Dorothy Spears makes gallery debut with 'Plein Air' at Cornwall Library

On March 1, the Cornwall Library held an opening reception for the work of artist Dorothy Spears. The collection, titled “Plein Air,” is a series ofwatercolors on paper, depicting scenes from nature in delicate, gauzy forms evocative of an ephemerality that Spears has found artistically invigorating.

“Being up here and watching the seasons change made me want to make art,” said Spears, whose career in art began as a gallery curator and art writer for publications such as the New York Times and Art in America. Having dreamt of exhibiting her own watercolors since she was first gripped, as a high schooler, by the works of Georgia O’Keefe, this gallery is the first realization of Spears’s lifelong aspiration.

The ten watercolors that Plein Air comprises are steeped in the essence of the Northwest Corner. Though few are located explicitly — on Warren Town Beach, or in the skies over Lake Waramaug — each is charged with the spirit of the region that so inspired Spears.

“Plein Air” will be on display through April 12 at the Cornwall Library, and all works are available for purchase.