Winners Showcase 2019 - January 19 - February 24

This Year’s Winners Showcase includes winning artists from Member Showcase 2017- Rosemary Sloggatt, Margaret Minardi, Rob Roehrig, Shain Bard - Juror Pam Brown. Congratulations to Jeanette Martone on the sale of her work Vroom, Vroom!

A Summer Song 2018 - First Place: Jeanette Martone - Juried by Carol Strickland Capturing the Spirit of LI 2018- First Place: Robert Roehrig

Shain Bard's paintings evoke a sense of a moment captured in time that people can all subconsciously relate to, in the way the light filters through the leaves of a small forest, the driver's view of dappled sun shining through the trees on a Sunday drive, or of a snowy sunset on a suburban street.  Ms. Bard states, "Nature and art are within and without us, something close to what I would call "home". It is those moments when we most fully connect to our surroundings, those held-breath moments that I am interested in. I also see the idiosyncratic forms of nature as instruments in an orchestra, and light as the conductor. I am a conduit of that light as I create my compositions." Shain's work has been shown extensively in the New York City and Long Island and is in numerous private and corporate collections. “People often point to my paintings and say they know that place. Then I know that I have struck a chord in them; and yet, while they are somehow familiar with the territory, they are also really ‘seeing’ it for the first time.

A majority of Jeanette Martone’s works have evolved from her volunteer trips to the developing world. Her pencil and ink drawings capture in a moment of time the emotions, environment, struggles and beauty of those living on the edge of life. She has merged her talent with her passion by creating imagery depicting the people and places she has gotten to know while volunteering on humanitarian projects in the developing world. Specifically, it has been the people of the Dominican Republic who have captured her heart during her volunteer stints there, and they are the subjects of Martone’s intricate graphite drawings.

For Martone, bringing her talents and art supplies to the Dominican Republic was another way to give back to the people who had so generously welcomed her to their country. “My volunteer experiences have contributed to the evolution of my art. As I depict my subjects, they are captured in a moment of time, revealing their inner grace and the beauty that can be found in the infinite details of their environment; the sun cracked earth, the drape of tired fabric, and the detritus of struggle.”

 Margaret Minardi’s mixed media paintings juxtapose realism and expressionism. Combining years of classical training with a pure gestural mark making, she is inspired by the Expressionists of the 1950’s collage.  “I am constantly in search of new mediums and processes that can be synthesized into my works. Important to me is serendipity. Mistakes keep me interested, intellectually challenged, and excited. Within Margaret’s works the viewer is constantly challenged to interpret and reinterpret what they see. There is a narrative beneath the surface of all her works. “Each brushstroke is a voice for my inner world. I strive to provoke an uplifting emotional connection in the observer of my work.”

The inspiration for many of Rob Roehrig’s paintings often comes from early evening walks along sandy Long Island beaches, parks or meadows. He loves the challenge of capturing subtle color shades within the woods, reflections in the creeks, and shadows cast by Long Island sunsets. “My interest in painting and drawing began when I was a child.  I always enjoyed art and I did take some art courses in high school and at Hofstra University.  I majored in history, however, and became a social studies teacher and later a counselor at Commack High School.  Throughout the years I continued to do art work, mainly in watercolors. When I retired in 2002, I decided to pursue oil painting, something I hadn’t done since high school.  I soon found the versatility and rich colors of the oil medium to my liking. I enjoy painting Long Island landscapes and seascapes, as well as scenes from countries we visit while on vacation.  I tend toward realism in my paintings and I often choose subjects that highlight the contrast between sunlight and shadow.”

 Born in Munich, Germany Rosemary Wilson Sloggatt grew up in Asheville, North Carolina. The city’s thriving arts community offered inspiration as she began to draw and paint the world around her. One of a family of avid readers, the stories and illustrations she found in the books they read provided inspiration throughout her career. The artist attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, in 1975, one of seven students accepted into the Visual Arts program that year. She studied art at Parsons School of Design and Otis Art Institute, living in both New York and Los Angeles. Following undergraduate studies, she completed a Master’s Degree in Museum Education. While pursuing a ten-year museum career she married and started a family. She joined the Great Neck Public Schools in 1995 and taught art there for more than 20 years. Ms. Sloggatt’s most recent work expands on that theme reflecting her experiences, personal and professional with young children.  Using traditional painting techniques to interpret family images, her paintings reflect both the photographic processes prevalent at the time the photos were taken and the subsequent aging of the pictures, complete with fingerprints, creases and stains.