‘I want to give the Poconos a big hug’: New ARTery exhibit is a love letter to local landscapes

The ARTery Gallery’s October exhibit features artists Marie Liu and Randall FitzGerald, whose works compliment one other through their shared interest in nature.

Long-time gallery member and painter of the Poconos, Marie Liu, has embraced the numerous waterfalls, waterways, and rugged beauty of the landscape and reveled in the interesting history of the region.

The current exhibit features her “Summer Meadow,” an overgrown field along Route 209 in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. This meadow, once a cultivated farm field, has now gone wild and seems unassuming, but closer observation reveals a multitude and diversity of wildflowers and plants that make it a haven for animals and insects. Liu says the painting was inspired by the ancient Persian mystic Rumi, who said, “Beyond right and wrong, there is a meadow. I’ll meet you there.”

Of her work this year, Liu says, “I want to give the Poconos a big hug and describe my own heart’s journey through my imagery of the region.”

Several other of her paintings are continuations of her Cycle series, which highlight the crucial role of pure water in the endless cycle of life. The life within it and the life it supports are featured within the paintings.

Pike County contains 80 percent of the highest quality waterways in the State of Pennsylvania, she said, and the fight to protect it is ongoing, even in a town like Milford, whose proud moniker is the Birthplace of American Conservation.

“Every day I am thankful for such beautiful, pure waterways that supply us with plentiful, clean water and the folks who protect it,” said Liu. “I’d like to express that gratitude in my paintings.”

Liu is proud that the Delaware was named the 2020 River of the Year by American Rivers, which called it a national success story.

Art from a biologist’s perspective

Randall FitzGerald is a biologist and artist who studies life on the planet from both a scientific and aesthetic viewpoint. His love of nature permeates both his professional and artistic life, and most of the fine art he produces reflects the intimacy he enjoy with the natural world.

He is constantly exploring the limits of the media with which he works. Using ink and acrylics, he creates unique pieces that please the eye and move the soul. Over the years, FitzGerald has worked hand-in-hand with his artist wife, Nancy, to produce his work. Together, they have won numerous awards for their work, which has been published and exhibited worldwide.

FitzGerald’s current exhibit includes rural landscapes and seascapes, exploring people’s connection with the land that nourishes all of us. For these works of art, he has employed what he calls a “Photo Pictorial” process that starts with a photograph. The photograph is optimized using Photoshop and then painted using a variety of digital brushes found is digital painting programs, such as Corel Painter. The resulting artwork is then printed on canvas using archival inks and then enhanced with acrylic paint before applying a coat of acrylic gel medium for preservation. These pieces are compelling and generate a special viewer experience.

The exhibit will be on display from through Nov. 8 at the ARTery Gallery, 210 Broad St., Milford. For more information, call 570-409-1234 or visit arterygallerymilford.com

Gallery hours are Sunday, Monday, and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.