It is with great pleasure The Cooley Gallery announces From the Garden an exhibition and sale of new paintings by Connecticut artist Patricia Kitchings. Over fifteen small and very personal floral still-lifes create what might be considered an ideal spring show. From the Garden opens June 11 with a gallery reception from 5-7 p.m. The exhibition runs June 11 through July 11th.

The exhibition, From the Garden, brings to mind the storied image of the artist involved with a work from beginning to end. Picture the painter in the garden, among the flowers she grew, carefully choosing the subjects, arranging them in a vase and then recording the composition on canvas. Patricia is that artist and this exhibition is the glorious result of her labors. These paintings have a deep personal meaning down to the histories of individual floral subjects. The peonies were gifts from her grandmother’s garden in Norwich and her mother’s in Waterford.

Patricia is a Connecticut native. She was raised in Waterford and now lives in Stonington. After college in Colorado she made the pilgrimage to New York and to the Art Students Leagues to study art in earnest. Ironically, one of her instructors at the League, Robert Brackman, encouraged her to return to Connecticut to attend the new art college in Old Lyme now the Lyme Academy College of Art. Classically trained in many media Patricia always seems to return to painting and drawing. The concentration and thought is soothing and the relationships she has to her subjects is a comfort.

Still-life painting has a long, historic tradition. Flowers and fruits in stages of freshness or decay were often considered symbolic of the transience of life and the fleeting nature of beauty. Patricia agrees as these little portraits capture the perfect moment. Her arrangements could be described as informal and Patricia wants them that way. She likens them to friends who dropped in with little or no expectations other than some shared time.

Patricia’s very first solo exhibition was in Old Lyme over thirty years ago. The Cooley Gallery is proud to host her return to the village and exhibit this wonderful spring show.

25 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, Connecticut 06371 - Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m