The Maritime Gallery at Firehouse Square on "Lower Bank," owned by Connecticut resident, avid boater and entrepreneur John S. Johnson is host to four gallery spaces and a plethora of artists. Last week featured the permanent gallery spaces in the Maritime Gallery: The "John Johnson Collection" and The "Loon Gallery." Now Patch takes a look at the galleries featuring a rotating selection of artists: the "Brick Annex" and the "Kate Gallery."

The Brick Annex

The Brick Annex is a space dedicated for temporary exhibits of visiting artists adjoining the "John Johnson" gallery. Currently the Gallery is featuring photographer Diana Atwood Johnson and water colorist Lizbeth McGee.

In July and August of 2010 Diana Atwood Johnson traveled to Namibia and Botswana on a birding trip that produced over forty-five-hundred photographs of western African landscape and wildlife in the Namib Desert. On November 18^th Johnson opened "Touched by Africa" in the Brick Gallery, a "portfolio of African landscape and wildlife photography" complimented beautifully by wildlife sculpture from Susan Van Winkle and Adam Matano.

Johnson is an avid bird watcher who is self taught in photography because as she tells Patch, "I really wanted to capture the beautiful things I saw on birding expeditions."  When photographing nature it is a good idea to be ready at all times and be able to shoot from the hip. "There are some moments when you are driving by something interesting or an animal suddenly shows itself and you pull your camera out quickly and stick it out a window and hope for the best," Johnson says.

Although Johnson went to Africa to capture the beauty of the avian wildlife she came away with so much more.  From desolate landscapes and sand roads to vibrant communities congregating around watering holes Johnson captured a broad scope of the West African landscape but knows there is always more to see and hopes to go back the year after next to capture more of its beauty.

Also still on display from "Costal Colors" in the Brick Gallery are the works of water colorist Lizbeth McGee featuring lighthouses, and life on the water.  Some of her work includes serene landscapes such as "Twilight," a depiction of the Connecticut College Arboretum pond after dawn.  Others are detailed images of ships such as "View from Fort Trumbull," a painting featuring the rigging from the US Coast Guard training ship Eagle.

McGee's work is strongly influenced by her upbringing and surroundings "As a girl, I grew up on the water and in the woods…I believe we live in a very unique and beautiful area," says McGee.

Right now McGee is "all about the views and vignettes of the visual world" and In June and July McGee will be featured at the gallery in a solo show featuring her newer work. There is a lot more to look forward to from this artist so make sure to visit her current and future shows.

The Kate Gallery

The newly opened Kate Gallery, in honor of Kate Hepburn, features the works of female artists and has opened its first show. The honor of breaking in the new gallery space with fourteen recent works went to gallery manager Katie Fogg.  Her work consists primarily of paintings, oil pastel and ink wash illustrations of women in various scenes. 

"I prefer painting the female form because it is more interesting to me," Fogg says of her body of work. Using mostly friends as models and a bit of self reflection Katie depicts women in various settings, depicting different emotions with the theme of empowerment and individuality a prevalent one. "I find that the ability to explore one's identity is an adventure as well as a privilege," says Fogg.

In the near Future Katie hopes to display some of her larger work, some stretched on canvases ten feet and more across.  "My only limitation really is being able to fit them through the door," says Fogg.

Make sure to visit the bounty of art at the Maritime Gallery on Lower Bank on your next tour of New London. There is plenty to "sea" for art aficionados of all kinds.