Online Art Gallery #310

Happy anniversary!

Our online art gallery turns 6 years old today.

This week in 2020 — a few days into the realization that the COVID-19 pandemic was real — I put out a call for artwork. The idea was that “in these perilous times,” “06880” readers could create — and share — artwork.

“Westport really is an arts community,” I wrote.

It doesn’t matter how old (or young) you are. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never picked up a brush, crayon or camera in your life. You don’t have to be an experienced painter, sketcher or collagist. You can work together, or with your family or anyone else you’re self-isolating with

All you need is an idea and a way to express it. Serenity, love, calm, separation, friends, solitude, fear, hope — whatever you’re thinking or feeling, get to work!

Artwork flooded in. It was broad, beautiful and imaginative. The very next day, I posted our very first online gallery. (It was first called “0*6*Art*Art*0.” at Stacie Curran’s suggestion. Click here to see that inaugural post.)

In the early days, I tried to limit the Saturday feature to work specifically created during the crisis, or that showed powerfully some of the effects those days had on everyone.

Soon, I broadened it to art with any theme (or none).

We’ve been going strong ever since. Today, we kick off the 7th year of our online art gallery.

As always, we invite you to be part of next week’s exhibition. No matter your age; the style or subject you choose — and whether you’re a first-timer or old-timer — we welcome your submissions. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, mixed media, digital, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — we want whatever you’ve got.

Just email a JPG to 06880blog@gmail.com. And please include the medium you’re working in. As they have for 6 years, lovers want to know.

“Open Your Eyes” (Elise Mergenthaler — age 16, One River Art student)

“Mr. Silhouette Snowflake” — mixed media, pastels on paper (Patricia McMahon — Available for purchase; click here)

Photographer Mike Hbbard says: “Beings, far beyond our galaxy, visit Earth regularly to study its life forms. They speculate that the creatures there, calling themselves humans, may go extinct through their own doing — unless they learn that kindness for each other is their only path to survival as a species.”

“Diane Heading Off to Work” — watercolor (Eric Bosch)

“STOP” — acrylic on original metal sign (Jerry Kuyper)

“Congress” (Mark Yurkiw — Available for purchase; click here)

Untitled (Tom Doran — Available for purchase; click here)

“Orange Art” — a clementine and watercolor (Steve Stein)

“Child Support” (Lawrence Weisman)

“June and Friend” (Martin Ripchick — Available for purchase; click here)

Untitled (John Maloney)

(Entrance is free to our online art gallery –as it has been for 6 years. But please consider an anniversary donation! Just click here — and thank you!)