Paintings from the Art/Farm Trail – Applewood Orchard
Fresh art from the Farm/Art Trail featuring Marge Morales’ paintings of Roe’s Orchards, and Janet Howard Fatta’s paintings of Applewood Farm at the Wallkill River School Art Gallery, for the month of Nov. Reception is free and open to the public; Nov. 8, 5-7pm at the Wallkill River School and Art Gallery 232 Ward St. in Montgomery, NY. Refreshments served, featuring fresh produce from both farms and local wines. Emerging Artist James Rathbun will be featured in a solo exhibit in the workshop room. Show dates are Nov. 1-31, hours are 9am-6pm, Mon.-Sat. Wallkill River School of Art is located at 232 Ward St. in the Village of Montgomery, and is free and open to the public.
Artists from the Wallkill River School have teamed up with farmers once again to bring cultural tourism to Orange County. The Farm/Art Trail is a map of participating farm stands where one artist has been painting on each farm for the past year. The trail is a map developed by O.C. Tourism, to encourage families to travel from farm-to-farm. Each stop on the Trail will feature a beautifully picturesque farm and the artwork of an artist who loves it, and a geo cache for viewers to offer their own comments. 15 Artists have been painting at 15 farms for the past year. Each of these artists will be featured in a month-long solo show at the Wallkill River School of Art.
Warwick artist Janet Howard-Fatta has been working at Applewood Orchard painting plein-air since October of 2013. The Orchard is located on Four Corners Road in Warwick. This exhibit celebrates the beauty of Applewood. The Hull Family has generously allowed her there to traipse all over their property all year long . She has painted the bare trees, the blossoms, and finally the fruit on the trees. “Applewood is special to me because my kids came here during their preschool years, picking apples, taking a tractor ride with Apple Dave.” “I think the Art Farm Trail is a wonderful thing, connecting what I believe are the greatest riches of Orange County – it’s beautiful farms and diverse arts.”
Janet Howard‐Fatta creates a variety of works from landscapes in oil depicting place and time, to figurative works in wet and dry media. Light, color and a love of nature are the driving forces behind her work. Janet’s work reflects a relationship between the world around her and the painted image. She strives to create a visual representation of what she experiences through her senses. Currently, she is a board member of Orange County Arts Council, and facilitator of the Warwick Life Drawing Group. She lives in Warwick NY with her husband and two children surrounded by the beauty of a rural landscape that includes farms, mountains and state parks.
Margaret Morales grew up in New York City, dreaming from the time she was a young child of “being an artist and moving to Greenwich Village”. No one in her family could figure out how she knew at age 5 about the budding artists haven of the Village, but they were certainly not surprised that Margaret- the girl who would draw, paint, sculpt and even construct spaceships from packing boxes-wanted to be an artist. Though Margaret never made it to the Village, she now resides in New York’s other artist haven, the Hudson Valley. In oils and watercolors, she offers more than images, her art tells stories that touch the heart and the soul.
Now that she has retired, art is her life. Known better as Marge, she is trying to make up for lost time before “The Big Sleep”, as she puts it. She is trying to paint each day and has resumed her love for photography. She is one of the founding mothers of the Group of Nine, an art group that is based on… the joy of painting with no limits and sharing that joy with laughter and good friends. She is Vice President of the newly formed Artists in the Parks. A group celebrating the local beauty of the Bear Mountain and Palisades Park system and recording it for prosperity.
James Rathbun is a retired educator (teacher 10 years, administrator 20 years) who has always been fascinated by the magic of painting, and the opportunity paintings give for the imagination. While watercolor is his passion, he is mystified by the style and talent of the Hudson River School of artists. Rathbun sits on the Board of Directors at the Wallkill River School, and has served on the board, and as president, of the Museum of the Hudson Highlands in Cornwall. He started taking lessons from Shawn Dell-Joyce five years ago, and has since studied under Louise McCutcheon, Steve Blumenthal, Pat Morgan and Janet Campbell. Rathbun has a private pilot’s license, a U.S Coast Guard Captain’s license, a motorcycle license and a travel trailer. Outdoor activities occupy most of his time, with motorcycle trips, camping with the travel trailer, and international travel his favorites.
Rathbun is a man of action who has decided to do something about the recent Ebola outbreak. He will give the full sale amount of all his work from this exhibit to two nonprofits; Doctors without Borders (an organization both his wife Nancy and daughter Kristen (a surgeon) support), and Wallkill River School of Art. Nancy Rathbun will be present at the reception offering hand-knitted items for sale to benefit Doctor’s Without Borders as well.
Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiers MSF) was started in 1971 by a group of French doctors to overcome the shortcomings of international aid and to help the public become aware of violations and abuses of power that cause or exacerbate many catastrophes.
Doctors without Borders sends volunteer physicians and other health workers to some of the most destitute and dangerous parts of the world to care for people, and condemn injustices they encounter. Most recently, the world-wide Ebola threat has placed an incredible responsibility on the medical profession, and Doctors without Borders is at the forefront of this deadly challenge.
For more information, and for directions, visit www.wallkillriverschool.com, or call 845-457-2727. The Wallkill River School and Gallery is a nonprofit 501©3 art gallery and art school, located at 232 Ward Street, Montgomery, NY. Gallery Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.