Grafton artist paints the essence of ‘light’

By Mary Romaniec
Grafton News Reporter –

There is something soul-moving about the essence of light if one looks close enough.

To Grafton-based artist Allison Picone, that is what inspires her to paint and create works of art that reflects how she perceives the natural world.

It is this inspiration that has led her to be a solo artist at ArtsWorcester, a gallery that promotes area artists. Opening is Friday, Sept. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. The show will conclude Jan. 25, 2017, and then it will be on to the next solo show at another venue.

Picone’s works were chosen after she submitted a proposal to ArtsWorcester which detailed the summary of the series she planned to use for the show.

“I was very happy to be accepted,” exclaimed Picone. The show will also include an artist talk where she will describe the process of creating the pieces on display.

Juliet Feibel, executive director of ArtsWorcester, was equally happy. “Allison’s paintings work on so many levels,” she said. “The different materials she uses make them technically interesting, and her compositions are unusual. But the works are also just plain beautiful, and radiate a real sense of peace.”

Picone said she will share what inspires her while redefining the word “light” to describe the process, as well as the finished product. It is in truth, her own reflection, that derives a spiritual nuance both in the creation and in the process.

“It starts with something that moves me,” she said. “Any backlit object will hold my gaze for a long time.”

While Picone bends her art toward the philosophical, she is also struck by the scientific elements of what she creates.

Picone described the “tyndall effect” as the perfect example of how she finds the sources to paint. Tyndall is light scattering, reflecting off particles in the air to give off the light a “ray” effect.

“A lot of sun rays are in my pieces,” she said. As a child, Picone would become mesmerized by the sunlight that poured through the stain glass windows in churches. It was a feeling of contentment in that light, a feeling she intends to transcend into her art.

“I feel that it’s the light in all of us. It’s in every living thing,” she said as she looked reflectively at the prints of her work in front of her.

Picone has found scenes throughout Grafton as her prime sources to paint. Her latest painting, “Only Light” is a mixed media collage of pencil, charcoal and acrylic of almost barren trees inspired by a grove at Riverside Cemetery.

Her deepest solace in her meditative work comes from her own street, Potter Hill Road, where she has taken cues from the farm across the street, as well as the occasional skyline of heavy clouds.

She has also painted nature scenes from places off Follette Street, Carroll Road and Brigham Hill, places that people drive by every day and give little notice to the abstract beauty of the area.

She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with a degree in art and quickly found work as a corporate graphic artist. Once children came along, her priorities shifted to the demands of motherhood.

Picone sees the natural environment in Grafton as the catapult that restarted her art career after a nine year hiatus. Now she sells her original work as well as prints in various sizes, along with greeting cards, at the Grafton Country Store and a store in Middleborough, where she is from.

Even though Picone has obtained a level of local notoriety through her art, she intends to become more commercially viable. “I don’t want to be pushy,” Picone said, while determining the best way to paint — and sell — is by being subtle.

Evident in the paintings is an absence of leaves in her trees, preferring to focus on the light illusion against the branches. “I create with emotion, color, translucent washes of color. And there has to be light,” she said.

Picone intersperses the conversation with elements of the creative process. “I don’t always enjoy painting,” she says candidly. “It’s a struggle. When I start, there is complete chaos.”

Yet the finished product is meant to evoke a feeling of peace and contentment if the creative process has done its job, according to Picone. “There is a spirituality to all of it. I want to be able to create peace in someone’s soul,” she added.“My work has defined what I believe in. I want to make a difference in the world through my art.”

Picone’s work can be viewed at allisonpicone.com. Her solo show can be viewed at ArtsWorcester in the Hadley Gallery, 657 Main Street, Worcester.

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