Afternoon at the Gallery

Yesterday afternoon I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Mark Devlin's art show opening, Inside Out, at The Smithy in the quaint town of New Preston, Connecticut. Both the paintings and gallery space were warm, inviting, and beautiful. I enjoyed sharing stories with the artists and many attendees.

My brother-in-law, Mark Devlin, has spent his life designing. After studying the liberal arts and later architecture at Columbia University, Mark has spent his life designing homes, offices, and other structures, landscaping, gardening, traveling, and painting. Only now is he beginning to share his inspiring paintings with the world beginning with yesterday's gallery opening.

As I studied his paintings I thought about the feelings, stories, and life that are brought to mind by one man's care, time, and talent, and how important it is that we support local artists in ways that we can by attending their shows, purchasing their paintings, and seeking their skill and talent when designing our events, homes, yards, organizations, parks, buildings, and communities.

I am a big proponent of design and believe that the more we develop our sense of design and value in it, the better able we will be to create communities of deep strength, care, and meaning. Yesterday's event was a memorable first show, and I have no doubt that there will be many more. If you're interested in seeing more of Mark's work, pay a visit to The Smithy to see his paintings in person from now until February 2, 2016.