Join us for great art, light refreshments, and a chance to meet the artists at the CFA Micro Galleries in New London. The galleries are: the New London Inn, Zero Celsius Wealth Studio, and Country Houses Real Estate. Each is located on Main Street in New London, and many First Friday attendees enhance their evening with a walking tour to each gallery! Each Center for the Arts Micro Gallery features the art of regional artists, working in a variety of media.

Tom Barber of Andover, a graduate of the Art Institute of Boston, will exhibit at the Zero Celsius Wealth Studio. Receiving his draft notice the year after graduation, he became an Army medic and served in Germany during the late 1960s. Upon discharge he headed to Switzerland to climb the Matterhorn. “It was a soul liberating experience.”

Returning to the US, Tom became a recognized illustrator of sci-fi and fantasy. He was named Best Professional Artist of the year by the New England Science Fiction Convention in 1976.

Then life changed. Overwhelmed by business and personal turmoil, Tom grabbed his duffle, a bottle of rum, and bought a one way ticket to Arizona. The open spaces inspired him and the honkey-tonks soothed his soul. He settled in and began to paint.

Returning to the east coast in 1984, he settled in Andover, where he writes and continues to explore through his painting. Tom’s works are displayed in galleries from coast to coast and are in private collections world-wide.

The Micro Gallery at the New London Inn will host Eric Peterson and Grant Hacking.

Eric Peterson graduated with honors from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and has a PhD from Harvard University. He has worked as a graphic designer, art director, and graphic arts instructor as well as, for the past 20 years, a mental health counselor. Eric’s art is in pastel, oil pastel, watercolor, and collage. Since 2008, he has been making gelatin mono-prints incorporating a variety of materials, methods, and techniques into his images. Eric is currently interested in transfers, where he combines digital images, original art, and ephemera into colleges. His art has been exhibited throughout central and southern New Hampshire.

Grant Hacking was born and raised in South Africa, where his parents were both professional artists. He recalls observing his father at the easel. It was later in life before he recognized he had learned many of his technical skills, as well as exhibiting and marketing skills, from his parents. He moved to the United States in 1990 with his wife and two daughters and has made his home in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

He has great pleasure depicting diverse animal life native to the African continent. His oeuvre now includes figurative work, architecture, coastal scenes, and landscapes. “What I really paint is nature. When the weather is good, I enjoy painting en plein air. When the chill winds of winter arrive, I return to my studio, where painting my memories of Africa instills a sense of warmth.”

The Micro Gallery at the Country Houses will host Joanne Boudreau. Joanne is both a figurative and landscape artist. She works in watercolor, charcoal, and mixed media. She is inspired by both classical music and natural beauty. Joanne’s most recent work is a departure from representational images to a more abstract sense of motion.