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Art Opening – Beth Pite & Michelle Marra
09/22/2016 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Artist Info
Beth Pite
Artist Statement: My art is about color, energy, and capturing the essence of something rather than an exact likeness. My paintings often suggest a vignette, a human story, from intriguing cityscapes to sailboats in the setting sun. Instead of simply recreating what my camera records, I use vibrant color to show how it felt to be there.
Pastel painting is done directly on the painting surface with velvety sticks of pure pigment, rather than with a paint brush after mixing colors. This direct application of color helps me convey the intensity of my experiences. I use multiple layers of different colors to paint dark and light areas, while avoiding flat black, white or brown that might dull the painting. Instead, I often use contrasting colors next to each other to create vibrancy.
Inspired by New England scenery or my travels in Europe and Latin America, I take hundreds of photographs to soak up a sense of the place and the experience. This helps me remember what was exciting about it later, in my studio, when I paint with loose, gestural strokes of vivid, expressionistic color. Rather than direct representation, or merely copying what my camera documented, my goal is to share what made it memorable. I do this by emphasizing energy and color in my paintings.
Biography: Award-winning artist Beth Pite has been exhibiting professionally since 1997. Trained at UConn’s School of Fine Arts, she is a member of the Connecticut Pastel Society. Beth exhibits her pastel paintings frequently throughout the region. In 2011, four of her seascapes were featured in an exhibit at Connecticut’s Legislative Office Building, where she won second place in a statewide competition. Beth’s work has been accepted into juried shows at West Hartford Art League, Mystic Art Association, the Artists Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, RI, and the Slater Memorial Museum.
Beth’s recent solo exhibits include the Garde Art Center in New London, Butler McCook House in Hartford, Mystic’s Studio M and Aetna’s world headquarters. Her paintings are in private collections in Connecticut, Vermont, California, Florida, Utah, Colorado and Italy. Currently, Beth’s paintings can be seen at Seasonal Home in Gales Ferry, Pamela Hirth Studio in Woodbridge and Stackpole Moore Tryon/Tuesday’s in downtown Hartford.
Michelle Marra
Artist Statement: Color and light dance with the feeling of air and water in my work. After spending a lifetime drawing and painting in a more realistic manner, I found what gives me zing – abstracts and abstract expressionism. I use acrylics and mixed media on canvas, wood panel, and paper.
Biography: Growing up in an engineering family made me stand out as I was the dreamer and all I wanted to do was draw or paint. My mom put me in private art lessons through my childhood. Even though I dabbled in watercolors and pastels during my young adults years, life obligations and paying bills took over and my painting went to the back burner.
After raising a family and volunteering for different non-profits, I decided it was time to focus on my creative side. It started with oil painting with Chris Burlini, a master painter in Boca Raton, FL. I worked with him for several years and produced some colorful paintings, but they didn’t reflect what I was feeling. I took a workshop on painting in a series with Brenda Zappatell, a world-renowned abstract painter, in Delray Beach, FL. and that is when my focus took a sharp turn. Her encouragement and my continued classes with another abstract master, Sally Cooper, have worked my creative muscle.
Abstract art, being abstract…or subjective, I encourage art lovers to see my energy and get joy out of what I do.
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