Art gallery presents exhibit of ‘plein air' paintings by local artist

New Windsor —The Wallkill River Art Gallery is presenting an exhibition of original plein air (outdoor) paintings and prints by Orange County painter, Mary Mugele Sealfon. She will demonstrate her pastel technique on May 19, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. And the opening reception for “Plein Air Pleasures” will be Sunday, May 20, from 3 to 6 p,m. Entranced by the Hudson Valley, Mary enjoys plein air painting, portrait painting and still life in pastel and oil. A third generation San Franciscan, she received a BA in painting at the University of California at Santa Barbara and a MA in printmaking from New York University (Thesis: “The Photographic Image in Silk-screen and Intaglio Printmaking”). Sealfon has taught at SUNY Orange, the Star Gallery in Middletown, the Northern Lights Academy in Warwick, and Pike County Arts, Milford, Pa. She has also just begun to teach pastel and oil painting at Museum Village in Monroe on Saturday mornings. In New York City she pursued a career as Art Director and designer for various publications and companies. She also studied at the School of Visual Arts, the Art Students League, and with noted regional artists including John Osborne at the Ridgewood Art Institute, in New Jersey. She has won numerous awards and her paintings and prints have been exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work has been featured in regional shows and galleries including solo shows at Boon Dog Café, Brewster (2007), Howland Cultural Center, Beacon, Arden House, Harriman, and Back Yard Grill, Warwick. “Bairds Cows” by Sealfon was featured on the 2004 Warwick Valley Telephone Cover. She also shows work at the Brotherhood Winery, Washingtonville, and The Daily Bean, in Montgomery. The Wallkill River Art Gallery is an artist-owned co-operative gallery dedicated to promoting and exhibiting plein air paintings of the Wallkill River School. The mission of the gallery & school is to raise public awareness of the disappearing open spaces, and challenges facing our small farms. The show is free and open to the public during gallery hours of 9:30-5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, 10-6 p.m. on Saturday. The gallery is located at 357 Old Forge Hill Road, Ste. 900 (inside New Windsor Art & Frame, on the corner of 32 North and Old Forge Hill Road). For more information, visit www.WallkillRiverSchool.com.