BALDWINSVILLE — Greg Trombly has shadowboxes full of prize ribbons to show for his art career of four-plus decades, but the proof is in the pastels: sunsets shimmer and waterfowl come to life in his landscapes. Visitors to Beaver Lake Nature Center can see Trombly’s masterpieces on display through the end of the month.
A meet-the-artist reception takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8. Proceeds from the sale of Trombly’s work will benefit Beaver Lake.
Trombly, who splits his time between Baldwinsville and Morro Bay, California, retired from the Liverpool Central School District about 15 years ago. His work hangs in the Thousand Islands Art Center in Clayton, New York, and the Sacketts Harbor Art Center. He also teaches art in Alexandria Bay, Clayton and Morro Bay.
While he now teaches his craft to others, Trombly’s career in education began not in art but in public school classrooms. He taught elementary and middle school for 15 years and went on to serve as principal of Donlin Drive and Soule Road elementary schools in Liverpool. Trombly also has taught in the education departments at Le Moyne College, SUNY Oswego and Alfred University.
Trombly was drawn to the teaching profession after taking an art class with a former Baker High School art teacher.
“Back in the ‘70s, I took an adult education class from a local high school art teacher, John Cullen,” Trombly recalled. “I’d been interested art ever since I was a kid — most artists are. He really piqued my interest in art.”
Cullen introduced Trombly to soft pastels: water-based, highly pigmented crayons.
“It is an extremely flexible medium and the vibrancy of color [makes it so] a pastel can look like an oil, it can look like acrylic, it can even look somewhat like a watercolor. … It can actually be applied with a brush,” Trombly said. “The blending process I really enjoy. It’s infinite in its potential and what you can do with it.”
The Beaver Lake retrospective contains more than 100 pieces, including traditional pastel landscapes, acrylic abstracts and a series of depicting Trombly’s boyhood home in Champlain, New York.
“It’ll be somewhat of an eclectic show — something for everybody, hopefully,” Trombly said.
Preparing for the exhibit gave Trombly a chance to weed through his portfolio of more than 40 years.
“I have some pieces from the ‘70s that I dug out. Some aren’t too bad, actually. I’ve had a pretty good evolution,” he said. “Some of them I’ve torn out of the frames and I keep them, but they’re not worth public display.”
Trombly uses several of his own photographs as references for each piece.
“I walk outside. We travel quite a bit. I have just a phenomenal collection of photos: landscapes, seascapes, rockscapes, florals,” he said.
At any given time, Trombly has at least two easels going. He has been working on one piece for a month now.
“For the most part, I will work on a piece over the course of many days. All of my pieces have between 15 to 20 layers of pastel,” he said.
In his workshops, Trombly teaches what he calls the ABCs of pastels: Always apply basic drawing skills, block out color and create contrast.
“Develop your darkest darks and your lightest lights and out from that [develop] the degree of detail that you want,” he said.
After he began teaching art to adults, Trombly had the chance to reconnect with his mentor, John Cullen.
“He was the best teacher I ever had,” he said he told Cullen. “We often don’t get that feedback from students.”
After all these years, Trombly still finds lessons in each drawing.
“I’m just completing a piece that is a marina in Sacketts Harbor. What I’m learning about — and I’m continuously learning this — is the process of reflecting in water and what colors are reflecting. It’s always a challenge,” he said.
Trombly’s show is on display through Oct. 31 at Beaver Lake Nature Center, located at 8477 E. Mud Lake Road in Lysander.
