West Tisbury artist Elizabeth Greene, best known for her painterly works in torn paper, has just opened a one-woman show at the West Tisbury Library that includes watercolors, acrylics and photography as well as award-winning collages.
“I like to play with different media,” Ms. Greene said, at a reception Saturday afternoon that drew dozens of people representing multiple generations of her family, friends and neighbors.
A year-round Islander for more than 30 years, Ms. Greene has won blue ribbons at the Agricultural Fair and Best in Show from the All Island Art Show for her vivid torn-paper scenes from Island life.
In Fair Time Bliss, which took three ribbons at the All-Island show of 2016 and is on display at the library, Ms. Greene built up layers of paper to make an American flag ripple in 3D atop its pole.
Nearby, a farmer leans on his tractor, and in the background the Agricultural Hall tilts expressionistically against a sky of swirling clouds. A blue-ribbon-winning pumpkin looms in the foreground, next to a smiling boy — Ms. Greene’s son Walter, now grown up — holding a rooster in his arms.
Another All Island Art Show winner, Menemsha Summer Sunset, captures a sky full of glowing colors reflected up from the blue water below, while fishermen on the jetty appear as a series of silhouettes against the glittering waves.
Oil and acrylic paintings are also part of the exhibition, along with small-scale watercolors that reflect Ms. Greene’s appreciation of the natural world: a yellowfin tuna, single acorn, a still life of pears.
Quansoo Beach, a larger oil and latex work on board, captures the wildness of the winter ocean in a confidently loose expressionist style. It hangs near a photograph by Ms. Greene of a similar view.
In other pieces, the artist mixes paper and paint, or — in the case of the rainbow-hued Luminous Lobster — applies acrylic over embroidery thread to add texture and dimension.
She even explores the abstract, in a trio of pen-and-watercolor paintings called Beach Pebbles.
Ms. Greene also has painted several entries for the annual Agricultural Fair poster. Though she has yet to win the highly competitive contest, visitors to the West Tisbury show can see her designs for the 2020, 2023 and 2024 fairs — a glimpse of history as it never happened.
Along with her one-of-a-kind artworks, Ms. Greene sells poster prints of her collages and T-shirts with her colorful acrylic sea creatures: a swirling squid, a blue whale, a pair of pink starfish and a scuttling hermit crab, all of which were available Saturday.
The exhibition is open to the public throughout November, during library hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Ms. Greene’s website is elizabethgreene.net.
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