Discovering Blue exhibition continues at Gallery One

Gallery One will present Discovering Blue through Tuesday, July 30,  at 32 Atlantic Ave., Ocean View.

“We are blessed here in Delaware with a dominance of blue in the landscape,” said Lesley McCaskill, who painted “Enjoying the Waterway” for the show. “From the sky to all the waterways, cool, refreshing blue is here for us to enjoy through every season.”

In an effect called Rayleigh scattering, sky, sea and waterways appear bluer when sunlight passes through the atmosphere and the blue wavelengths are dispersed more widely by the oxygen and nitrogen molecules. This effect is beautifully illustrated in the skies of artists Laura Hickman, Dale Sheldon and Cindy Beyer’s featured paintings. In Hickman’s pastel, “Pomodoro in Winter,” January skies are a brilliant blue, reflecting the crystal-clear light in Bethany Beach during the long winter months. Sheldon’s sky in “Blue Skies and Blue Kayaks” reverberates with the blues of the kayaks and the reflected blue sand shadows bouncing off the lapis sky. Beyer’s "Blue Sailing" is dominated by a majestic blue sky reflecting the bay on a pristine summer day.

The color of the sea is also affected by the color of the sky, reflected by particles in the water. That luminous sea is discovered and explored in the paintings of Michelle Marshall, Ed Lewandowski and Cheryl Wisbrock. Looking at Lewandowski’s “Blue Grotto,” Marshall’s “Blue Sea,” and Wisbrock’s “The Deep,” viewers can revel in the array of varying blue hues.

Through the effect of atmospheric perspective, the farther away an object is, the bluer it often appears to the eye. In Marybeth Paterson’s “Blue Barn,” a sea of sunflowers in blue’s warm complement, golden yellow, lead the eye into the distance to see the vibrantly colored structure.

Mary Bode Byrd’s “Imitating Matisse” features a blue vase that recedes into the background, allowing the vibrant and whimsical flowers to dominate the foreground.

While painting “Discovering Blue,” Scott Broadfoot learned the blue coloration in budgies is not natural; breeders produce them by using a genetic mutation that affects the production of melanin, the pigment responsible for the color of feathers.

The color blue is most associated with harmony, masculinity and calmness. In Laurie Fields’ “Color Series,” viewers may experience these emotions in her interplaying shades of blue. “I've explored different combinations and contrasts of the color blue, from a light hint of the color to it being perceived as black,” said Fields.

Gallery One is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. For more information, call 302-537-5055, email art@galleryonede.com or go to galleryonede.com.