Island Life and Times exhibit opens Oct. 3 at Peninsula Gallery
The Peninsula Gallery in Lewes will bring together two Southern Delaware favorites in its newest exhibition, Island Life and Times, opening Saturday, Oct. 3. Laura Hickman of Bethany Beach and Steve Rogers of Lewes share a love for Tangier Island and have based the entire show on its scenic beauty.
Tangier Island sits in the Chesapeake Bay 12 miles from the nearest mainland port. It has been home to watermen for hundreds of years and people of the Pocomoke Nation long before that. A maze of waterways lined with quaint cottages and dilapidated docks flows through the island, breaking it into a thousand pieces. With a population of less than 700 and a remote location, Tangier seems to have frozen in time. Locals mostly get around on golf carts and bicycles because the roads are not large enough to accommodate cars. Sadly, this Chesapeake Bay treasure is quickly slipping into the waters and will have to be abandoned in fewer than 50 years.
Laura Hickman, primarily a pastel artist, was born in Milford and grew up on Fifth Street in Bethany Beach. She was profoundly influenced by her life at the beach, which is evident in her artwork. She graduated from Hood College in Frederick, Md., with a BA in art and earned an MFA from the University of Delaware in printmaking, painting and drawing. She taught for several years at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and then at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Hickman returned to her hometown in 1988, and realized her dream of becoming a full-time artist. In the pastel pieces created for this Peninsula Gallery exhibition, she depicts the serene scenes of Tangier Island in a playful, vivid style.
Steve Rogers has loved boats and water all his life, and has centered an art career around this passion. He uses acrylics to paint traditional working boats in precise realism. These are not pampered fiberglass yachts, but hard-bitten, overworked oystermen, crabbers, and menhaden steamers. His paintings capture the toughness and durability of everyday working boats, and the beauty and terror of the weather in which they work. Rogers’ depictions are incredibly accurate, down to the materials and construction of each particular type of vessel. His palette is rich with natural tones of ochre, umber, and rust set off by shadows in cool blues and stark blacks. Tangier Island has provided Rogers with a treasure trove of inspiration, overflowing with the textures, colors, and moods that fuel his art.
Island Life and Times will run from Saturday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 1. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Oct. 3, with groups of 12 people allowed in the gallery at 20-minute intervals. Attendees must reserve a time slot beforehand and are required to wear a mask. Call 302-645-0551 or email peninsulagallery1@gmail.com to choose a time slot, first-call/email, first-served. Time options are: 5-5:20, 5:20-5:40, 5:40-6, 6-6:20, 6:20-6:40, and 6:40-7. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, in the Shops at the Beacon, 520 East Savannah Road, Lewes.
