One Idea, Two Approaches

Sometimes I think the Northwest Corner is populated entirely by landscape painters. You see them on roadsides and in fields — if, of course, they are plein-air, that rather high falutin’ term for going outside and painting what you see — or you see their work, plein-air or not, in galleries, shops, restaurants, even real estate offices.

 Now in the Tremaine Gallery at The Hotchkiss School you can see a show from two extremely different landscape artists:  Emily Buchanan and Titus Welliver. Where Buchanan paints only plein-air, Welliver determinedly paints from memory in his studio.  Where Buchanan’s subjects in this show are recognizably local, Welliver’s aren’t. The one is traditional, the other more abstract.

Buchanan is a hard worker.  Her list of shows is long indeed, and she is represented by at least three galleries in New York City, Bedford, NY, and Atlanta, GA. And she is a shrewd marketer of her work: Her paintings are almost always presented in simple but substantial gold-painted frames that give her pictures a feeling of importance. And the prices, ranging from $1,500 to $7,500, can seem important, too.

In her best paintings, Buchanan transcends her obvious technical skill and achieves a moment of natural emotion caught on canvas.  I especially like “Along the Rail Trailâ€� with its reflections in water and “Reflections,â€� with the water mirroring irises along the bank.  “Spring in Coltsfoot Valleyâ€� is full of wonderful yellows and blues, almost like Provence.  But my favorites, I think, are the small “Hay Balesâ€� and two paintings of New England seaside dunes, both framed in simple ebony-colored frames.

One aspect of these paintings I don’t understand:  The sky is consistently pink and blue in almost every work.  A Hotchkiss art student sprawled on the floor making notes on her MacBook wondered along with me how this could be.

Titus Welliver’s work is a different kettle of fish.  Son of the famous and late landscape painter, Neil Welliver, he began art training in his teens but gave it up for acting.  He has appeared in many films, on stage and on television; but he is best known as Silas Adams, a semi-regular character on the wonderful, foul-mouthed HBO series, “Deadwood.â€�

When Welliver finally took up painting again, he discovered — with help from critics — that he was most comfortable and best at painting nature.  The results are vaguely abstract and on first viewing seem flat, almost like Japanese woodcuts or children’s coloring books. But that is deceptive.  His best work is dense, with depth and barely contained energy.     

Alas, I don’t think this show features Welliver’s best. The pictures are mostly rendered in Day-Glo acrylic colors on mostly small canvases that are unframed but stretched over unseen wood  several inches thick.

To see what Welliver at his best can do, however, just look at “Heavy Snow Over Open River,â€� one of the two largest and the most expensive pictures in the show.  The wonderfully textured flakes nearly obscure the ghostly water in this moody, powerful piece. Like Buchanan, Welliver’s prices run from $1,500 to $7,500.

“Two Approaches to Landscapeâ€� continues at the Hotchkiss Tremaine Gallery through Oct. 18.  An opening reception with the artists is scheduled Saturday, Sept. 19, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Latest News

Rhys V. Bowen

LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.

Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kelsey K. Horton

LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.

Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eliot Warren Brown

SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.

In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.

Keep ReadingShow less
Randall Osolin

SHARON — Randall “Randy” Osolin passed away on Sept. 25, 2025, at the age of 74. He was born on Feb. 6, 1951, in Sharon, Connecticut to the late Ramon (Sonny) and Barbara (Sandmeyer) Osolin.

He was a dedicated social worker, a natural athlete, a gentle friend of animals, an abiding parish verger, an inveterate reader, and an estimable friend and neighbor. He was a kind-hearted person whose greatest joy was in helping someone in need and sharing his time with his family and good friends.

Keep ReadingShow less