Friday Favorites 07/19/2013

July 19, 2013

Karin Lidbeck Brent, Contributing Editor

With the scorching heat of this past week the best place for relief was likely to be the beach, but working on a shoot this week, that was not on my calendar. I visited the J. Todd in downtown Chatham, Cape Cod. searching for a painting for a room I was styling. My radar pulled me right into this beach painting, the next best thing to being there.

I was mesmerized by the beauty and execution of this Geoffrey Smith painting titled” Afternoon Delight”. This small jewel captures the modern-day beach scene with its dazzling diamonds glittering off the water with a masterful technique and eye.

As a stylist adding the layer of personality and warmth that comes from art is intrinsically important to the final character and design of one’s home.

Purchasing art is a very personal experience and buying paintings that capture your heart is what it’s all about. These paintings by Smith that capture the summer landscapes of the Cape certainly captured mine.

Walking through the gallery, it was nice to take a few minutes to escape and journey to New England’s coastal waters, marshes, tidal pools, and ocean views interpreted by a wide range of accomplished painters.

Just opened this summer the J. Todd Gallery, in downtown Chatham has a brilliant selection of works in a wide variety of styles. Just across the street from my favorite restaurant, The Squire, the gallery is well worth a visit.

The gallery, formerly the Wynne- Falconer gallery, was purchased by the Totaros and renamed “J. Todd Galleries” after their 31 year- old flagship gallery in Wellesley.

J. Todd Galleries: Chatham, jtoddgalleries@gmail.com

Paula M. Bodah, Senior Editor

The popular Betty rug, from Maine-based Angela Adams, has been given a fresh new look with the introduction of the Sprout colorway, a lovely hue that evokes images of a welcoming swatch of fresh-mowed grass. It’s available in six sizes and shapes from runner to round to rectangular. I find the hand-tufted rug of 100 percent New Zealand wool so appealing with its rhythmic pattern that suggests that natural beauty of the rug company’s home state—a mossy trail through woods, perhaps, or the pine-needle-covered softness of a forest floor.,