Since the first lighthouse was erected in 1796 at Montauk Point, many more were built along both coasts of Long Island. Suffolk County has the largest number of lighthouses per county in US, Southold Township the largest among townships. Though some lighthouses were lost due to fire, storm, neglect, or economy, many are still standing and some are still in operation. Long Island Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society lists them all including the defunct ones.
Long Island Lighthouses 2012 calendar by Ralph J. Pugliese Jr
We carry a book 'New York State Lighthouses' by Robert G. Miller, where the archival photos of Long Island lighthouses have a sizable presence.
The light keeper's life was hard, the responsibility enormous, the isolation difficult to bear. Architecturally, lighthouses were simple structures, sparsely adorned. Their most important construction feature was the ability to withstand the constant beating of the ocean.
What is there in us that makes us want to go to the lighthouse and to immortalize the moment in art?
Lighthouses feature prominently in the local photography, with the Montauk and Fire Island lighthouses leading the way. Ralph J. Puglise Jr, (Cutchogue) has done a whole series of them. In addition to the matted photos and note cards we carry his 'Long Island Lighthouses' calendar for 2012. We also have lighthouse photographs by Scott Cushing (East Meadow), Christina Kneer (Massapequa), Paul Macri (Oyster Bay), Gerry Corrigan (Wantagh), and Jacques Dumont (East Norwich).
Stainless steel sailboats
by Len Mulqueen
Let us also mention some unusual nautical objects we have at the store. Metal and wood artist Len Mulqueen (Bethpage) creates sailboats / wind chimes from reclaimed stainless steel. Attached screw, moving in the wind like a pendulum, produces quite a realistic sound of metal hitting a mast.
Paul Guzzo (Oak Beach) brought us a real propeller with a scrimshaw of fish. We also have a candle holder with a lighthouse design by Claudia Peglow (Franklin Square).
Scrimshaw propeller
by Paul Guzzo
Candle holder
by Claudia Peglow
Painter Susie Gach Peelle (Locust Valley) provided the cover illustration for an interesting book about 144 women who held official light keeper positions around US - 'Mind the Light, Katie' by Mary Louise Clifford and J. Candance Clifford.
"To you my heart I must resign \ O choose me for your Valentine!" wrote Lt. Col. Simcoe to Sally Townsend in 1779, in the first recorded Valentine in America. We did not have to refer to heart only to help us select winners of our "Show the Love Valentine's Day Art Competition".
The esteemed jury of three Long Island artists: photographer Alan Henriksen, painter Susie Gach Peelle, and wood turner Harry Wicks met at Think Long Island First today to judge the contest entries, on creativity and execution.
Judges at work. From left: Susie Gach Peelle, Harry Wicks, Alan Henriksen
Judges tallying scores. From left: Alan Henriksen, Susie Gach Peelle, Harry Wicks
And the winners are: In Adult section 1st Place - Don Dailey for Hearts and Vines, cherry wood carved love spoon
2nd Place - Anne Breitstein for October Evening, West Neck Beach, watercolor
3rd Place - Sue Adler for Happy Hearts, ceramic
In Young Adult section 1st Place - Kelley Marco for Time Line of Love, ink and acrylic
Don Dailey Hearts and Vines 1st Place Adult Section
Kelley Marco Life Line of Love 1st Place Young Adult Section
Anne Breitstein October Evening, West Neck Beach 2nd Place Adult Section
Sue Adler Happy Hearts 3rd Place Adult Section
We still have Popular Vote Awards to choose, so please stop by the store between Friday and Saturday and cast your vote.
Award ceremony takes place at Think Long Island First at 36 Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay, NY, on Sunday, February 12th between 2-3 pm.
Thank you to All Contestants for participation and congratulations to the winners!
"Show the Love Valentine Competition" coincides with the first annual Valentine's Fair in Oyster Bay, Celebrating America's First Valentine, and all things love..., organized by Raynham Hall Museum, Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce, and a group of other local businesses. Please see a list of all the festivities taking place in town during the Valentine's Day weekend.
Love is all around us in many shapes and forms, and this Valentine's Day a special competition will give local artists and budding artists-to-be a chance to show what love means to them in the way of the time-honored tradition of the Valentine.
"Show the Love Valentine Competition," sponsored by Think Long Island First, will give entrants the chance to win the heart of an admirer on this special day -- and maybe walk away with the grand prize in the contest as well.
The competition will be judged by an esteemed jury comprised of three Long Island artists: photographer Alan Henriksen, painter Susie Gach Peelle, and wood turner Harry Wicks. Like the game of love itself, each entry will be judged on creativity and execution – as long as it is from the heart, it qualifies.
"Show the Love Valentine Competition" will coincide with the first annual Valentine's Fair in Oyster Bay, Celebrating America's First Valentine, and all things love..., organized by Raynham Hall Museum, Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce, and a group of other local businesses.
Participants can draw inspiration from the America's first Valentine, penned in Oyster Bay by British officer Lt. Col. Simcoe, stationed at the Townsend family's homestead (now Raynham Hall Museum) and given to the Townsends' daughter Sally. Although the original Valentine disappeared in the 19th century, the text captures his feelings for her: Fairest Maid, where all is fair Beauty's pride and Nature's care; To you my heart I must resign O choose me for your Valentine!
"Show the Love Valentine Competition" is open to students, competent amateurs and professional artists ages - 14-18 (Young Adults) and 18+ (Adults) for entries created on Long Island in varied media. Entry submission period is between January 1st and 31st, 2012.
Awards: In Young Adult section 1st Place - $25.00 and $25.00 Think Long Island First gift certificate 2nd Place - $15.00 3rd Place - $10.00 Popular Vote - $10.00
In Adult section 1st Place - $50.00 and $25.00 Think Long Island First gift certificate 2nd Place - $35.00 3rd Place - $20.00 Popular Vote - $20.00
Winners will be announced on February 9th (and not January 9th, like it was erroneously stated on our first newsletter announcement). Award ceremony takes place at Think Long Island First at 36 Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay, NY, on Sunday, February 12th between 2-3 pm.
The Oyster Bay Day Art Festival had proven itself as thrilling as expected.
It took place at various places around Oyster Bay: Children displayed their work at Not Just Art, Adults took over Audrey Avenue near the bandstand, the Award Ceremony took place the at the Artist Club Gallery.
We at Think Long Island First had the pleasure to host the Young Adult (Ages 12 - 17) competition. We have enjoyed it tremendously. It was gratifying to see the audience's immediate response to the artwork on display.
There was a good number of entries for the first year of the show. Susie Gach Peelle, painter and art teacher who judged the Young Adult competition, commented, "nice cross-section of work and media for such a small show."
The winners are:
Painting/Drawing
1st Prize - Rausan Borujerdi for Tehran #1
2nd Prize - Christina Lettich for Dragon Fly
3rd Prize - Julia Ryan for Portrait
Photography
1st Prize - Gabrielle Yeager for Knitting Time
2nd Prize - Halley Robbins for Floating Flower
3rd Prize - Briana Glynn for Family
The People's Choice award goes to Eva Mullarkey for Still Life.
Congratulations to the winners and warm words of encouragements to all competitors. We are looking forward to seeing your work at the next year's art show!
1st Prize in Painting/Drawing
Tehran #1 by Rausan Borujerdi
1st Prize in Photography
Knitting Time by Gabrielle Yeager
2nd Prize in Painting/Drawing
Dragon Fly by Christina Lettich
2nd Prize in Photography
Floating Flowers by Halley Robbins
3rd Prize in Painting/Drawing
Portrait by Julia Ryan
3rd Prize in Photography
Family by Briana Glynn
People's Choice Award
Still Life by Eva Mullarkey
Tracy Dellomo and Susie Gach Peelle
Our appreciation goes to Tracy Dellomo and Walter Imperatore who spearheaded the event on behalf of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association and the Chamber of Commerce.
Many thanks to Susie Gach Peelle for taking time from her busy schedule to judge and critique the artwork.
Painter Susie Gách Peelle, granddaughter of Hungarian sculptor Steven Gach (Gách István) and daughter of Hungarian/American sculptor/painter George Gach (Gách György) might have been born with a paint brush in her hand. She was surrounded by artistic work ever since she could remember. She was drawing at 5, painting at 12. She posed for her father, observed his lessons, demos, and outdoor classes. She was commissioned to do 20x24 oil portraits of her schoolmates while still in high school.
Photo by Susie Gách Peelle
Though her father was an academically trained artist he did not insist on a strict early training for his daughter. Susie was allowed to observe, experiment, and follow her own developmental path. She was encouraged to study works of great masters, she is still doing it today. In due course, Susie obtained her BA from C.W. Post, NY, and then her MFA from Instituto Allende/Universidad de Guanajuato in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Throughout her career she attended various classes in search of techniques and forms of expression.
Photo by Susie Gách Peelle
Susie's good fortune was that she started drawing so early and appreciated the importance of it. Drawing is a basis of every work in every medium, it allows the pieces to retain a sense of proportion and perspective. Susie no longer has to think and measure distances much, most of her drawing comes naturally. This is a result of an innate talent and a constant practice.
Susie works almost every day. Her work time is very intense, she often paints alla prima where a great discipline is required in the name of freshness. I had the pleasure to witness an alla prima oil painting demo by Susie, she completed a painting in about 40 minutes. She worked uninterrupted, started by drawing color and shade outline, then covered the canvas with quick, decided, measured brush strokes, from dark to light. Susie likes the speed and the intensity, she is known to have drawn 42 pencil portrait sketches in 2 hours at a children's party. Her quick strokes came in handy when she was engaged as a courtroom illustrator by one of the major tv stations.
Photo by Susie Gách Peelle
Her subjects vary greatly. Susie frequently explores a theme and paints or draws similar scenes in different media, in varied sizes and tonal variations. She executes portraits, nudes, landscapes, beach scenes, architecture, street scenes, animals, teddy bears, flowers, still lifes, paintings on silk and ceramics, book illustrations, and greeting cards. She works in oil, acrylic, pastel, lead, conté, ink, gouache, graphics, and mosaic.
Susie has great fun with framing as a significant part of the overall presentation. Her studio is full of frames ready for a perfect match. She also uses custom framing as the sizes of her pieces are frequently non-standard.
Photos by Susie Gách Peelle
Photo by Susie Gách Peelle
Susie's work graced the walls of galleries in US and overseas. She entertained numerous portrait commissions of luminaries of art, commerce, politics, and academia. Her portrait of Grace Bumbry, great American soprano, was picked by the singer herself from among the works of students of Oskar Kokoschka School of Seeing in Salzburg, Austria, which Susie was attending at the time. Once, while painting en plein air she was approached by a passerby who bought the painting, a beach scene, on the spot and commissioned a matching winter scene.
Susie Gach Peelle was born in Budapest, Hungary, spent 5 years of her early childhood in Lebanon before her parents moved to US, eventually settling on Long Island. Susie and her husband live in Locust Valley. The youngest of the couple's four sons, Evan, inherited the artistic talent, thus extending the creative line to the fourth generation.
Susie enjoys traveling. No matter what destintation, she takes her work with her wherever she goes. She frequently teaches on cruises. She is also an active teacher while in New York; she gives private lessons and teaches at the Art League of Long Island. Susie can be contacted at 1.516.676.7011.
Please see Susie introduce her work at her studio.
