december FEATURED artist

Gallery Magic

by Elaine Miller

Ceres Gallery in Portsmouth, NH has been magical from the very beginning. Eight years ago, everything fell into place from the moment this spectacular space became available, to our grand opening 2 weeks later! Excitement filled the air and customers could feel it when they walked in the door. This unique association of artists is a blend of world renowned, Living Master Painters, and future masters.

Our Living masters produce highly sought-after masterpieces. Their technical skills create a profound feeling in the viewer, similar to the feelings one experiences in a museum. Our emerging masters are a mix of local, national, and international artists, who have collectors on 4 continents.  We currently have 24 emerging masters, 17 Living Masters, a sculptor, and a Master Photographer at Ceres Gallery.

Each month, our emerging artists bring in new work in time for our Art ‘Round Town, celebrations. The first Friday of each month we celebrate with delicious food, drinks, and live entertainment, free to the public and all provided by our artists and local restaurants. Ceres was the Goddess of Abundance, and we honor her with a vast array of delicious food. We hope you will attend and share some smiles and good cheer.

The Ceres Gallery Worldwide Workshops have taken off with an international following. We have created workshops in plein air painting, taught by our Living Masters, all over the world. The small town of Inveraray in the Scottish Highlands looks forward to the return of our artists each October. We have designed Museum Tours led by our Living Masters in Amsterdam, Edinburgh, London, and Boston. Additional workshops in Greece, Spain, Italy, and Bavaria are already planned. Our "Beat the Blizzards" workshop, every March, provides a great winter escape to Florida. We have found that these workshops are just as rewarding for the “non-artists” who attend with their artists. First time painters, who never held a brush before also developed into emerging artists by attending our workshops. Our Master Artists are Master Instructors, teaching others the techniques that have been taught to them. They consider the task of passing on the knowledge to the next generation a privilege and assurance that the techniques of the old masters are preserved. At a local level, classes are also offered at the Ceres Gallery. You can find us on the waterfront, opposite the iconic Portsmouth tugboats.

We have often been told how wonderfully unique the Ceres Gallery is. We are in a location that has historically been a place of good cheer, the marketplace of tall ships and a farmers’ produce exchange, for over 400 years. You can feel the excitement the moment you walk in the door…it’s in the ancient wide timber beams, it’s in the century’s old bricks, it’s in the salt air wafting across the water. Ceres Gallery is magical! You can be transported to another time and place through beautiful art.