The Gray Public Library is having a show of paintings by local artist Wendy Patterson of Gray . The show, entitled “The Twenty – An Elegy for the Children of Newtown, CT,” includes a series of small encaustic paintings of children being held, hugged and embraced by an adult, and a larger abstract piece that she calls “Children’s Laughter in the Apple Tree”. It also includes relevant quotes from T.S. Elliot and Edna St. Vincent Millay. 
Bob Keyes in his recent article in the Portland Press Herald says:
“Wendy Newbold Patterson cannot change history. She cannot go back to Dec. 14, 2012, and stop the gunman who killed 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. But with her art, she hopes to help the rest of us live with more compassion and love.”
“Patterson began the paintings to respond to the Newtown massacre. Her granddaughter is around the same age as the 6- and 7-year-olds who were killed. Her paintings are sweet, soft and sensitive, without feeling sentimental. She depicts parents carrying their children on their hips and sitting with them on their laps”. These paintings began as an artist’s response to the specific tragedy at Newtown, CT on December 14, 2012. It has developed into an elegy and love song for children.
The paintings will be on exhibit through January 29 at the Gray Public Library. For more information see Wendy’s website Wendy Patterson and read the article in Maine Today of the Portland Press Herald.
