay Arts: An Artist’s Appreciation

“Never want to leave Steepletop. Perfect day.”

The American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote these words about her home in Austerlitz, NY in her diary on Saturday, May 7th, 1927.

I myself had the good fortune of spending time at Steepletop, or more accurately- Millay Arts, at the Steepletop property- a small unique residency program in Upstate New York which offers its creative spaces and solace and to artists and writers over the winter, on the off-season from the normal Spring-Fall sessions.

The cold crisp quiet afternoon walks on the dirt road, the long silent evenings spent working in the studio, and the bright clear mornings spent thinking about art over a small pot of Italian Roast coffee, are all vivid memories I carried back with me.

Driveway looking towards Poetry Barn

Late afternoon walk

Off to a good start

Sunset with dead sunflower sentinels

Sometimes it’s necessary to appreciate the quiet, so that you can hear your own thoughts, the things that occur to you when you allow for silence. To do so means to repudiate, somewhat, the trappings of our times- putting the devices and voices of the world that come through them incessantly, in another room. I did this not as a plan, but as a reaction, or response rather- to being in a world of quiet beauty. A world in which all that came through the internet was irrelevant for a time. To be in the world is to embrace it fully. There is no better thing than to spend some part of your time being in the world fully; to look, listen, and feel what it brings to you.

The Poetry Path

A surprise visitor

The open table

The Iconic Typewriter greets you

I loved working in the studio space. It had everything an artist needs- lots of space, some work tables, a few big chairs, and a sink with warm water for washing brushes. Oh- and radiant floors! If I ever build out a studio for myself, that’s a must. Those warm floors sure did keep the space warm and cozy (of course I was also wearing a lot of layers, too).

I was able to spend most all of of my of time painting and thinking about my work- surely an indulgence, yet I realize that I can carry that focus back to my city studio by conscientiously minimizing distractions and disturbances. Again, leaving some space for quiet in your life allows you to hear your own ideas and intuitions.

I was so honored to have the opportunity to work at Millay Art- so many thanks to them and I’m very happy that the place exists to offer a beautiful refuge to working artists- a legacy I’m sure Edna St. Vincent Millay would have been very proud of.

"Forgotten Spaces" at the Walter Meade Gallery/Roxbury Arts Center Feb. 17-April 13, 2024

I am very excited to have a painting in a group show “Forgotten Spaces” at The Walter Meade Gallery in Roxbury NY, opening Feb. 17, 2024. I’ll be at the opening so if you are in the Catskills New York area, swing by! There are some great artists participating- I look forward to seeing their work. I’ll share my painting after the opening; the premise of my work concerns the remembered landscapes of my youth in upstate NY. I’m passionate about preserving open lands; change and development has erased the landscapes I first explored, and so memory is the only record of them. I tried to recapture a bit of these memories in my painting. In any case, I’m honored to be included in such a great and meaningful show, and the Walter Meade Gallery is a beautiful space. Here are the details:

FORGOTTEN SPACES Press Release:
The Roxbury Arts Group is honored present the work of several artists in our open call exhibition ‘Forgotten Spaces’. We invite you immerse yourself in the show, viewable from February 17 to April 13 at the Walt Meade Gallery, 5025 Vega Mountain Road, Roxbury, NY, with an opening Artist Reception at the same location on February 17, 3-5pm. The gallery’s open times are Tuesday-Saturday 10am-3pm. For more information, connect with the Roxbury Arts Group at roxburyartsgroup.org, email community@roxburyartsgroup.org, or call 607.326.7908.

“Forgotten Spaces” is an exploration of personal, metaphorical and societal structures lost to time. This exhibition highlights the gradual decay of once vibrant spaces, reflecting on how both buildings on backroads and the structures we inhabit over the course of our lives can become landmarks for growth and grief. How do we square away the decay of something only known to us? How does art reanimate spaces that no longer exist on Earth? Through a diverse range of art forms, such as painting, photography, textile work, ceramic, video, and sound art, the pieces in this exhibition collectively offer a rich sensorial answer to these questions. Together, they invite viewers to reflect on the impact of disappearing spaces on our lives.

Participating artists: Rebecca Andre, Alexandra Bingham, Carrie Bobo, Timothy Cleary, Joseph Damone, Irene Dalski, Wijnanda Deroo, Jessica Farrell, Jen Ferguson, Tabitha Gilmore-Barnes, Gary Gissler, Wenda Habenicht, Brita Helgesen, Megan Irving, Jody Isaacson, Laura Sue King, Amy Masters, Helane Levine-Keating, Patrice Lorenz, Bea Ortiz, Caitlin Parker, Rianna Pauline Starheim, Nola Tully, and Lauren Whritner.