Art exhibits continue to bloom here in late summer, with two distinct shows arriving this weekend.

At the Granary Gallery in West Tisbury, there will be an opening reception on Friday, August 21 for a group show featuring work by Kib Bramhall, Heather Neill, Tamalin Baumgarten, Milton Avery and Thomas Hart Benton.

The show gives viewers the chance to witness how creating art can be a veritable fountain of youth, as Mr. Bramhall is still going strong at 93. A recipient of the 2024 Creative Living Award from the Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation, Mr. Bramhall was lauded at that event for both his body of work and his mentoring of younger Island artists. 

“Most paintings start with a visual moment that plants the seed for a future composition. Kib’s studio planted the seed for the composition of my life,” said Andrew Moore, an Island artist.

“I was so impressed that it sent me back to art school,” said painter Alan Whiting, of his early experiences with Mr. Bramhall’s work.

The reception at the Granary Gallery is from 4 to 6 p.m.

In Vineyard Haven, at the Miner Family Gallery, Sarah Nelson and Craig D. Miner have collaborated on an exhibit called Shuck Local, which celebrates the Island’s working waterfront. 

Ms. Nelson was born and raised on the Vineyard but then lived in New Orleans for 13 years. She returned this summer to be an artist in residence with the Slough Farm Foundation. Through her oyster paintings, she aims to examine the relationship between painting, sustainable aquaculture and oyster harvesting.

Mr. Miner describes his lobster paintings as “exploring its distinctive anatomy, color, texture shape and presence.” 

With the joint exhibit of lobsters and bivalves, the artists hope to highlight the necessity of maintaining sustainable local fisheries.

The opening reception is Saturday, August 22 from 5 to 9 p.m. The gallery is located at 13 Beach street extension in Vineyard Haven.