The juried exhibition explores and celebrates Sailing in the 21st Century. Whether seen from sea, land, or air, sailing vessels have had a timeless attraction for many.​ For centuries, sailing has harnessed the power of the wind to propel us across water, ice, or land. Sailing, its activities, and its destinations have attracted the artistic efforts of many creative spirits.

Jurors were Paul M. Murray, an internationally recognized photographer and journalist and Daniel Forster, a Swiss-born photographer who has made a career of photographing sailing competitions around the world. For us, “Under Sail” was an opportunity to appreciate your vision of sailing from whatever viewpoint you chose wherever that might be. The call for entry intentionally encouraged diversity, and as jurors, we sought to remain open to that goal while still evaluating the technical excellence, composition, craft, and imagination of the submissions.“

The Exhibit runs from Thursday, October 20 thru Friday, November 11, 2022. The Gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday, Noon – 6:00 PM. They are located at 118 North Main St., Providence, Rhode Island.

To view the exhibition online, please click here.

RICPA is a member-supported resource center formed to support contemporary voices in photography, expand opportunities for its members and promote appreciation of photography in the community.

To view the exhibit online, please click here.

Weir Farm is the home and studio of one of the leading artists of American Impressionism, J. Alden Weir (1852 – 1919). His home and much-loved retreat for almost 40 years, provided an idyllic setting of painterly woods, fields, and waterways in the Connecticut countryside that Weir described as the “Great Good Place.”

Weir’s farm is considered a national legacy to American Impressionism, the creative spirit, and historic preservation. It’s a beautiful place to visit, and the only property in the National Park Service located in Connecticut.

It was amazing, as well as dizzying, to watch, and also difficult to capture, as both bird and dolphins moved so quickly and in all directions that I never knew if I would be able to capture what was really happening.  The dolphins were relentless and the pelican, although outnumbered, was fearless.

It would seem that the dolphins would have the advantage being underwater and closer to the fish, but the pelican was up to the challenge. After all, nature is about survival of the fittest, and if you don’t eat, you don’t survive.

This battle continued for quite some time. I can’t tell you who won. I can only tell you who lost – the fish!

A lone brown pelican battles with several dolphins for fish along the intercoastal waterway in Florida.
Click on photos below to see larger images.

“We all hide things from ourselves and others,” notes Barbara Nair, Director of Spectrum Art Gallery and Store, “both emotionally and physically…for seclusion and protection. In this first show of 2022, we want to explore this powerful idea through an artist’s view, as they use screens, shelters, walls, veils, masks and weather in their pieces. These concealments can be hostile, joyous, mischievous, mysterious or seductive.”

This exhibit,”Peace On Earth“, presented new and original artwork & fine crafts to explore a variety of personal, geographic, and economic worlds at peace, through both imagery and mood.

This was my first showing at the gallery, and I was so thrilled to be among such talented artists. The show write-up had this to say: “There are many returning favorite photographers at Spectrum but also new ones such as Colleen B. Reilly, an award-winning photographer who shoots landscapes, wildlife, architecture, flowers, and people.”

The Exhibit was held October 16 – 24 at the beautiful Great Hall on the Grafton Common. This event included 500 submissions of art and photography from which 144 were chosen for the exhibit. Two panels of three judges known in their respective fields scored the works for each category.

My husband, Phil Atiyeh, also had two great images – “The Warrior” and “Tidal Stream” – selected for the Exhibit.

The mission of the Small Stones Festival of the Arts is to elevate the practice and appreciation of fine art and photography in the Blackstone Valley and beyond. It was truly an honor for both of us to be exhibited with such talented visual artists.

Visit the Web Gallery to see all of this year’s submissions and winning entries.

To learn more about the story behind the image of “Lily of the Pond”, click here.

On another occasion when I was by the sea, I was captivated by this beautiful young girl looking so wistful and lost in her own thoughts.

Although I loved the pond by itself, I wanted to intensify the dreaminess of this scene with the addition of the girl’s face. I combined both images to create this evocative piece to represent the fragile beauty that exists in both nature and mankind. It makes you wonder.

To learn more about a recent award this image received at the Small Stones Festival of the Arts, please click here.

Thirty-three works for the show were selected by the hospice from among the 132 winners of the “2021 Images Competition” held by the Shoreline Arts Alliance. The hospice curator chose images “for the enjoyment of their patients, staff, visitors and volunteers”. I hope that my image of a thoughtful, older woman helps bring others some happiness.

The gallery faces floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the beautiful Long Island Sound. It is such a peaceful environment which provides a space for people to meet and relax for a bit. To contribute to the well-being, if only for a little while, of the people of The Connecticut Hospice is a really good feeling.

Please visit the exhibit. The Connecticut Hospice is located at 100 Double Beach Road in Branford, CT.

I was one of 28 photographers invited to participate from hundreds who submitted work . It’s really a fun way to see a show…and admission is free.

To view my image, “Where Did the Years Go?”, please click here.

Use the green footprints to navigate the site. Go through the door and around the corner, and there she is!

Enjoy the show!

The time was marked by important discoveries of Galileo, Copernicus, Leonardo da Vinci, and in the arts by Shakespeare, Michaelangelo, Chaucer and Dante, to name a few. Intrepid explorers like Columbus, Magellan and Marco Polo helped to chart the expanding world as they encountered new lands and people across the earth’s vast seas.

The Renaissance Faire is a recreation of a 16^th century harvest festival in a typical English village where celebration rules. Here, you are transported to the era of Queen Elizabeth with period costumed characters, live performances by fire eaters, jugglers, magicians, singers, merchants of many wares, food, parades, armored combat, and jousts, and of course a king and queen and their courtesans! There is also a raptor exhibit where trained handlers show and demonstrate feared birds of prey.

The Connecticut Faire, held in Lebanon, Connecticut, is the second largest in New England and attracts over 30,000 visitors each year. It was my first time there and I didn’t really know what to expect, but what a wonderful surprise I had. Colors abound everywhere. The costumed performers put their hearts into the characters they represent. After a brief while, you feel like you are back in merry ole England and you should be properly dressed.

It’s a lot of fun to visit, and to capture all the excitement with my camera. Since this is the stuff of dreams and fairy tales, I’ve created an enchanting collection of colorful & fun-filled images of my day at the Renaissance Faire.

Click on any photo below for a larger view. Enjoy the show!