Lexington, Virginia artist Dorothy Blackwell specializes in pastel landscapes that create a unique visual language. Blackwell perceives the world through vibrant pastel colors where frequently, as evidenced in her painting Tree Line, the three-dimensions seem to coalesce into two. If there is a common thread throughout her work, it might be her fascination with the subtle beauty of light. Her pastels give a richness of texture and color together with an immediacy which is very satisfying, conveying the artist’s love of the natural beauty of the Virginia countryside. Blackwell, who has exhibited extensively throughout Virginia, studied art at Washington and Lee University under Hsiung-Ju, John Morgan, and Tom Brady, originally specializing in architectural drawing. As with Tom Brady’s work, viewers will be struck by the color and texture of her paintings. One of 1998’s founding members of Nelson Fine Arts Gallery in Lexington, she has also served as President of the Rockbridge Art Guild and Chair of it’s Fair Art Show for many years.

Fairfield, Pennsylvania resident Kay Etheridge’s paintings transport the viewer into a quiet world of contemplation, sunny afternoons, and daydreams. Etheridge most connects to an impressionist’s style, in that she concentrates on reflected light and the play of colors against one another. Her paintings reveal the way light patterns form in water, and she is greatly influenced by the pink light at sunset and the bold mid-day light that produces vibrant color. "I am especially interested in how water reflects the work of nature and humans equally, but also blends the two in ever changing shapes and colors," she explains. In her painting, Water Dances, the light dances off water, illuminating the architecture in clear afternoon sunshine. The viewer feels a separation of time, placed outside, watching and perhaps remembering a personal experience. Etheridge, who is a Professor of Biology at Gettysburg College, began her painting studies with John Winship. She also credits Pennsylvania painter Lester Stone with having a major influence in her work. She has had two previous exhibitions with Americas’ Arts Gallery.

Sarah Schaeffer’s landscape paintings speak of light as the central, natural element influencing them. For this artist, who lives in Biglerville, PA, light serves as the underlying structure. As in her painting, To the West, the light appears to come from the land creating the illusion that the landscape itself is illuminated from within. Her work reflects a modern affinity with the Luminists, who depicted light as much as a living element of the natural environment as trees and rivers. Schaeffer’s work is naturalistic, conveying soft, smoky autumn afternoons, trees in their seasonal turn, sporadic golds smoldering between the tarnished greens, and ploughed fields glowing in soft, pastel earth shades of Adams County’s hills and fields. Schaeffer has shown her work numerous times in Gettysburg’s Gallery 30, who also represents the artist.

Americas’ Arts Gallery exhibits all original work by artists of North, Central, and South America. The gallery, located at 57 Chambersburg Street in Gettysburg, is open Wednesday through Saturday, from Noon to 6:00 p.m. and Friday evenings until 8:00 p.m. For further information about current or future exhibitions, contact the gallery at (717)-337-9070 or via email info@americasarts.com.