VILLAGE ARTS OF PUTNEY EXPANDS
TO THE WALLS OF THE PUTNEY INN
WITH GRAND OPENING 9/9/06

Putney, VT
The Putney Inn has expanded its’ superior offerings of exceptional cuisine and lodging by introducing the exhibition and sale of the exquisite art of artists via Village Arts of Putney. The grand opening with the public invited is Saturday, September 9, 4pm – 6pm with an RSVP to (802) 387-8548 or villarts@sover.net. The Putney Inn is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner allowing art lovers to view the art every day, seven days a week from 7:30am – 8:30pm with respect to diners. The artwork is currently installed and available for viewing.

Original fine art now graces the walls of The Putney Inn in the entry Parlor, Lounge, Garden dining room, South dining room and Rockwell I & II rooms. Village Arts of Putney, established in 2001 by Captain John Adams and Penelope Simpson, is a fine arts education center and home of The Putney Painters, an invitational painting group founded by master painters, Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik. Village Arts features art classes, workshops, open studios and a gallery, which is now housed at The Putney Inn. Art has always graced the walls of The Putney Inn, but the new marriage between The Putney Inn and Village Arts of Putney brings a gallery ambience to the fine dining restaurant. The Putney Inn provides the perfect venue allowing greater access for viewing the marvelous artwork created by Village Arts of Putney and The Putney Painters.

Richard Schmid, painter and teacher, has exhibited around the world and received every major art award in the United States. Schmid was classically trained under William H. Mosby at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. As recently as 2005, Schmid was presented with the Gold Medal award from the Portrait Society of America. Schmid is also the recipient of an honorary degree from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, CT and was presented with the John Singer Sargent Medal for Lifetime Achievement, which he received from Sargent’s grandnephew in an award ceremony at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His book, “ Alla Prima, Everything I know about Painting” is in its sixth edition and focuses on sharing his lifelong passion of painting and teaching the art of painting. Nancy Guzik, his wife, has also won numerous awards, including the Grand Prize from “International Artist Magazine” and three gold medals from the Palette & Chisel Academy in Chicago. Schmid's and Guzik's work has been featured in numerous art magazines. Schmid and Guzik became close friends with Penelope Simpson and John Adams upon their move to Brattleboro, Vermont and their creative friendly collaboration led to the establishment of Village Arts of Putney in 2001. The initial gallery was in a 200-year-old barn in Putney, Vermont which is surrounded by 27 acres that the Adams’ now own, making it an idyllic and inspirational setting for the classes and workshops which take place all year round. Students may be novices, or they may be award-winning painters themselves.

Numerous experienced artists’ will be displayed each month including many artists who currently teach at the Village Arts of Putney. A few of the teachers whose work has become synonymous with Village Arts of Putney will be featured in the opening month in addition to other artists. Some of the artists exhibiting include Dennis Sheehan, Kathy Anderson, Raphy Kay, Lauren Woodward Simons, Hagop Keledjian, Rosemary Ladd, John Smith, and Bob Watkins.

The “Tonalist Tuesday” teacher Dennis Sheehan offers a workshop introduction to “Old Master” style Tonalist painting at Village Arts of Putney and many of his students’ work are exhibited at Village Arts of Putney, especially Bob Watkins. Dennis Sheehan’s work is often described as reminiscent of the great masters of the Barbizon school, in France in the 19th century. A master painter and teacher in Brown School Tradition, Sheehan's pastoral paintings evoke the moody beauty and deep peace of nature. His goal is "to have the painting emanate light, rather than just a surface that record the reflections of light - the power comes from the shadows." Mysterious and breathtaking, his paintings capture the beholder and transport them into landscapes full of promise, simplicity of life, and a reverence for the earth's lovely moods.

Sheehan is a member of the Guild of Boston Artists and has taught at St. John's Prep School in Danvers, Massachusetts, in addition to small groups in his studio in Manchester and at Village Arts of Putney. Sheehan explains, “I paint utilizing many techniques-staining, wiping, glazing, palette knife, scraping, etc." http://www.dennissheehan.com

Lauren Woodward Simons holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Arizona. Her watercolors have been featured in several articles of American Artist's Watercolor Magazine. The March 2002 issue of Artists Magazine features an oil portrait by Simons, and 5 of her watercolor paintings are published in a Walter Foster Instructional publication, Watercolor Painting - Step by Step. Simons has attended the 2000 and 2001 Plein Air Tucson Invitational Competitions, and her paintings have also gained acceptance into two nationally juried exhibitions with the New England Watercolor Society. Simons’ “Pastoral in Putney” oil on linen hangs in the parlor. http://www.lwsimons.com

Hagop Keledjian, born in Yervan, Armenia, began studying at The School of Painting for Young Artists at the age of 12. After college he was accepted into the Aprahamian Art Studio where he first began studying classical painting. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1981 because of moral and intellectual conflicts of communist society. Hagop has exhibited in Russia and in Rhode Island and at numerous galleries in Massachusetts. The merchants of Newbury Street have mounted a bronze plaque on the street wall to honor Hagop as a master painter. Also, one of his works is on permanent exhibition at the Armenian Library and Museum of America in Massachusetts. Kaledjuan’s vibrant “Roses” hangs in the Lounge of The Putney Inn.

Kathy Anderson is both the winner of the Hudson Valley Art Association Rayma Spaulding Award and recipient of Honorable Mention in the Floral and Garden Competition of “International Artist Magazine.” In 2003, she won the President’s Award from the National Arts Club and has distinguished herself with numerous other awards, prizes and honorable mentions including Esther Ray Memorial Award from the Connecticut Watercolor Society. Anderson is a muralist as well as an easel painter, though her recent association with Village Arts of Putney has led to her developing interest in landscape. Her “Nancy’s Peonies” seem like having the fresh cut flowers on the wall of the Lounge and “Buttermilk Falls” hangs in the entry Parlor at The Putney Inn.

Raphy Kay exhibits “Forest Landscape” in the Lounge. Kay’s first formal art training came under the famous Belgian artist Creve Coeur and he continued his art education at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Kay was political cartoonist and illustrator, taught for several years and was a successful package designer business owner before he gravitated to The Putney Painters in 2001 and is now a full-time painter.

Rosemary Ladd’s work always captures peoples’ attention. Rosemary Ladd teaches and paints at Village Arts of Putney. Ladd works in what she terms, a “traditional” style. Ladd considers herself an artist since she was five years old, but only after she and her husband John Smith sold their business in Putney, Vermont (Heartstone Books) have they started to paint full-time. Ladd won the Loenard J. Meiselman Award for a traditional work at the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Exhibition 2003 in New York City and is featured in the “100 Ways to Paint” published by International Artist Magazine. Ladd’s “Interior Light” attracts positive vocal response and “Hilltop” gives one a breath of fresh air. John Smith has become prolific at painting and his smaller landscapes evoke a calm and peace that is most clearly shared by the painter. Smith exhibits many of his paintings in this show including “Old Barn” and “Summer Blooms.”

Please take another few minutes to drive up to Putney, Vermont and immediately into the driveway at The Putney Inn for another feast of wonderful art where food is considered art as well. The Putney Inn is very pleased to form this union with Village Arts of Putney, which is beautifully timed with the addition of Executive Chef Michael Gunyan who has refined the menu. James Beard trained and award-winning Chef Gunyan will represent the United States as the sole chef representing the United States in the International Academie Culinaire de France Trophy de Passion in Paris, France in November, 2006. As the U.S. representative, Gunyan will be in competition with seventy-five chefs worldwide in this international competition. Chef Gunyan’s standard for fresh regional foods presented artistically is a natural match for The Putney Inn where the Ziters have focused on fresh produce and food from sustainable farmers for almost three decades.

For more information, please call (802) 387-8548 at Village Arts of Putney, www.villageartsofputney.com or (802) 387-5517 at The Putney Inn, www.putneyinn.com. The grand opening is on September 9, 4pm – 6pm and is open to the public with encouragement for RSVPs before September 5.