Coming Together In The Name Of Art
Written by Diana E. Vlavianos,  Friday, 05 July 2013 

The opening lines of “Yellow Submarine” wafted through the door of the Long Island Picture Frame and Art Gallery of Oyster Bay on Friday, June 21, inviting Beatles lovers from far and near into the gallery’s Come Together exhibition.

The gallery, which opened its doors in October of 2012 during the Oyster Festival, features many different art exhibitions in addition to selling framing. For the Come Together exhibition, the gallery displayed the Beatles-themed masterpieces of artists Eric Cash, Georgina Flood, and Kathy Joyce.

Gallery owner, Jim Perna, as well as gallery director, Karen Bunone, invited the artists to come to the VIP reception for the exhibit, where they mingled with fans of the Beatles. Artists Kathy Joyce and Georgina Flood were both present at the reception, and were eager to explain the inspiration for their Beatles art.

Kathy Joyce traveled from Boston to share her decoupage art with the Long Island community. Unique and psychedelic, Joyce’s art was inspired by her love for the Beatles, and was created during a period of time when she was sick. She immersed herself in the decoupage art world, and learned to seamlessly piece together images into stunning vases, jewelry boxes, platters, and jewelry, all centered upon the Beatles.

Georgina Flood flew in from Ireland to showcase her striking graphite portraits of the Beatles. Both artists are active in the Beatles memorabilia community, and donate much of their art to various charities.

The Long Island Picture Frame and Art Gallery enjoyed a wonderful turnout of Beatles fans from all over the Island, and Long Islanders truly did come together to admire the art of the Come Together exhibit and revel in good tunes, and good times.

Artist Kathy Joyce, Boston MA; Artist Georgina Flood, Ireland; Gallery Owner Jim Perna; Executive Gallery Director Karen Bunone.

A lifelong resident of Long Island, this week’s cover artist, Samuel Emler, grew up in Massapequa and graduated from School of Visual Arts, later earning his MFA from the New York Academy of Art. He’s taught at Polimoda in Florence, Italy and completed murals for numerous nonprofits, including an orphanage in Ukraine. Closer to home, his murals uplift visitors by gracing the walls of institutions such as Mount Sinai Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Stony Brook University Hospital, Southside Hospital, The Foundling Center, Babylon Hospice and Angela’s House. This week’s cover shows Emler’s mastery of luminous color and ability to capture the essence and feeling of a certain moment.

The colors are harmonious and soft while still being vivid—do you have a special technique for achieving this? And is this a recent work? 
The painting was painted over 10 years ago, using a technique that’s similar to how still paint today. I like to float colors over a sepia “imprimatur” to generate a luminous effect.

This cover artwork reminds me of the tractors you see at farms on the North Fork—is there a story behind it?
I am partial to capturing the moment. This painting was derived from such a moment, while visiting Barney Loughlin, the owner of Loughlin Vineyard in Sayville. Born and raised in Sayville, Barney is a Sayville institution. He’s been serving wine and making people smile for many years. While taking a break from his chores to enjoy the beautiful day, he struck a pose that I really felt I needed to capture. I wanted to preserve him in a painting to be passed on for generations.

With a MFA from The New York Academy of Art and a BFA from SVA, did you have any professors who had a strong influence on your artistic career?
I studied under many great professors, benefitting from all of them. One professor that influenced me the most was Sal Catalano. Sal was more than just a teacher of technique. He spoke to the soul of the artist. He was also able to address each student on a personal level. One thing he ingrained in me was to be true to my heart and paint as is natural for me.

As an art teacher, what do you encourage in your students?
As an instructor, I encourage students to master the fundamentals, but also emphasize the significance of trusting the intuitive creative process. The simplest painting, approached with passion, is as significant as a mural in a palace. To be an artist is striving with every nerve to obtain that which we never will.

How did you get into doing murals?
My very first mural was inspired by frescoes in churches in Florence, from Ghirlandaio to Pontormo. In addition to telling a story, these frescoes maintained a quality that withstood time. I would transcend before these great works. After returning home from Italy one year, I painted one of these frescoes on the wall of Long Island Picture Frame Gallery. This mural opened the door to more work, commissions for residential murals, and painting murals in hospitals. This spring I will return to the same wall, restoring the original mural, in celebration of their 25th anniversary.

Do you have any upcoming projects or new paintings you’re working on?
I am always working on fresh paintings, with my focus mainly on gallery work, but also for private commissions. Right now I’m working on a series of ballerinas for Chrysalis Gallery as well as a private commission. I am also preparing a series of equestrian paintings for The Hampton Classic.

View photos of "The Wall" in Massapequa Park.

Samuel Emler's Dan's Paper Covert Art (Detail)
October 18, 2014 by Stephanie De Troy

The Famous Wall on the west side of Long Island Picture Frame & Art Gallery of Massapequa Park Artist Samuel Emler tells Dan's Paper about the revitalization in spring of 2015.