Solitary Crossing by Heidi Caswell Zander
The Topsfield Town Library Art Committee is pleased to announce the latest art piece on loan, Solitary Crossing. Visit the Main Desk on the first floor to view this painting.
This extraordinary piece will be on loan for one year. This loan was made possible by the Gould Trust Fund
Caswell Zander will also be exhibiting more of her work in the Activity Room in October-November of 2025.
About the Painting:
This painting’s subject is inspired by historic black & white photographs circa the early 1900’s. Living in Cape Ann since childhood, it is clear to me that much of the fishing industry has faded away: the tools, the types of boats and the process of catching fish, the people involved. Slowly our community loses an understanding of what it was like, how it imprinted on the landscape and effected the daily routine of each town. The dory man of this piece is working far from shore. Often these men could not swim, putting them at great risk. The ship in the distance evokes the feeling of the dory man’s sense of aloneness. It illustrates the solitude of working out at sea. I hope that in looking at it, you can find your own ideas and interpretations.
The painting was made on stretched canvas, first treated with a layer of transparent root beer-colored oil paint and resin. The resin provides a glass-like surface so that light travels through it and bounces back, contrasting the build up of increasingly lighter paint layers which are thicker and more opaque. This technique creates a simulation of the wide range of surface types we experience in nature. Each stroke was carefully considered and deliberately placed. Economy of strokes makes each one more important and allows the ground to remain fluid like the water and the sky.
Typically, I paint out in nature and not from a photograph. The coloring and display of Solitary Crossing was informed by my techniques and experiences in outdoor landscape painting; they created this painting’s idea and imagery.
About the Artist:
As a child and through my teens, I was part of adult painting groups in Cape Ann, Massachusetts. This helped me absorb the techniques and ideals of developed artists. It instilled in me a way of looking at the world that was similar to their passion for what they visually and physically experienced in the landscape.
After the local art groups, I headed to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to study painting. In my senior year, I was a member of the European Honors Society and lived in Rome, Italy; it was a year fully inspired by the light and layers of architectural beauty. I earned a BFA & MAT from RISD after which I moved to New York where I exhibited and curated art shows. I then spent 10 years in Berlin, Germany, having been hired as an art instructor by the German government. Those years provided me with the opportunity to explore a wealth of incredible art in many museums and galleries throughout Europe. I travelled to Cape Ann on an annual basis to continue my connection to my homeland inspiration.
I returned to Cape Ann in 2000 and opened my gallery, Tidal Edge Gallery, in 2005 in Rockport, MA. I founded the Creative Community Group in 2016. I am a member of the National Association of Women artists, Marblehead, North Shore, Rockport, Newburyport and Ipswich Art Associations. I am past president of Rockport Art Association & Museum. My works are exhibited widely and held in collections throughout the US, and Europe.
Heidi Caswell Zander
Tidal Edge Gallery 3 School Street Rockport, MA (open by text or call)
978-869-0474
ArtAtlantic@aol.com
