Our November Visiting Artist, Richard Eagan

Reception:
Saturday, November 4, 4-6:00 p.m.
- All invited!
Music will be provided by
Marcus DaSilva
Refreshments will be served

Our October Visiting Artist, Rob Kaplan

Reception:
Saturday, October 14, 4-6:00 p.m.
- All invited!
Music will be provided by
Nate Liebert
Refreshments will be served

About Rob Kaplan:

Rob Kaplan has lived in Croton-on-Hudson, NY for over 30 years. Originally from New York City, he has been making photographs for over five decades. He’s worked in darkrooms, shot film - both black & white and color, medium format, video, 35mm SLR, digital, and is now an iPhone 14 Pro enthusiast.

Professionally, Rob is a multi-award-winning network TV news Video Editor and Producer with over 40 years of experience. He has traveled throughout the United States and the world on assignments that have included presidential politics, 2 wars and 6 Olympic games. His work can currently be seen on CBS Mornings and the CBS Evening News.

The photographs in this exhibit are mainly of trees and leaves - printed on an interesting medium - metal plates. The prints are made with a dye sublimation process, using inks to infuse images directly onto specially coated aluminum sheets. The result brings high-definition colors, intense blacks, outstanding clarity and a vibrant luminescence with detail and resolution that really make images stand out. The metal prints are also extremely durable, scratch resistant and waterproof. It also happens that with very few exceptions, all these leaves were collected right here in the Hudson Valley.

Why leaves? As a kid growing up in NYC, Rob was an active Boy Scout and went camping every month of the year (yes, even in winter!) An Eagle Scout, he has always remained active as an adult volunteer, now with Troop 28 in Croton. Along the way, he developed a great love and appreciation of the outdoors. Combining his passion for photography and nature seemed like a no-brainer.

Rob is the father of three adult children who all grew up in Croton. When not working, Rob enjoys camping, cooking, fishing, frisbee, hiking, music, poker, and travel. He recently returned from his second trip to Burning Man.

Contact: RDK@USA.com

VISITING ARTIST PROGRAM

We look forward to finding exciting artists from the community and inviting them to show with us for a month at a time. We are excited for the energy it will give our space, introducing new ideas and taking us in different directions. If you think you might be interested in joining us for a special exhibit, click and download the linked pdf to your computer, save as [Yourname.pdf]. Then fill out the form, and email along with jpg examples of your work to: CrotonRiverArts@gmail.com. Alternatively, print the form, fill it out and drop it at the gallery.

Visiting Artist Application

Returning for the month of September:

Reception:
Saturday, September 16, 2 - 4:00 p.m.
- All invited!
Music will be provided by
Mitch Cohen
Refreshments will be served

About Flora Meyer

Flora was born in Colombia, South America and has been painting landscapes, her passion since childhood. Some of Flora’s paintings have been done “en plein air” which she believes is the most rewarding way to create art, capturing moments of exquisite color and light. Flora has traveled extensively throughout Europe, South America, the Caribbean and the United States – a source of inspiration for many of the subjects of her artwork. Her primary media is oil.

Flora studied art at El Colegio Major de Cundinamarca in Bogota, Colombia. She received art instruction for over 25 years at the National Art League, Douglaston, NY, under the direction of Angelo John Grado, President Emeritus of the American Artist Professional League (AAPL). She also studied with Leo Yeni, President Emeritus of AAPL, at the historic Chelsea Center in Muttontown, NY.

Flora has exhibited paintings at private galleries in NYC, the Bronxville Public Library, and major juried shows throughout the New York Metropolitan area. Over the years, she received recognition and awards from The National Art League, Douglaston, NY the Bay Ridge Festival of Arts, Brooklyn, NY, the American Artist Professional League at the Lever House in NYC, and the AAPL at the Salmagundi Club, NY. In addition, Flora has produced numerous commissioned works.

Flora has two grown children, four grandchildren, and resides in Ossining, NY.

I am a part time, self-taught artist living in Croton on Hudson. Over the years my artistic energy has led me down some interesting paths. I have remodeled houses, built an elaborate Tree House inspired by Swiss architecture, made a Goldfish Pond at he base of a twenty foot waterfall, created a formal English Herb Garden, made a fence, a two-person tree swing and a bench from local cedar trees, and designed and created a 32 foot Frieze using white Birch Bark and cedar twigs.

Becoming a painter started about 6 years ago for me. I was always somewhat intimidated by painting – particularly because I lacked the formal art education. But, I literally woke up one day and decided it was OK to experiment with colors that, while not adhering to realism, still left the viewer feeling the essence of the subject.

I am inspired by animals. Whether it is one of the large African species – Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Hippo, Rhinos and Elephant, or any one of the large North America animals…for me they are fun to paint.

My latest endeavor is the shadow series. Nine paintings where the shadow is just as important as the actual subject. We all have shadows, and as kids we would occasionally play with them. We’d try to step on them. Stretch them. Make them into something else – like a duck or a funny face, but they keep hanging around. They are a part of us, and so, in my world they deserve paint.'

Check out Gregg's Instagram page here:

Reception:
Saturday, July 8, 5 - 7:00 p.m.
- All invited!
Music will be provided by
Marcus V.G. Da Silva
Refreshments will be served

About Marcus V. G. Da Silva
Marcus began his life in music as a young classical guitarist in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro. Influenced by a vibrant mix of Brazilian folk music, pop and rock, he soon added bass and twelve-string guitar to his repertoire. In 1988, after moving to New York, Marcus became the bassist for local alternative rock group Seven Days. A year later, Marcus and Seven Days’ lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Stu Rollings formed The Politix (later called Site Unseen) performing at many venues in the New York area, including Kenny’s Castaways, The Bitter End, The Marquee and CBGB’s.
Over the next few years, Marcus taught guitar and bass, worked in graphic design, and immersed himself in the formal study of music and performing arts at Westchester Community College and SUNY Purchase. He became an active member of the WCC Jazz Ensemble and Music Club. He joined many fellow students from both colleges in live performances at venues ranging from NYC night clubs to Westchester street fairs and farmers’ markets. Most recently, Marcus has been performing solo gigs in his new hometown of Ossining. From Rio to Ossining, classical to Brazilian pop, alt-rock and jazz, Marcus DaSilva remains dedicated to musical excellence, discipline, smplicity and discernment.

Introducing our June Visiting Artist:

Reception:
Saturday, June 3, 5 - 7:00 p.m.
- All invited!
Music will be provided by
Michèle Milano

Michèle Milano

A life long artist and cradle Crotonite, Michèle Milano grew up in a family of artists, musicians, wood workers, singers, stone masons and home builders.

Her introduction into the art world began from her earliest years, watching in awe her father drawing and painting with various mediums: Inking, Water Colors, Charcoal, and Oils. A child prodigy himself, Michèle remembers stories of her father at pre school age drawing family portraits around the kitchen table during WWII blackouts in New York.

Both her parents came from musical families inspiring her to start piano lessons from an early age. Her father coming home with a piano in his truck one day started a lifelong musical journey.

From childhood to Graduate School, Michele pursued degrees from General Music to French, Literature and Vocal Performance Studies.

From Academia to the Concert Stage, she performed in a wild array of venues for the most interesting clients: Ambassadors, Political and Religious Dignitaries, and in venues such as Notre Dame, The Cathedral of Augsburg, Germany to various US Embassies, and French and German Stages.

She never suspected that some day, she would end up at The Corcoran School of Art and Design studying Jewelry Metalsmithing as a result of being on the look out for the perfect bauble to match her concert attire!

But, her artistic journey did not end there! An avid nature lover with an Ornithologist son, her love for nature and landscapes lured her into a world of Landscape Painting and Photography. It helped to be from one of the most scenic areas on the planet: The Hudson Valley, Croton-on-Hudson, New York.

Her Jewelry has sold internationally, to sport world celebrities, a Metropolitan Opera leading lady and to clients from all walks of life looking for that startling One of A Kind Objet D’Art: Michèle Milano Jewelry.

Michèle has exhibited her jewelry throughout the Virginia area and is currently a member of Brush Strokes Gallery there. All of her arts are available at MicheleMilano.com

Her exhibit in Croton River Artisans Gallery reflects her many visits to the area after many decades being away, Michèle rediscovered the awe-inspiring beauty of Croton. From the amazing and infamous Croton Dam to the historic Hudson, the parklands and its shores and the surrounding beauty of all facets of Croton on Hudson.

Introducing our April Visiting Artist:

Reception:
Saturday, April 1, 5 - 7:00 p.m.
- All invited!
Music will be provided by
Marcus V.G. Da Silva
Refreshments will be served

Josh Blumenthal

My grandfather put tools in my hand when I was a young child, under 5, I'm sure. The first furniture I recall making was a couch and a wall unit and that was around 1973.

I moved to Croton-On-Hudson where I lived for nearly 40 years. In that time, my woodworking hobby developed, and I built a various furniture (chairs, couch, cabinets and a variety of smaller pieces). When I started to build cradles for grandchildren, I decided to add spindles to the sides of some of them, so I acquired a lathe and hence my turning began.

In retirement, I built furniture we needed for our new home and then began focusing on the lathe again. I have made many bowls, platters, serving dishes, goblets, lidded boxes and vases. Most of my work is with woods that grow in our local area and I have also been able to work with mesquite, pecan and sequoia from Texas, Oklahoma and Oregon.

While most of my pieces are made from a single log, I also make segmented turnings in which many small pieces are cut and assembled into a patterned rough shape and then turned on the lathe to a final shape. The most striking example of that is the Dizzy bowl.

JoshDBlumenthal@gmail.com

About Marcus V. G. Da Silva
Marcus began his life in music as a young classical guitarist in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro. Influenced by a vibrant mix of Brazilian folk music, pop and rock, he soon added bass and twelve-string guitar to his repertoire. In 1988, after moving to New York, Marcus became the bassist for local alternative rock group Seven Days. A year later, Marcus and Seven Days’ lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Stu Rollings formed The Politix (later called Site Unseen) performing at many venues in the New York area, including Kenny’s Castaways, The Bitter End, The Marquee and CBGB’s.
Over the next few years, Marcus taught guitar and bass, worked in graphic design, and immersed himself in the formal study of music and performing arts at Westchester Community College and SUNY Purchase. He became an active member of the WCC Jazz Ensemble and Music Club. He joined many fellow students from both colleges in live performances at venues ranging from NYC night clubs to Westchester street fairs and farmers’ markets. Most recently, Marcus has been performing solo gigs in his new hometown of Ossining. From Rio to Ossining, classical to Brazilian pop, alt-rock and jazz, Marcus DaSilva remains dedicated to musical excellence, discipline, smplicity and discernment.

Our March Visiting Artist:

Reception:
Saturday, March 4, from 5 - 7:30 p.m.
- All invited!
Music will be provided by Mitch Cohen
Refreshments will be served

Lesley Phillips

Lesley Phillips is a local artist who has painted throughout her life. She became immersed in watercolors during the pandemic. Working through the pandemic in a children’s hospital, Lesley found watercolor painting as a form of self-care and relaxation.

Lesley is a Certified Child Life Specialist, who has worked in children's hospitals for over twenty years. She works with kids of all ages, bringing emotional support, education, and play to hospitalized children. Lesley brings the joy of art to the children and families that she works with in the hospital.

Lesley has been a Croton resident since 2002 and loves the nature and beauty of the Hudson Valley. A proud mother of two children, Misha and Sarafina, Lesley finds inspiration in the little things in life that makes each day worth living. Lesley enjoys knitting, cooking and traveling as well as spending time with her two cats and bernedoodle, Indigo.

Mitch Cohen
Mitch, a native New Yorker born in Manhattan, has been playing guitar and bass since the age of four. His styles encompass many forms and include classical guitar. In addition, he has performed with numerous bands spanning a wide variety of genres including blues, jazz, rock, metal, reggae, funk, and improv. Recently he has focused on classical guitar as an atmospheric instrument, performing at art galleries, wine tasting events, craft fairs, dinner venues, weddings, and many others. His music provides an ambience that is non-intrusive and acts as an atmospheric backdrop.
Mitch also has an extensive background as an audio engineer, acoustical designer, and jingle writer for T.V. and radio. He has assisted many venues in creating a more pleasant-sounding environment conducive to live music.
He currently resides in Westchester, NY with his wife Debbie and four cats, Moe, Thor, Lamisse, and Velma.

For February, our gallery is honoring the late Jerry Pinkney and his legacy.

Reception:
February 5, 4-6 p.m. - All invited!
Refreshments will be served

Jerry Pinkney

Jerry Pinkney was one of America’s most admired children’s book illustrators. He won the Caldecott Medal and five Caldecott Honors, five Coretta Scott King Awards, the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the Society of Illustrators’ Original Art Show Lifetime Achievement Award, and many other prizes and honors. He illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. His works addressed diverse themes and were usually done in watercolors. Jerry died on October 20, 2021 at the age of 81.

One could not live and grow up around Jerry Pinkney’s studio without being inspired to perform creative acts and works. Pipe cleaner stick figures, drawings, paintings, weavings, pottery, teaching, photography, silver designs, millinery designs, fashion styling, recorded singing, drumming, professional dancing, social working, art directing, ministering, and the illustrating and authoring of conscientious literature for children and adults. To date, Jerry’s zeal in using his God-given talents to create good things for the world has touched four generations. What a blessed legacy.

Gloria Pinkney
Gloria Jean Pinkney and Jerry Pinkney were friends for sixty-four years, married for sixty-one years, and are parents of artistic offspring. Over the years, they worked together on numerous projects. She is the writer of five published books for the whole family. Howbeit, her greatest accomplishment is her call to ministry and the writing of In The Forest of Your Remembrance. This spiritual book embodies thirty-three true tellings of everyday miracles, causing readers to question their own lives and reflect on whether or not what happened was a mere coincidence or a message from God. Gloria has documented extraordinary evidence in this exhibit, proof of her encounters with the Holy One.

Troy Pinkney
Troy Pinkney has over 30 years of experience in Child Life, including directing several child life programs in the tri-state area. She has been the director of the Child Life Masters Program at Bank Street College since 2004. In 2015 she developed and implemented the Online Masters Program in Child Life, which is now entering its 7th year. Racial consciousness has been integral to her personal and professional commitment to the College and the greater community. Troy has been conducting presentations centering race and its impact on the identity development of children, youth, and families. She pursues art in her leisure time to process the world around her.

Brian Pinkney
As a child, Brian Pinkney loved drawing pictures on every piece of paper he could find. He also loved watching his father, Jerry Pinkney, illustrate books for children. Brian couldn’t wait to grow up and do the same thing.
Today Brian Pinkney is a New York Times bestselling illustrator who has illustrated numerous books for young readers, including two Caldecott Honor Books, The Faithful Friend by Robert D. San Souci and Duke Ellington by Andrea Davis Pinkney, his wife, and frequent collaborator.
Brian has been awarded the Coretta Scott King Honor Award for illustration on three occasions and the Coretta Scott King medal for In the Time of the Drums by Kim Siegelson. He is a five-time NAACP Image Award nominee, the recipient of many American Library Association Notable Book citations, and was acknowledged by the National Council for Teachers of English for his vast contribution to the field of children’s literature.
Not only is Brian a visual artist. He is also a writer who has authored several acclaimed picture books based on his own experiences and interests. These include The Adventures of Sparrowboy, winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, Max Found Two Sticks, hailed by The Horn Book as one of the classic children’s books of all time. On the Ball; Cosmo and the Robot, and JoJo’s Flying Side Kick. Brian’s books have been translated into numerous languages, thus reaching a broad and diverse mix of children.

Scott Pinkney
After attending The Columbus College of Art and Design and graduating from Pratt Institute in NYC, Scott would pursue a career in advertising and design. He has worked at some of the biggest agency brands in New York, the UK, and finally, Toronto, where Scott is an SVP, and Executive Creative Director at Publicis Hawkeye. While this keeps Scott busy, he has never lost his passion for fine art. Painting for over 25 years, Scott has had the privilege to exhibit his fine art and has an online gallery scottpinkney.com. His medium of choice: oil pastels, acrylics, and pencil. His paper of choice, the same as his father’s — Arches watercolor paper. Using a collection of scratch tools allows Scott to add fine detail and texture, bringing each piece to life.

Myles Pinkney
When Myles Pinkney was in middle school, he discovered photography. Despite his interest in painting, photography quickly became his favorite way of capturing life’s images. Myles worked as a photojournalist for newspapers and magazines before opening his portrait and freelance photography studio. In 2000, Myles and his wife, Sandra L. Pinkney, teamed up to produce Shades of Black, a photoillustrated children’s book that won numerous awards. In 2002, they published A Rainbow All Around Me, another photo-illustrated book from Scholastic that celebrates the racial diversity of children. This newest book was nominated for the NAACP Image Award.

Gloria Johnson
Gloria Johnson is a fashion stylist from New York City. Her background is in fashion design, illustration, image consulting, makeup artist, creative director, stylist, journalist, and editor. Her styling has appeared in the following publications, Schon, Italian Vogue, Elle, Esquire, Numero, L’Officiel, Flaunt, Cosmo Magazine, and Nylon, to name a few. All her various skills have made it possible to be a stylist and an editor who can see the complete picture illustrated through her choice of clothing and design for her magazine and creative work.

Charnelle Pinkney Barlow
Charnelle Pinkney Barlow is an illustrator and expert tea drinker. Born and raised in Poughkeepsie, New York, was surrounded by art daily. Her passion for illustration grew after being introduced to the wonderful world of watercolor. This led her to combine the joy she found in books with her love of drawing and painting. Her debut children’s book Just Like a Mama by Alice Faye Duncan was nominated for Children’s Outstanding Literary Work at the 52nd NAACP Image Awards. She received her BFA in Illustration from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2010 and her MFA as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York, New York, in 2012. Charnelle currently lives in central Illinois with her husband. When she’s not drawing, she is baking, sewing or reading with a cup of tea by her side.

Zion Johnson
Zion is the oldest great-grandchild of Jerry and Gloria Pinkney, the grandchild of Troy Pinkney, and the daughter of Gloria Johnson, Zion is a high school student at Spire School in Stamford, CT. In addition to the visual arts, Zion is a singer after the tradition of her great-grandmother.

Our November Visiting Artist:

Upper Left:
Detail of "The garden of Umberto Pasti"

Tangier, Morocco

3’ x 4’ (36” x 48”)

Primer, latex paint and acrylics, 2022

3/4” birch ply, primed and weather proofed

$1400

Upper Right:

Trompe-l'œil hinged panels

Copy of mural, circa 1498. "Corso Magenta, Milan, Italy"

Original triptych adapted to two plywood panels

Each panel 2’ x 4’ (24” x 48”,) Primer, latex paint and acrylics, 2022

3/4” birch ply. Primed and weather proofed, birch edge taped, 4 sets of steel hinges

$3800 for set of panels

Bottom:

"Idealized Tuscan View over stone balustrade"

64” x 16”

Gallery wrapped canvas

Gesso, latex paint and acrylics, 2022

$1400

Reception for Eleanor Kwei:
November 19, 6-8 p.m. - All invited!

Featuring the live music of:
The Mike Risko Band
6:30 - 8 p.m.

Refreshments will be served

ABOUT ELEANOR KWEI

Eleanor Kwei has been drawing since a young child. While working as staff illustrator at a Midtown book design firm, she was selected as the colorist for A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh story and poetry books, and went on to create line drawings in the style of Ernest H. Shepard (classic Pooh) for Dutton and Disney.

With a decade of experience rendering pastoral scenes in pen & ink, Eleanor extended the style and sensibility to illustrated estate maps, and to painting interior landscape murals for homes and establishments.

Samples of Eleanor's landscapes are on view at the Croton River Artisans Gallery, November 1 through 30th.

The Mike Risko Band

Playing 6:30 - 8 p.m. Saturday, November 19 at Reception for Eleanor Kwei

The Mike Risko Band features Mike and Miriam Risko on guitar and vocals. The Riskos are the owners of the Mike Risko Music School and Store in Ossining and the band has been entertaining audiences for several decades in the Westchester area. They have a uniquely versatile style which enables them to cover all the crowd pleasers as both a full electric 5 piece band and a scaled back unplugged style acoustic duo or trio, which also features singer Melissa Miser. Whether they are playing a large outdoor concert or a smaller venue, you will love listening to their arrangements of all your favorite songs. They add an energy to events that you do not want to miss. Visit Mike Risko Band on Facebook for more.

Mike Risko Music
School. Store. Entertainment.
www.mikeriskomusicschool.com
144 Croton Avenue Ossining NY 10562
914-762-8757

Our October Visiting Artist:

ABOUT FLORA MEYER

Flora Meyer was born in Colombia, South America and has been painting landscapes, her passion since childhood. Some of Flora’s paintings have been done “en plein air” which she believes is the most rewarding way to create art, capturing moments of exquisite color and light. Flora has traveled extensively throughout Europe, South America, the Caribbean and the United States – a source of inspiration for many of the subjects of her artwork. Her primary media is oil.

Flora has two grown children, four grandchildren, and resides in Ossining, NY.

Our September Artist:

ABOUT TOM SMITH

Areas of particular interest to Tom are abstract painting, collage, sculpture, and installation. There is often a crossover in content, form, and media between his personal and professional work.

Tom is a visual artist and owner of Tom Smith Design, a graphic design studio in Croton-on-Hudson, specializing in brand identities, print, and digital media. In addition, he plays bass guitar in rock, blues, and improvisational bands.

Tom, his wife Jessica Miller-Smith, and their daughter Hanna Smith have been living in Croton-on-Hudson for 20 years.