Winners Showcase 2020

Featuring winners of Members Showcase 2018- Ross Barbera, Kyle Blumenthal, Julie Doczi and Liz Kolligs

Water Water 2019- Cliff Miller 1st Place

Meet the artists Opening Reception Saturday, January 25, 2-4 pm

Ross Barbera -

Born in Brooklyn, New York Ross spent his summers at his family's homes in Smithtown and Peakville, New York. “It was during these summer vacations that I discovered the world of the natural landscape, and it has been the inspiration for my art ever since.” In 1975, I received my MFA in painting from Pratt Institute, and I began exhibiting my paintings extensively at major galleries in NYC and across the US.” Since 1990, Ross has been on the faculty of St. John’s University in the Department of Art and Design, and served as the department's chairperson from 2010 through 2013.

The dominant theme throughout most of my work is the natural landscape environment, and my paintings range from close-up views of water surfaces, trees, forest ﬂoors, leaves and ﬂowers to more encompassing views. Created in acrylic on canvas and watercolor on paper I strive to create images that communicate a sense of beauty, painterly integrity, and capture speciﬁc places in terms of time, light, space and texture.

Bonnie's Summer Garden-Watercolor Mounted on Canvas, 32 x 48 (Copy)

Camellia House, Planting Fields Arboretum, Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 48 2019 (2) (Copy)

Camellia House, Planting Fields Arboretum, Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 48 2019 (Copy)

Early Summer in Johnston Canyon, Alberta Canada- Watercolor Mounted on Canvas, 32 x 48 (Copy)

Late Fall- Acrylic on Canvas, 32 x 48 (Copy)

The Athabasca Glacier, Alberta Canada- Acrylic on Canvas, 48 x 72 (Copy)

Kyle Blumenthal

Kyle Blumenthal's life is steeped in art. From a very early age, she immersed herself in art books, art prints and art works. Her father was a sculptor and served as her first teacher. She experiences life as an artist, always looking at color, shadow and form in order to better portray them on canvas. Kyle paints with oils on canvas and scrim and at times incorporate fabrics and light. She uses combinations of transparencies, translucent and opaque materials in her work bringing her spiritual visions to life and inviting the viewer to interact with her subjects.

Ms. Blumenthal’s art has been exhibited widely in the greater New York area. Her paintings of international conductors and soloists at Lincoln Center have won her critical acclaim. She has taken special awards at the Sodarco Gallery in Montreal several times. In addition to creating art, Ms. Blumenthal imparts her knowledge as a teacher and mentor, especially teaching students in junior and senior high school. Her commercial Illustrations have been used by Panasonic, CBS, ABC and New York News One among others.

All The Future is in Today I-33 inches x 29 inches (Copy)

All The Future is in Today II-34 x 36 (Copy)

All the future is in Today III-12 inches x 24 inches (Copy)

All The Future is in Today-Oil on canvas-40 x 30 (Copy)

American Indiam Musical Vibrataions Rising from the Earth-Mixed media 36 x 60 (Copy)

Dyes on silk-satin Sunflowers-40 inches x 9 feet (Copy)

Ocean Life, oil on linen and scrim, 56" x 54" (Copy)

The Inhabitants of the Earth, oil on linen, 36" x 58" (Copy)

Two Sunflowers II, black and silver pearlescent ink on rice paper, 27 ¾” x 35 ¾” with frame (Copy)

Untitled- mixed media, 31" x 42" (Copy)

Julie Doczi

“I have always been drawn to both art and music. As a child, nothing could get me more excited than a brand new box of Crayola’s! I was inspired by my mother’s art work in creative design and ceramics and enjoyed the art classes I had the opportunity to attend as a child.”

However, life took Julie in the direction of music. She became a flutist and music educator having taught in the Three Village Schools for 31 years. “My journey into painting as an adult began when I encountered the medium of pastel. Having had the opportunity to study with many fine pastelists, I learned about value, perspective, warm and cool, light and shadow, form and texture. I began to find my view of the world around me opening up in a way never experienced before. It is a joyous experience to put these perceptions onto paper, to capture a scene and ultimately have it achieve its own unique identity.”

“It is this very potential for discovering uniqueness that I savor, whether it be a small flower, a grouping of trees, sunset or landscape. In the act of connecting with and rendering the image, I experience the joy of being alive.”

Connecticut Marsh - Pastel (Copy)

Croatian Stream-Pastel (Copy)

First Bloom-Pastel (Copy)

The Lavender Harvest-Pastel (Copy)

Two Sentinels-Pastel (Copy)

Liz Kolligs

A native New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolligs grew up on Long Island with an abundance of horses and riding trails. In high school, after years of riding lessons she longed for a horse of her own. Her first was a Quarter Horse gelding named Riscos Rascal. Her other love was to spend hours drawing with the art supplies borrowed from her father’s studio. Ms. Kolligs studied painting at the Art Students League, equine anatomy at the New York Academy of Art, and sculpture of horses in motion at the Fechin Institute in New Mexico. She lectures and demonstrates equine painting techniques and anatomy throughout Long Island. She has exhibited at the American Academy of Equine Art. Elizabeth, also, specializes in the restoration and conservation of historic art murals and paintings.

“I have been engaged in the Fine Arts for many years. Working as a textile designer and art conservation technician has contributed to an understanding in technique and structure while building my paintings. My subject matter is broad, and what encourages me to delve deeper into mastering the discipline of painting are the various technical challenges and personal fulfillment each new project brings.”

A Herd of Your Own-28x48 (Copy)

At the Edge of the Woods-32x46 (Copy)

Bell - A Portrait-26x48 (Copy)

Mill Neck Creek-36x48 (Copy)

Silent Reflection-38x46 (Copy)

Cliff Miller

Cliff Miller is an internationally recognized, award-winning artist whose career spans over forty years of experience. His oeuvre demonstrates his formal training as a traditional realist combined with a lighthearted spirit that captures the essence of everyday life. His oil paintings possess an aura of nostalgia and wit. He combines this with his sophisticated technical skills to create naturalistic illustrations that are timeless. Miller’s artistic virtuosity has provided him with many successful opportunities. His work can be seen on book covers for best-selling authors such as Dean Koontz, Jack Higgins, and Sue Grafton. He has worked for every major publisher in New York from McGraw Hill to Doubleday and beyond. His illustrations can be seen in almost every genre ranging from romance to murder mystery to young adult. He as designed over 43 book covers for the popular Nancy Drew series.

Beyond his numerous commercial opportunities, portraiture is his first love. Since the 1990’s, His portraits capture the likeness of many well known, senators, congressmen, sports stars and executives of major corporations. His portrait for the Union of International Operating Engineers hangs on permanent display in the National 9/11 Museum in lower Manhattan.

Miller studied at New York Phoenix School of Design, Parsons School of Design, The School of Visual Arts and The Stevenson Academy of Traditional Painting under Harold Ransom Stevenson personal student of Norman Rockwell.

Mountain Mallards-45x22 (Copy)

Desperado -45x35 (Copy)

The McDivots -35x29 (Copy)

To Goose Island (Copy)