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Tasteful Adventures:
Art Galleries around the Bay

By Janice F. Booth

Art compares to nature like wine to the grape .

�Franz Grillparzer, eighteenth-century essayist

In a region ripe with nature's beauty, here along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay you can satisfy your thirst for splendor in regional art galleries that showcase the work of local, national, and international artists. Like the wine regions of France , Maryland 's art communities are nourished in hamlets around the Bay. So, should you find yourself longing for a taste of this region's heady elixir, fine art, try our version of a winery tour: a tour of some of the galleries in quaint, picturesque towns on both sides of the Bay.

Art galleries are favorite haunts for Jim and Marilyn Himes of Arnold . They buy art for the pleasure and the memories. �Art evokes memories of the past, tells stories, transports you to other places and times, and holds out dreams for the future. . . And when it's time to pass on something to our sons, we can give them things of beauty and memories of times spent together in our home where they and their families were loved and celebrated.�

Satisfying Your Taste

Imagine the fun�wandering through lovely spaces where original works of art are displayed to their best advantage, waiting to be plucked like ripe grapes from the vine and taken home. Art galleries are as beautiful and specialized as fine wine goblets, designed to enhance and present their contents in the best light.

Galleries encourage you to see, enjoy, and, when the desire is great, perhaps purchase works of art. How do they do this? First, of course, by the choice of artists and their works. In addition, gallery owners know that many practical issues contribute to the signature atmosphere of a gallery: displaying works by one artist or several; exhibiting art in cozy intimacy�showing how it might feel and look in your home or office�or giving each work space, encouraging you to pause and ponder.

Lighting, seating, staffing�all are carefully planned and implemented. The gallery's walls may be carefully painted and papered with sumptuous colors and textures or they may be unadorned brick and simple plaster. Light may stream naturally through tall windows or glow from carefully directed spotlights. Antique tables and lushly upholstered chairs or elegant glass and chrome etageres and polished benches may invite you to rest and ponder the works displayed on walls, partitions, and pedestals.

�I am a pilgrim in this world. Artists give me windows into their worlds,� says collector and teacher Marilyn Harmon, of Shady Side. �I love the intimacy of an art gallery. . . . I enjoy knowing that the pieces displayed were chosen by the gallery owner. Pieces in a museum are chosen �by committee.' I don't feel the personal connection.�

Architect and art collector Ken Warwick observes, �I enjoy galleries that present the [art] work well. I need space to experience the works . . . I don't like �wall texts' telling me [about the painting or sculpture]. I want to experience something I don't understand, something that draws me back . . . I don't want to be too comfortable; I like to encounter works that are edgy.�

Let the Quest Begin

Be adventurous. Trust your instincts but educate yourself as well. You will find galleries that feel right to you. Some galleries exhibit a variety of artists and art, others carry works by a few artists whose styles complement one another, and still others show only one artist or one artist at a time.

You may want to know something about the artist whose work you enjoy. Chat with the gallery owner (or staff) and ask to read the artist's résumé. Inquire whether the gallery plans to hold a reception where you can meet and talk with the artist. A responsible gallery will encourage questions; the answers will make your experience richer and more satisfying

As you become more familiar with a particular gallery, artist, or both, you may decide to purchase a painting, print, or sculpture. Art can be an investment, sometimes a big one. Talk with the gallery owner or artist if you need help figuring out how to fund your new acquisition. Some galleries will arrange a time-payment plan; some will extended the return policy�take home the piece you love, live with it, be sure you and the work of art are right for one another. If price remains a stumbling block, remember that artists sometimes produce prints of their oils, acrylics, and watercolors. Giclée prints are archival in quality. Usually they are signed and numbered, which adds to their value.

Whatever worries you might have about purchasing a work of art, talk them over with someone from the gallery. There may be a workable solution. After all, being an art collector is an adventure.

Chart Your Course

Plan your gallery tour to satisfy your tastes and requirements. Radiating out from the more than 100 galleries in our readership area, you can also satisfy your curiosity and taste in art from the Western Shore's Prince Frederick and Galesville to the to the Eastern Shore's Rock Hall, Chestertown, St. Michaels, and Easton.

Consider including on your itinerary three categories of art galleries: commercial galleries, studio galleries, and cooperatives. (This article discusses purveyors of fine art, excluding the popular, traditional craft galleries.)

Commercial Galleries : Distinctive and Distinguished

Art galleries may be commercial, producing income from the display and marketing of the work of a particular artist, or selection of artists, and commissions on the sale of their works. The owners of a commercial gallery know and value art but do not sell their own work. Instead, a commercial gallery builds its reputation on the artists and the character or type of art it represents, in many cases bringing to the public's attention developing or maturing artists. Inventive, original, novel, and creative are prized qualities in contemporary art. You might view the operators of commercial galleries as vintners, crafting beautiful spaces filled with art that challenges, surprises, and delights you.

Commercial galleries, like renowned vineyards, work to cultivate a dedicated clientele that relies on them to offer the best work suitable to their tastes and budgets.

Studio Galleries: Unique and Undiscovered

The second category of galleries is the studio gallery. The owner of a studio gallery is also an artist, producing some or all of the art displayed and sold in the gallery. Many studio gallery owners show the work of fellow artists whose medium and styles complement their own. The artist�gallery owner bears the expenses of the gallery and takes a commission from the guest artists.

If you'd rather do your own exploring, make your own discoveries, perhaps you should investigate some studio galleries. The enticement of the studio gallery is the chance to meet the artist and perhaps observe him or her at work.

Cooperative Galleries: Eclectic and Entertaining

The cooperative or coop is a third type of gallery. A coop gallery carries the work of several artists who join together to share the cost and the labor of operating a gallery, where their work can be exhibited to full advantage while they avoid the customary commission paid to the gallery where the work is sold. Some coop galleries do invite nonmember artists to exhibit; they usually take a commission on those sales.

Cooperation and complementary styles characterize coop galleries . These types of galleries can be great sources for original art by as-yet-undiscovered artists.

For tiny art communities, a cooperative is a vital means of bringing together artists and patrons who might otherwise remain unaware of one another.

How do you find out about art galleries? The First Friday Artwalk each month, in Chestertown and Easton , held from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. feature receptions for new exhibits and extended hours for patrons to enjoy artwork, music, and light refreshments.

You can also start clipping art gallery advertisements, do a search on the Internet, or even check listings in the yellow pages of the phone book. Another method is, when you see that friends and acquaintances own artwork you like, to start asking where they acquired it. Look through the What's Up? events calendar and consider attending a gallery or museum opening to gain more exposure to different kinds of art. Take your imagination, your sense of humor, and your checkbook and credit card. Savor the experience�sip, don't gulp. You won't regret your investment, particularly if you rely on the counsel of gallery owners and your own heart.

Freelance writer Janice F. Booth is an adjunct professor at Anne Arundel Community College , teaching public speaking and journalism.

The Art Scene in Annapolis

It is well worth taking the time to stroll through the many art galleries in Annapolis and the surrounding areas, where you can find works by local artists who find inspiration in the local architecture, interesting personalities and events, the often-unpredictable weather, and the rest of life in the Annapolis and Chesapeake Bay area. We are fortunate to live in an environment abundant with such resources, and these riches are reflected in the works of the artists represented in area galleries.

Most Annapolis galleries represent contemporary artists and works, although a few exhibit late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American and European paintings and limited-edition prints. Antique maps and etchings can also be found, in addition to vintage photographs by the late local photographer Marion E. Warren. Warren 's photography is distinctive in several arenas, including portraiture, Chesapeake Bay life in a day long gone, and his legacy of vintage prints of historical events of local interest. And you can find works of the late A. Aubrey Bodine, also a photographer, who had his roots with the Baltimore Sun and used Baltimore industry and life on the Chesapeake Bay as inspiration for his romantic and pictorial style. You can find works by both of these artists, as well as those by many modern photographers whose interest lies in history, in many government buildings, offices, and local galleries.

Of the contemporary artists now on view, many are inspired by elements of well-established historical styles, of which the French impressionist and plein-air style prevail. You might also find cityscapes in the style of American artist Edward Hopper, a style of quiet solitude and deep colors. Most of the contemporary works are representational, that is, recognizable images. But you will also find a solid repertoire of modern works that explores color-field painting, a style established by the likes of Mark Rothko and Ellsworth Kelly, and variations on cubist and abstract expressionist styles.

Romantic and luminist inspired paintings are included in many artists' work, particularly that of a maritime theme. Luminism, an American landscape style originating from the Hudson River School of the latter half of the nineteenth century, is best identified by its focused areas of light and soft brushstrokes. Humanity's romance with the sea and the reflective light is not easily ignored, and the local maritime artists take good advantage of this resource.

There are plenty of reasons to visit the galleries in Annapolis , most within walking distance of each other. Maps abound, and �townies� are usually more than happy to give directions.

--Lucinda Dukes Edinberg

Art Educator, The Mitchell Gallery , St. John's College

Anne Arundel County has a number of art education programs for the college student as well as continuing education for adults, under the auspices of Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold , St. John's College and Maryland Hall For the Creative Arts in Annapolis , and the Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park . These institutions house several galleries featuring the works of local, regional, and nationally recognized artists.

The Evolving Eastern Shore Art Community

The artists of the Eastern Shore have long delighted people with classic, realistic representations in paintings, photographs, and sculpture. Over the past 6 decades, however, the region's artists have expanded their repertoire. The increase in the number of newcomers to the Shore has imported a variety fresh perspectives and new styles, including abstraction, that has influenced the scene. The content of the artwork has changed, too. The population influx has altered the landscape, and thus some perceptive and sensitive artists have made new environmental features the subject of their work.

According Chesapeake College professor James Plumb, the mid twentieth century was a notable turning point: energy and enthusiasm for area fine arts began to surge. �One master who was influential on the Eastern Shore arts community,� Plumb says, �was John Ball, who created murals and paintings of the Bay in the 1950s and '60s. The Academy of Art in Easton was started by a group who centered around Lee Lawrie,� a well-known art deco sculptor whose work includes the famous Atlas sculpture at New York City 's Rockefeller Center . �He brought in a new awareness of the contemporary. During the mid to late '60s, the Academy Art Museum in Eastonwas probably the hub of art here on the Eastern Shore. Another influence was Donald Saff, whose association with the Academy Art Museum was very important in opening things up. And more recently, Christopher Brownawell,� the current director of the Academy Art Museum in Easton , �is friendly toward new, experimental work that's less like the realism of the 1960s, the '70s, and the early '80s. Other arts leagues,� outside of Easton , �have grown up so well that they're effective in their own right as well.�

Plumb adds, �The style on the Eastern Shore is mostly realism, of course.� This is not surprising, given the popularity of waterfowl decoys, the geographic distance from larger communities that tend to evolve faster, and the many scenic spots that inspire and attract landscape artists. �That said, due to the growth, the new people coming into this area, you do have an interest in contemporary art. You can see it in the collections�people are working in styles removed from realism, producing work that's more eclectic than it was in the early years. Many galleries are growing and moving toward the more contemporary. I think eventually even more galleries will go more contemporary.�

That influx of new energy is creating momentum in the local fine arts, he says: �The general feel of the Eastern Shore 's arts community is that it's definitely a growing scene.�

Artist and art professor James Plumb teaches both studio art and art history at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills.

Shortly after Chesapeake College 's 1965 founding, the Art Advisory Committee formed on campus. Members hail from each of the five counties the school serves. In the early portion of the committee's career, it collected artwork and wrote the history of early local artists. It currently provides Chesapeake College students with arts scholarships.

Salisbury University offers students a variety of media to explore, including computer graphic design. They can try their hand at creating three-dimensional art, such as glass, ceramics, and welding, as well as displaying their work in the campus gallery.

Washington College is home to the Friends of the Arts, which helps join the local community to the school's fine and performing arts offerings. It publicizes and mounts showings, maintains connections to other area arts groups, and provides student scholarships.