local artists evolving at Nahcotta

While artists Teresa McCue and Tim Beavis have both shifted more toward abstraction, Beavis has moved further, beyond his now familiar landscapes to a new series. The difference in their recent work makes them a less likely pair for a two-person show, but not less likable.

An exhibit by the Seacoast artists, who are both represented by Nahcotta, will be on view at the downtown Portsmouth gallery until May 31. The artists are exploring the possibilities their talents allow, while remaining anchored to color and expression. 

McCue, of Portsmouth, remains dedicated to landscapes, as she has been for nearly 20 years. “I find a deep spiritual connection in nature,” she said in an e-mail. “I am enamored of the patterns, the rhythms, the textures, and the almost tangible quality of the light.”

She has typically created her soft fields and skies in pastels, but in recent years, she has been experimenting with acrylic paints and the work is becoming increasingly abstract by eliminating more detail. While still based in nature, it is a looser interpretation, one that lets viewers connect with their own experience.

“The change of medium has afforded me limitless possibilities for creative expansion,” she said. McCue can play with the body of a painting by choosing a different surface, mixing textural additives with the paint or to prime the surface, or using a variety of paints ranging from heavy body, which can almost be sculpted, to fluid, which flows easily. The painting titled “Memory of a Dream” uses texture to symbolize a fuzzy recollection and a soft, sleepy state.

Acrylics can be transparent, opaque or iridescent. McCue is particularly intrigued by the incorporation of iridescence in her work because it fulfills her ongoing fascination with light. She uses gold paint to capture the light between an intense purple sky and deep blue water in “Edge Light,” and its perfection is a wonder that nearly brings tears to the eyes. The curators at Nahcotta have made sure the light hits it just right and it must be seen in person to appreciate. McCue  says, “I have been trying to inspire that feeling one has when they stumble upon something beautiful in nature that just takes their breath away,” and she has succeeded with this painting.

Color combination is one of her specialties, using deep tones together for richness and softer hues for subtlety, then vivid explosions of color to bring out emotion. In the vibrant “Ruby Sky,” for example, the red sky at night is everyone’s delight.

“On some level, I have always used landscape as a vehicle for expressing emotion through color and light. With my abstract work, I am still using the same elements of composition, color, light, value, rhythm, texture. Just in a more direct way,” McCue said.

The latest works by Beavis share a similar color palette as his previous series, but rather than abstract representational landscapes, he is focusing on patterns and shapes. The series is a tribute to older painters who influenced him.

For instance, there are some alluring, large paintings with circles within squares in a quilt-like pattern reminiscent of the fabrics Gustav Klimt’s used in his paintings of women. On others, he formed triangles and other geometrical shapes between harsh, straight lines, which are dedicated to Paul Klee.

Beavis said in an e-mail that he’s interested in the interconnected forms. One piece is constructed with painted cardboard, resulting in an industrial look with solid shapes, sharp points and rivets. Still, he used some of the same shades of green, orange and yellow as in his natural landscapes.

Several of his starkly beautiful paintings from the beach series are also on display, in the front gallery where McCue’s landscapes hang. These divide a sandy beach and foggy sky with furious scribbles of tall grass in various, complementary colors. Beavis has a remarkable way with color. “Beach Series 46” stands out for the panoramic view the shape of its canvas allows, exposing a vast expanse.      

He said the beach series was a conscious effort to explore a particular scene of isolation and beauty, and that’s why people have an emotional response to them.

But he said painting his new work was exciting because “the beginning was radically different from the end.” He lives in Kittery, Maine, has exhibited widely and was educated at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Mass.

Nahcotta is  at 110 Congress St., Portsmouth, 603-433-1705.