HENRY T. REILLY

Hank was born and grew up in the Boston area. He worked for many years in the real estate business before settling in Montgomery, VT with his late wife, Lona. He has fallen in love with the rural beauty of Montgomery and its people. Hank has been painting since the late 1970's and has studied briefly at the Art Student League in Marblehead, MA. He is essentially self-taught, working in oil primarily on Masonite where he sketches from life or photographs. While most all artists use their hands to work the paintbrush, Hank uses his hands and fingers to manipulate the paint before he even picks up his brush. Hank has amassed over 1,000 paintings at his home studio.

TOBY FULWILER

"I began my small business Fairfield Farm Bowls in 2008, offering hardwood bowls for sale at AIR. At first, I made mostly functional  bowls turned from Vermont woods and enjoyed it that folks actually purchased my work. In the years since, I have expanded my offerings to include wooden kitchen implements made from leftover hardwood scraps including cheese knives, butter spreaders, pastry scrapers, and toaster tongs, the latest versions of which now include magnets to allow for easy fastening to metal toasters. Looking back, it is clear that all my wooden products are meant to be more functional than decorative --to be used rather than viewed-- which is why I call myself a 'craftsman' rather than an 'artist,' and why I am honored to sell my work in an 'art' gallery."

JEANNE BACKHAUS

"In my seascapes and landscapes, the color and line try to cooperate. Like two dancers in the ballet, they move together to form an image or they move separately across the stage of the painting. Over the past few months, I have been experimenting with paintings where line and color do not move together. I have been using the images of plants and vines to show the lines and colors doing totally opposite things in the same space. They are both moving but in different directions. They are aware of each other's existence, but they are 'doing their own thing.' In paintings depicting pinecones, the lines and colors are doing the same thing, creating a shape, but in different spaces within the painting. I have also added a new element: solid black. In these paintings, color, line, and black shape all vie for your attention."