Image at top: Sunset Swim, 6 x 6 pastel over gouache, Takeyce Walter (reference photo courtesy of Nicole McKasty-Stagg)

Coming to Paul Smith’s VIC this July 2023 are “These Waters,” the magnificent paintings of Takeyce Walter.   The exhibition opens on July 1, 2023  in the Heron Marsh Gallery from 6-7:30 PM with an opportunity to meet Takeyce.

Living in Round Lake, New York, Takeyce is a professional artist as well as a Board Member of the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). She paints in oil, pastels  and gouache, working both in plein air and in her studio, using reference photographs she takes while exploring her surroundings. You can discern that Takeyce spends considerable time outdoors for her to capture the details,  colors, and lighting found in upstate New York.  She’s particularly adept with sunlight, as it shimmers off the various lakes, ponds, and rivers of the Adirondacks, and her paintings have a magical quality.

Water is integral in many of Takeyce’s paintings. Takeyce was born in the beautiful island nation of Jamaica.  But it was after she came to the United States as a teenager to her first home on Long Island, that she surprisingly had more opportunities to spend time at the beach and in the water than she had during her childhood.  Later, after she and her husband moved to Saratoga County,  the family began sightseeing further north.  Takeyce discovered Chapel Pond in Keene which sparked the connection she now feels with the Adirondacks. Takeyce shares, “What made those moments special was exploring with my family and experiencing the wonders of discovery with our young son. Seeing the beauty of the Adirondacks through his eyes was unforgettable.”

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While she prefers staying out of the limelight, graphic designer Karen “Ren” Davidson Seward is well known in the North Country arts community for her collaborative spirit, talent  and generosity.  She has been involved in some of the most popular exhibits in the area, among them, the Wild Center exhibits at Whiteface Mountain, a revision of the exhibit Dreaming of Timbuctoo  and the Memorial Field for Black Lives at John Brown Historic Farm.

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