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The Dartmouth
July 21, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Local artist Hamel's works adorn Collis

Some of them jump out at you with great force while others slowly draw you in after a single glance. Passing through Collis Cafe, you can not help noticing them.

They are the artworks of Gary Hamel. We look at and admire them each day, but do we really know them? Can we understand what ideas lay beneath each piece?

Local artist Hamel of Orange spoke last Friday evening at a reception in Collis to help us get a better feel for his artwork.

Amid refreshments and music, Hamel answered questions and gave us an insider's look at the individual works displayed in his retrospective exhibit titled "Fifteen Years."

Forty pieces, mostly oil paintings, assemblages, and pastels, honor the people, places, and traditions Hamel has come to love over the course of his artistic career. Intense and emotional images exalting everyday life narrate experiences familiar to us all.

"Whether I am working from life, a sketch, or a photograph, I am always painting from emotion," Hamel said. "I hope that I am able to communicate my love for the area in which I live, the places I visit, and the people in my life."

Many of Hamel's works celebrate the little things around us that often go unnoticed. "North Family Barn" depicts a simple, red, New England structure.

Hamel, using very little detail, generates a curious interest in an ordinary subject through the use of light and shadow in an Edward Hopper-like fashion. Similarly, in "Matthew #2," dancing light and hypnotic shadows enliven an everyday subject.

Other works, however, display a more emotional objective. The artist painted "Cloudscape" in response to his father's death, creating a balanced, but very empty view of life's darker side.

"Sybil" presents us the image of an elderly woman -- proud, trusting, and giving -- who has made a large impact on the artist's life. Hamel mixes in a silent tranquility and happiness with his pastels.

These works strive for realism and honesty in depicting the rural lifestyle Hamel has experienced. He calls them "breakthrough pieces," significant artworks representing changes in his artistic direction.

Take the time to look at the wonderful works of this local artist, who communicates much about life, his soul and ourselves.