Now on display in the PAC Members Gallery at Roast Coffee and Tea Trading Co. is a series of pastel paintings by Linda Beckerman. The pastel paintings in this exhibition represent her attraction to the landscape of Long Island, as Beckerman captures the mystique and serenity of the natural world around her. Several themes run through Beckerman’s paintings such as the changing colors of nature through the seasons, the reflective properties of water, and man’s diminished presence in the natural world.
A prominent source of inspiration for the artist is the tranquil setting of Frank Melville Memorial Park in East Setauket. In her painting Setauket Pond, nearly two-thirds of the composition depicts the reflective surface of the placid pool of water. The arched, man-made bridge and bank of land act as a barrier between the pond in the foreground and the distant band of treetops in the background. The densely colored foliage and shrubbery transports the viewer to late spring, feeling the warmth of the sun as they engage in a leisurely nature walk through the park.
Moreover, the park serves as the setting for another one of her paintings, Setauket Pond with Ducks. The predominate colors of the painting – yellow, blue, and green – invoke the feeling of late summer or early fall, as the leaves begin to turn orange in the far left-hand side. Along with Beckerman, the viewers observe, undisturbed, a small group of ducks as they take a moment from swimming to rest on a small mound of sand that juts above the surface of the pond.
All four seasons are on display in Beckerman’s work. As the title suggests, Red Barn – Winter, captures a typical Long Island winter day. Snow has fallen, covering the red barn in white. A winding path in the snow has been shoveled away, connecting the barn to a point beyond the lower section of the composition. The mid-level horizon line and overall perspective of the composition allows the viewer to feel that one is standing within this shoveled path, which helps draw the viewer into the work.
Humble manmade structures, such as the ever-present arched bridge found in many of these works, or the small house in Setauket Pond with House, are overpowered by the natural world, as foliage grows wildly around the structures. In the foreground, the simmering body of water captures and replicates the rich greens of the vegetation.
Beckerman is a multi-disciplined artist, currently living in Patchogue, NY. She is the Executive Director of the multicultural arts organization Worldwide Voices, and Vice President of the multi-lingual publishing corporation Heartworks International, Inc. Beckerman has exhibited her artwork across Long Island.
The Patchogue Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded in 2008 to promote, encourage, and support the arts on the greater south shore of the Town of Brookhaven. The Patchogue Arts Council and Roast Coffee and Tea Trading Company created the PAC Members Gallery at Roast in the summer of 2013 as an alternative exhibition venue where PAC members can exhibit their artwork. In addition to exhibiting artwork and brewing award-winning coffee, Roast Coffee and Tea Trading Co. hosts weekly open mic nights on Tuesdays and Fridays and a monthly poetry night on the first Saturday of every month. Pastel Landscapes by Linda Beckerman is on display at the PAC Members Gallery at Roast from May 11 – June 22, 2015.
