The Holly Pond Painters

March 3 - April 14

A NEW CHAPTER

The Grand Opening of the New Darien Library Art Gallery Features The Holly Pond Painters!

The Holly Pond Painters include six long-time friends who live in Darien: Donna Collins, Margot Hand, Kathleen Millard, Mary Morant, Lisa Thorén, and Meg Tweedy. They began painting together on a weekly basis, mainly executing local seascapes and landscapes en plein air, seeking to capture the spirit and character of the area. Through the years, the direction of the artists’ work has become more conceptual, thoughtfully abstract, or experimental.

(At left: "Alice in Wonderland "by Meg Tweedy

In choosing a theme for this exhibition, the artists saw an opportunity to celebrate. Margot Hand, one of the Holly Pond Painters said, “We consider it a great honor to have been asked to kick off the new Art Gallery at the New Library. We realized this is ‘A New Chapter’ for everyone – hence, the title of our exhibit.” Each of the Holly Pond Painters has explored this theme through references to favorite books or poems, from Lewis Carroll’s fantasy world to Virginia Woolf’s psychological insights, from Thomas Mann’s world of ideas to “The History of Gardening,” and from Rachael Carson’s “The Sea Around Us” to Pearl S. Buck’s 1936 classic “The Good Earth.” Hand added, “In addition (and to our delight), our painting group has rediscovered the fun of painting together and has added a new chapter to the Holly Pond Painters’ own history.”