Seasons on the Vineyard, Alex Elvin’s solo exhibition at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, has turned into a runaway success for the West Tisbury painter.
Out of 14 small and medium-sized oils in the show, eight had already been spoken for within 24 hours of the artist’s reception Saturday afternoon. The exhibition closes Dec. 1, giving Islanders another two weeks to see these paintings before they enter private collections.
Working en plein air, the art world’s French term for painting outdoors, Mr. Elvin could be spotted at his easel practically anywhere on the Vineyard this year, from remote up-Island beaches to the side of busy roads in Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs.
His move to open-air painting was the latest extension of a longtime art practice in drawing, photography and painting, Mr. Elvin told the Gazette at Saturday’s reception.
He recently studied figure painting at the Art Students League of New York, and regularly takes part in the winter open studios at Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs.
While his beach, pond and farm scenes are rich in texture and Island colors, Mr. Elvin’s work also reveals the interplay of form, shadow and Island light that can elevate even a stretch of roadway into an iconic moment. In his off-season view of a deserted Beach Road, outside Vineyard Haven, road and seawall surge energetically toward the distant tanks and cranes of the working waterfront.
Buildings at Martha’s Vineyard Shipyard become a study in shape and shadow, while Clarence Barnes’s colorful, car-cluttered business on State Road takes on a farmlike aspect with its vehicles parked out front like placid cows.
Even the empty parking lot at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, where Mr. Elvin is the research and communications director, reveals a pastoral beauty with its overhanging greenery and sun-dappled surface.
Mr. Elvin formerly reported for the Vineyard Gazette, where he wrote extensively on environmental issues.
Marston Clough, an established Island artist who first spotted Mr. Elvin’s paintings in the film center after attending a movie, told the Gazette he made a point of going to Saturday’s reception to meet the artist.
“I thought they were good, so I said I want to go down there and at least introduce myself,” said Mr. Clough, who praised Mr. Elvin’s dedication.
“He’s got a willingness to go stand on a corner and paint... and not just lighthouses, but difficult subjects,” he said, citing the Beach Road and Barnes paintings in particular.
“I was attracted to the Trip Barnes thing — a very complicated [scene], but not fussy,” Mr. Clough said. “This kid has got a future.”
Seasons on the Vineyard is open during film center hours, Wednesday through Sunday:.featherstoneart.org/feldmanfamilyartspace.html.
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